Come For Camp Jeep, The Monster Trucks, Stay To ....?

Live From The Houston Auto Show

SPEAKER_07 0:00

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast. From the forty-third annual Houston Auto Show. Welcome to the In Wheel Time Hard Talk Show. We're waiting for you for next year when the title gets so long it won't even fit on the page anymore. It's Rochelle Selina, so you know. Thank you for being with us today. Plus, Jeff has his motor minute, and I'll review the 2025 Toyota Supra. That more I just had on this special three-hour edition of the Unreal Time Car Talk Show. Howdy, along with Mike out of this world of Mars down there. Like we all know who you are. He's waving. You're waiting. It's Mike. This is Mike.

SPEAKER_03 0:55

My adoring fans. I want to make sure that you pick me out.

SPEAKER_07 0:58

And uh is Becky up yet? I think you had a lineup.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

What time is it?

SPEAKER_07 1:02

Uh it's uh nine o'clock. Sitting next to me or my my partner, Jeff. We always need more Jeff. And then we have here with us today, thank God. We've got David the magic hands. Yes, our chief engineer and bottle washer. And his magic fingers. Yeah, it's a little bit chilly in here because they have the doors open to bring in the Jeeps.

SPEAKER_04 1:26

I don't know if you can see behind us, there's a big garage door open.

SPEAKER_07 1:28

Yeah, we kind of gave everybody a different view of what we normally look at than we have the cars behind us. So today we've got the cars in front of us behind you, and behind us, this is Camp Jeep, and then right next to Camp Jeep is the Ram, what do they call it?

SPEAKER_08 1:44

Ram truck experience.

SPEAKER_07 1:46

The Ram experience. Yeah. So you have to walk through the ram trucks, come through Fiat, Jeep, all this other stuff back here. This is the important part of the car show back here. This is the best part of the car show. It is. Besides the submarine display.

SPEAKER_04 2:00

Oh, that's right. Are the submarines down there? I think so. I hope so. I requested them last year. I'm thinking maybe uh airplanes next year.

Camp Jeep, Ram Track, And Show Layout

SPEAKER_07 2:10

Well, I'm sinking, so uh let's just move on with our interview with Rochelle Salinas. You know, I have seen more of you on media this week.

SPEAKER_08 2:17

It has been a busy week.

SPEAKER_07 2:19

Yes, it has. Well, you're a popular person. Pardon me while I put on my gloves.

SPEAKER_08 2:23

Yeah, I'm sitting on my hands actually. But it's gonna get warmer in here, so don't fret.

SPEAKER_07 2:27

Well, actually they've shut the door.

SPEAKER_08 2:28

They just have to shut the door, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 2:30

Um but um yeah, seeing you all over media this week. And by the way, I wanted to compliment you because I'm um I know that you've signed off on this. All of your social media advertising thumbs up on that.

SPEAKER_08 2:43

Thank you. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 2:43

It's all over the place, everywhere.

SPEAKER_08 2:45

Thank you. Jamie Lamb has been helping me with that, and she's been doing a phenomenal job too.

SPEAKER_07 2:49

Yeah, well that's good. Um uh there's been interviews that you know we've kind of dabbled a little bit here and there about some of the cars that are here today. Um this is probably the biggest uh attend attendance as far as manufacturers are concerned that we've had in quite some time.

SPEAKER_08 3:06

It's a good turnout. We we gained some and we lost some, you know, it's the ebb and flow of the auto show world right now, but I think I'm pretty happy with what we have here this year and we've had positive feedback so far this week. Uh I think it's about twenty three more brands, twenty-three, twenty-five brands in total. Uh yeah, there's only one or two cars from certain brands, but at least they're represented in some way.

SPEAKER_07 3:29

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_08 3:30

And we're we're trying the best that we can, and it's it's been a good show so far.

SPEAKER_07 3:34

It's funny, I I was looking at the list of all of the cars that are here. And yes, there are a couple that there's only one car, but that car is probably a million and two.

SPEAKER_08 3:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 3:45

Million and three. Th those kind of cars.

SPEAKER_08 3:47

Right, right.

SPEAKER_07 3:47

So those cars are here.

SPEAKER_08 3:48

And that that list on our website is accurate. We meticulously walked around the whole show floor and double checked all the vehicles on the show floor and the colour.

SPEAKER_07 3:55

Well, I noticed that you said right there at the bottom of it, is this is up to date. Yes. Yeah, I noticed that. Yeah. I perused the website and it's very good, by the way. Thank you. So uh Houstonautoshow.com. That's right. Yeah, HoustonAutoshow.com. And uh so matter of fact, if you're coming out to the Houston Auto Show, I would suggest that you go to the website, look at it, because it has a thing here that is a floor

Who’s Here And How Big This Show Is

SPEAKER_07 4:20

display map. That one right there. So it tells you where all the manufacturers are located and the auto show part of it.

SPEAKER_08 4:28

That's right.

SPEAKER_07 4:28

That's only half. The other half is the boat show. Correct. Yeah. And so uh it's big. Covers the entire facility.

SPEAKER_08 4:35

That's right, 700,000 square feet of NRG space.

SPEAKER_04 4:38

Wow. So is this uh as auto shows go, is this one of the largest in the country?

SPEAKER_08 4:43

Uh I think we fall right after Philadelphia, maybe, um, for square footage in attendance. So yeah, it's a big show. It's a big show. Out of all the out of the 35, 40 different auto shows that still exist in the country, yeah, we're we're definitely in the top five.

SPEAKER_04 4:58

So Detroit's already run, I think New York's already run.

SPEAKER_08 5:01

And LA was in November. Uh New York will be in April.

SPEAKER_04 5:04

Oh, April, okay.

SPEAKER_08 5:05

Yeah, so LA starts kind of the season off. And and Washington, D.C. is happening was happening at the same time as our move in, so they're just wrapping up. I think this is their second weekend. And St. Louis and a few a handful of others have already taken place, and then Chicago's next week, right after us.

SPEAKER_04 5:23

So do you look at uh obviously they probably post attendance numbers. So you've got those for the ones that have already happened, so you're you know, hoping for more attendance?

SPEAKER_08 5:32

Some of them do, but we don't compete in that way. We just want because every city is different, every market is different, everyone has a different amount of car buyers available or population in their city, so it's not competitive in that sense. It's more about us working as a team and trying to get more manufacturers back at all the auto shows around the country.

SPEAKER_07 5:49

And that's been a challenge, and it and the reason being is I I think, especially for Stilantis, that they've experienced uh an upheaval in uh the financing and change of management and one thing after another, and they put all their money in EVs and now they're backed out of that and going to the gasoline. Well, they're not the only one. No, they're not. No, no. They've all died. But we're sitting in the Stalantis area here, and so um and as a matter of fact, last year, these two guys didn't have this kind of interaction going here at the show.

SPEAKER_08 6:21

I mean, and this year that I guess they must have felt left out last year, because this year they have come with full force. So we've got both the Camp Jeep and the Ram track, and out front, you probably didn't see that when you came in this morning. We have the Ram monster truck ride. So you get to ride in the back of the monster truck and go on a little course there with the monster truck? I haven't, but uh Wyatt did yesterday with uh some of

Test Drives, Tickets, And What’s Included

SPEAKER_08 6:45

our board members and they had a good time.

SPEAKER_04 6:48

Do you think we can get Mike to drive the monster truck?

SPEAKER_08 6:51

I don't think they'll let him drive it, but we can put him in the captain's seat.

SPEAKER_07 6:54

Well, I'm gonna say, so so did the uh the the local folks that got to ride in that, did they have a few cocktails before they went to No, not even needed.

SPEAKER_08 7:02

It's too much fun.

SPEAKER_07 7:03

They needed a master.

SPEAKER_08 7:05

And I I interviewed uh three little brothers that came in. They came from the parking lot. The first thing they did was ride the monster jam truck, and then they came in and they were just a glow, so pumped. And so I stopped them right in the lobby and I did a quick little interview with them, and they were just like, it was a scale of one to ten, eleven.

SPEAKER_04 7:23

Absolutely. Well, the monster trucks are coming in a couple weeks, right?

SPEAKER_08 7:25

Yeah, they're next week, two weeks. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, it's perfect timing.

SPEAKER_07 7:31

Two weeks. Two weeks.

SPEAKER_08 7:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 7:32

It's kind of a joke. Inside joke with you. Yeah, with with the patio at Los Tíos and the restaurant. Yeah, hey, when's the patio gonna be open? Two weeks. Two weeks. But there's a big hole in the ground 30 feet deep. You can't out.

SPEAKER_08 7:43

No, not it's not gonna be two weeks.

SPEAKER_07 7:44

Um so when you walk in the door here, uh the the biggest thing that I would see is back to my day, Chevy, Ford. Massive amounts of cars in both displays.

SPEAKER_08 7:57

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 7:58

I think everything that they make, and more.

SPEAKER_04 8:00

And in various models, when we pulled in, the security guy goes, that's a nice, that's a nice buke. Shouldn't you be on display? And I said, No, no, this is my car.

SPEAKER_07 8:09

I will refrain this year from it. So for somebody that uh has been here before, what's different this year? Besides the fact that we've got RAM and Jeep and and these sorts of things, and more manufacturers here, but what can they look forward to seeing than they didn't see last year?

SPEAKER_08 8:24

Yeah, so one thing is we have this Polaris outdoor track outside this year. So you can, if you're 18 and up, you can ride and drive the Polaris side-by-sides on a dirt and rock track outside. It's really cool. I did it on the first day of the show with with some of the media team, and it was it's a lot of fun, definitely worth doing. Also on the auto show side, we have a fair bit more luxury cars. So Post Oak Motors is here with their lineup of Karma, Rolls-Royce, the Vintage Bronco. But they weren't here last year, were they? They they were here, but um this year they are allowing you to go into the space and explore a bit more of the vehicles. You still can't get in them, but you can definitely take a closer look. Yeah, yeah. Um Star Motor Cars is here with la uh Lotus, Aston Martin, and Mercedes-Benz. And then ABZ Motors is here with some Lamborghinis and Ferraris on display. Um, plus Ferrari themselves, Ferrari of Houston is here uh with three of their new this year. They're new this year. So yeah, it's a good high-end turnout if you want to see a lot of million dollar costs.

SPEAKER_04 9:27

So you mentioned the the things that folks can drive out there. There's no additional cost to that. Is it your ticket to the appearance?

SPEAKER_08 9:33

Everything is included in your ticket. Yes, thank you. Everyone has been asking me that this year because there is so much interactive activities with the test drives outside from Ford, Toyota, Subaru, Stellantis, uh Chevrolet. You can test drive all of those. You can do the Polaris track, the Monster Jam rides, all of that included in your $20 ticket.

SPEAKER_07 9:51

It's cheap.

SPEAKER_04 9:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 9:52

And you've got kids and you've been buying them tickets to stuff, that's $20 is cheap.

SPEAKER_08 9:58

What's not cheap as the parking? I'm sorry, NRG rules the parking. I don't have much control over that. So ride share, carpool, you know, come together and take the train. That's, I'm sorry. Um but what is cheap also is that we do have a family four-pack on sale. So you can go get four tickets for the price of three.

SPEAKER_04 10:15

Discounted tickets for military or first responders?

SPEAKER_08 10:17

We do have a 15% off for military. Yes. Yes. Come on down. There's some ways.

unknown 10:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

It's cheap family entertainment.

SPEAKER_07 10:23

There you go. Um everything here, let's talk, for instance. Um, I know that a lot of the manufacturers, and of course, you know, I get to drive a lot of the cars, um, they tend to push on us, the media, the upper end of the model. And but that's always been the case. Sure. And um you can sometimes find some not so loaded up vehicles here, but you also have to, when you visit here, understand that if there's a loaded up vehicle, a high-end trim

Luxury Displays And Million-Dollar Exotics

SPEAKER_07 10:56

level, back out of that and go to the base. Ask them, look on your phone, what is the base price for this particular model? And that gives you an idea that you can still get the same car for a lot less. It's a big thing right now. Uh, not only uh the media reporting it, but the manufacturers are very well aware of the fact that they are really pushing the limits on pricing of new vehicles. Average price, average price overall, $50,000.

SPEAKER_04 11:24

But there's QR codes on a lot of these uh displays as well, so you can QR code get the information as well. Including in-wheel time. That's what I was just about to say. We've got our QRs rock.

SPEAKER_03 11:33

But what they want to do when you come out here and look at it, they they have the ones with all the features on it, so you can see all the features. The belly, you know, and and that's the other side of it is they're not really trying to sell you a car. No.

SPEAKER_08 11:44

They're educating you.

SPEAKER_03 11:45

That's right. They're they're product specialists. More of a marketing rather than a sensitive. And they're gonna tell you all about the car, not try and sell it to you. If you ask.

unknown 11:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 11:55

If you ask.

SPEAKER_02 11:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 11:56

Because you can go anonymous into any of these booths and go, hmm. I gotta see what they got over there at Ford, because you know I'm a Chevy guy, that kind of thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 12:04

Well, and and that's why the auto show is so popular because you can comparison shop. Uh one of my other exhibitors yesterday was telling me, Rochelle, we've had some really qualified people come in here that are actually shopping for cars. They are literally comparing.

SPEAKER_04 12:16

My daughter's coming and she's going to do that as well.

SPEAKER_08 12:18

And you can look at these higher-end SUVs and be like, oh man, they've got all the bells and whistles, it's so luxurious inside, but what I cannot afford a hundred thousand dollar SUV. And then you walk over to the 2027 Kia Tellu ride that's on display, and at its X Pro trim level, it is $56,000. You go, wow, I might be able to afford this one, and it's pretty dang nice inside.

SPEAKER_04 12:40

Exactly. And there are people like Don said, people are you know, Chevy guys, Ford guys, you know, Stellantis guys. So there might even be a few Ferrari guys, right, David? Coming in? Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 12:50

There's something for everyone, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_04 12:52

There really is.

SPEAKER_07 12:53

Why did you look at David?

SPEAKER_04 12:54

He's he's a he's a he's a high-end roller.

SPEAKER_07 12:58

Yeah?

SPEAKER_03 12:58

High roller, I think it's a good one.

SPEAKER_07 13:00

He's a player. Ask him about about his uh beige minivan that he bought not too long ago. That's a player. I love that van.

SPEAKER_02 13:09

Yeah, he's competitive in white.

SPEAKER_08 13:11

I have a Kia Carnival right now, but I've but I've got an eye on that new Ford expedition.

SPEAKER_04 13:16

Really?

SPEAKER_08 13:16

Oh, yeah. I took my husband over there yesterday showing off all the features.

SPEAKER_04 13:21

It's so funny. Expedition above a grand wagoneer or Yes.

SPEAKER_08 13:26

Okay. Yeah, my Wyatt drives the our president grant drives the Wagoneer and okay, well, I like the expedition.

unknown 13:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:34

It's good for you.

SPEAKER_07 13:34

That's why they make all these different ones because everybody's got a different taste.

SPEAKER_08 13:38

Well, I like that new blue cruise feature that the expedition has, where you it's it's a hands-free cruise control. Right, right. But it's monitoring your head and eye movement. So if you need to let go of the wheel and open your kids' Gatorade, which happens frequently,

Pricing Reality And Smart Shopping Tactics

SPEAKER_08 13:55

um, you can do that without losing control of the vehicle and without worry that you're gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_03 14:00

Or you need to go into the back seat to to break up the fight or something that's going on.

SPEAKER_08 14:05

That max is so long I won't be able to reach them. They'll they'll be able to get away. Or just don't take the kids.

SPEAKER_04 14:10

Well, yeah, there you go. There you go.

SPEAKER_07 14:11

There's another thought. Well, um, I I find it interesting the fact that it's full. Yes. It's full of cars. And that was the one thing that I noticed when I came in here. I'm thinking, dang, they got a lot of cars in here. Yeah. And then you look at the list and you're going, they really do have a lot of cars in here.

SPEAKER_08 14:30

And I I will just say, and you know I'm always transparent and honest with you guys, the boat show has a little bit more space this year.

SPEAKER_06 14:37

Right.

SPEAKER_08 14:37

They have bigger boats, they take up more room. So it looks like a lot more boats, but we have more cars this year. We just put them closer together. Right. So it's a bit of perception when you have a car next to a boat.

SPEAKER_04 14:49

Some of them 40 or 50-foot boats over there. And that's so if you've ever said I need a bigger boat, this is the place to get it.

SPEAKER_08 14:55

Also, five acres of boats over there.

SPEAKER_07 14:57

My pilot friend Tom Notto and his wife were coming down because they uh bought a new house up on Lake Conroe. And he said, Yeah, I've got a dock. You got anything in it? No. I said, Yeah. Got an idea for you. There's a boat show over there.

SPEAKER_08 15:13

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_07 15:13

Nice big elaborate pontoon.

SPEAKER_08 15:16

And they've got everything.

SPEAKER_04 15:17

Yeah. Oh, I like a pontoon. Pontoon? I love a pontoon. I'm that speed. I'm about just cruising.

SPEAKER_08 15:22

Jeff, they've got a half a million dollar pontoon over there. You want to check that one out?

SPEAKER_04 15:25

I said a nice pontoon, not an expensive pontoon. The houseboat.

SPEAKER_07 15:29

I will go look at it. I will go look at it. Yeah. Um, one of the things that you can also do here is you can go, that expedition, how much how how what's the towing capacity? That's right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 15:42

And then you walk over to the boat. How much does that have in that way?

SPEAKER_07 15:45

Yeah, and what kind of hitch does it have? And if if it doesn't come from the factory with that, can you do one at the dealership and go to the boat guy and go, I got the vehicle. And he goes, Yes, you do. That's the one that you need to really to tow this with. Either that or have a dock.

SPEAKER_03 16:00

That's it.

SPEAKER_04 16:01

Or have the boat manufacturer say this boat fits these vehicles. Well, I'm sure I'm sure that you can get that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_03 16:08

They would probably tell you exactly which vehicle you need.

SPEAKER_04 16:11

This little Mini Cooper's not going to cut it. There's a Mini Cooper in front of us.

SPEAKER_03 16:14

Well it depends on which boat you want. That's true.

SPEAKER_07 16:16

So the folks that are coming out here today, um, they're going to get their ticket, get in here.

SPEAKER_08 16:22

Yep.

SPEAKER_07 16:22

And um what are the hours?

SPEAKER_08 16:23

Doors open at 10 a.m. till eight p.m. tonight. So you've got all day, and I would definitely recommend two to three hours in here.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

At least at least.

SPEAKER_08 16:32

Depending on how much all you want to do. We've got food and drinks and food trucks, so you can plan your whole day. Food trucks. Yes, food trucks out front. Food trucks out front. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 16:40

Um we had the the don't drive Monday on the road.

SPEAKER_08 16:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 16:45

How did that affect your load-in?

SPEAKER_08 16:46

Thankfully, it did not. It just slowed us down a little bit. Usually we start moving in vehicles at like 10 a.m. This year we started probably around 1 p.m. moving in vehicles. And we did have a few vehicles delayed getting here for the ride and drive from Toyota, because they were, you know, coming up from North Texas, so they had to go through the the ice and everything. And the Griotz Garage is here. So Griotz Garage is a national company, you know, and they're I think either considering opening a location in Houston or Dallas. So they came to participate in the show and they brought their truck down from Dallas, and it had about a foot of snow in the back of the trailer when they had to open the trailer to unload everything.

SPEAKER_07 17:24

Well, I think Jerry Jones swayed where they're going to put their next uh opening. It's going to be here in Houston.

SPEAKER_08 17:33

Because he's preferential to Houston.

SPEAKER_07 17:34

Well, no. They're going to move it down here to Houston because the Cowboys lost. I'm not following you.

SPEAKER_03 17:40

Yeah, you lost. I'm Dallas rules Dallas. Dallas, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:45

Dallas is north of here. Even David's David's talking his head too, so I'm not feeling too bad. We'll be back after we figure this out.

SPEAKER_07 17:54

So 20 bucks. Uh 10 o'clock, the door is open. And uh, you know, we've prepared ourselves. We got the caution tape up here so we don't get run over by all the people that rush back here to ride the trucks and the and the jeeps. Yep, because they'll be here. We just don't want folks getting hurt. So, what does your day look like today?

SPEAKER_08 18:12

Today will be a couple radio interviews I've got lined up, and then it's mostly just making sure everything runs smooth.

Boats Next Door And Towing Talk

SPEAKER_08 18:20

Greeting people, talking to people, guiding them.

SPEAKER_03 18:23

Crack that whip. Yeah. Handing out hot dogs and that sort of stuff. Gotcha.

SPEAKER_08 18:27

Just a little crowd management and just being proud of what we put together, really.

SPEAKER_04 18:31

Well, that's what we need to do. That's where you should be. We need crowd management.

SPEAKER_07 18:34

Yeah. Well, you know, it's funny because th this this is the 43rd. And uh I remember coming to many of them at the Astral Hall before you were born, ma'am. Probably the year I was born, but I I will I will tell you that um that was uh it was much different than it is now. Because back then, most of the major American manufacturers had women generally speaking, although every once in a while you'd find a guy, and he would be doing this presentation on the hour, every hour, of the car that they featured in the booth that was spinning around up on a platform, and it was a big deal. Yeah. They don't do that too much anymore. Not here anyway.

SPEAKER_08 19:18

Yeah, it's uh it can be a little more interactive. Toyota has a game show that uh uh lady and a gentleman put on together and talk about cars, but they're also giving Toyota facts and figures and trivia. So yeah, they just get a little more interactive with it.

SPEAKER_04 19:32

Can you still adopt a puppy from Subaru?

SPEAKER_08 19:34

Yes, Subaru does have the puppies. The Houston Humane Society is here with them this year, and so there have been some very cute puppies in the building.

SPEAKER_04 19:41

I think my daughter might get a car and a puppy.

SPEAKER_08 19:43

Yeah, it's dangerous. That's what you need. Nope.

SPEAKER_03 19:46

No, I you how many of them would you have to have if everybody had one though? That's the thing.

SPEAKER_08 19:51

Yeah, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_03 19:52

Two or five kids, who's good.

SPEAKER_04 19:54

Twelve dogs.

SPEAKER_07 19:54

Rochelle, it's always good to see you, good to talk to you.

SPEAKER_08 19:56

I'm so happy y'all are here again, and I'm looking forward forward to a really busy day.

SPEAKER_07 20:01

Yep, we are too. Thank you very much. Thank you guys. Jeff's Motor Minute and a review of the 2026 Toyota Supra hot rod from the factory. When the in-wheel time car talk show continues right after this quick break. The Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy

Hours, Food Trucks, And Weather Hurdles

SPEAKER_07 20:25

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SPEAKER_01 21:21

Make a splash. Live the dream. It all happens at the Houston Automotive Show at NRG Center. Check out classic autos to today's cars and trucks. Experience off-road adventures with Polaris, Ram, and Camp Beeth. Explore five acres of the newest sport boats, fishing boats, and much more. It's all here from the open road to the open water. If it thrills you, you'll find fun for the whole family. Get your tickets now, the Houston Automotive Show. Making waste and fueling adventure.

SPEAKER_07 21:51

We invite you to join us for our live In Wheel Time Car Talk Show every Saturday, 10 to noon, typically. Central time on inwheeltime.com. YouTube and Facebook. Check us out. It's free. And don't forget, 30-minute podcasts of our shows can be had from your favorite podcast store. Time now for Jeff's Motor Minute.

SPEAKER_04 22:09

Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and throw my motor minute into a little bit of the racing because racing's starting. It's a new season. Formula One tested in Barcelona this past uh 10 days or so ago. And what they're doing is they're taking down the new 2026 Formula One cars because they've all been redesigned. They've got the uh hybrid stuff going on. So they all went out there and I was interested in how Cadillac did a Botas is one of the Cadillac drivers and they've all had challenges. Cold tires, cold air, ambient temperatures. They're not used to the car. So they're trying to figure that out. It should be good, but they've all across the board suffered the same type of uh technical issues and driver issues and things of that kind of so we're looking at that. Now uh for today, February I'm sorry, uh Saturday, February 7th, which is next week, the 57th annual international I-500 snowmobile race. Yeah. NASCAR style race. It is for uh snow machines. So if you join NASCAR, you'll love the I-500 snowmobile race. It's NASCAR on ice. It began in 69,

Jeff’s Motor Minute: Racing Season Kickoff

SPEAKER_04 23:15

it's a hundred percent volunteer organization. You don't need a helmet, you don't need Hans devices, you get out there and you run. And it's up in Michigan, up in the upper peninsula. Well, Gaylord is actually close to the upper peninsula. So that's going on next week, and they anticipate 31 degrees below zero is when it started. So we'll find out who is reviving a dress for 31 below.

SPEAKER_05 23:33

Very well.

SPEAKER_04 23:55

It's gonna be cold. It's an event, you can look at it online, and I believe there's some sites on YouTube, you can probably watch it. It's a big event up there.

SPEAKER_07 24:03

Thank you,

2026 Toyota Supra Final Edition Review

SPEAKER_07 24:04

sir. Time now for this hour's car review. I had the opportunity to drive the 2026 uh Toyota Supra that comes in these trim levels, the 3.0, 3.0 premium, and the Mark V final Edition. Now M is Mark V in definition. Uh the reviewed trim level is the final edition, Mark V. Two-seater. Uh this vehicle was first introduced in 2020. This is the fifth generation of it and the last year of production. Grab them while they're hot. Uh it shares the same platform as the BMW Z4 M40i. I did not realize that.

SPEAKER_04 24:46

Wow.

SPEAKER_07 24:47

Did you know that? It shares the same platform and it's got the same motor in it. Pardon me? I said Obidern. Uh exterior features 19-inch wheels on this one with carbon fiber duck tail spoiler. Smooth arrow nose. The whole car sits a couple of inches off the road, and your butt can feel the road going by underneath it. Bulging rear wheel wells, big. Uh, one bad to the bone factory racer. What I liked. Overall design, excellent. What could use improvement? Doesn't matter. Get one now, they're not gonna make them anymore. By the way, if you're an AM radio fan, have your phone ran handy because they don't have AM radios in them.

SPEAKER_04 25:27

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_07 25:28

Interior highlights, gazoo racing embroidered headrests, and red seat belts. I mean, red seat belts. I like the red seat belts. Yeah, it's a 12-speaker Bose stereo. Um, compromises for storage throughout the cabin. In other words, not a whole lot of storage throughout it. Every little nook and cranny is used up with something. Hit up display and great infotainment screen. The cargo trunk area, mmm, itty bitty teeny weeny little to pack light. What I liked, uh the sport car with a luxury vibe to it. It's so cool. What could use improvement? Well, last call, not gonna make them anymore. Grab one now, and believe it or not, they're affordable. I'll tell you the price in here in just a minute. You're gonna go, well, that's not affordable. Yeah, it is. When you figure out what you got.

SPEAKER_04 26:22

Yeah, compared to the rest.

SPEAKER_07 26:23

Three-liter twin scroll turbo straight six. It's a BMW motor that turns out 382 horsepower, 368 pound feet of torque, and a chassis and body combination that weighs about 150 pounds. Oh boy. You can only imagine. It gets squirrely real easy. Transmission, eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters. Now it can be equipped with a manual shift, but today's automatic transmissions, you're gonna go, why wouldn't I do this myself? I know that there are diehard people out there that love the manual shift. I've got a Corvette that's got a manual shift in it, but I'll never buy another one. Not with the with today's automatic transmissions. This is a rear-wheel drive car. Gets 22 miles per gallon city, 29 highway for a combined to 25. I got 28.7 miles per gallon over 391 miles. What I liked about it, the mileage. With all the horsepower, man, this thing is a hot rod and it gets pretty good on good gas mileage for being a hot rod. Uh what could use improvement? A bigger fuel tank. It's got a teeny weeny little fuel tank, because it's a tiny car. Yeah. Riding handling, it's stiff if you're not used to a factory hot rod. Uh and this final edition gets chassis upgrades, but it all is all adjustable through the computer screen. What could use improvement? It's a race car with a license plate. It does have an active exhaust system on it, too. Base trim price, $67,950. You're not going to find one for that. As tested, $71.160. The base model price, $58,300. If you got $58.300 and you can find one where the dealer's going to sell it to you for that price, buy it. That car's going to be worth some major bucks here in a couple of years.

SPEAKER_04 28:08

Yeah, especially if it's the last year make model.

SPEAKER_07 28:10

Competitors, competitors to the vehicle in base size and price. Nissan Z starts at $42,970. I did not know that. BMW Z4M40, its direct competitor, sister, whatever you want to call, 56-1. And the Corvette, just wanted to throw that in there because it is a two-seater. It starts at $70,000. Next week I review the Mazda CX50. Quite a jump in difference in vehicle and all of that. Okay. Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, send us an email. The address is info at nwheeltime.com. We're back after this quick break. You own a car you love. Why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it? Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state-of-the-art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts. We promise you'll be impressed. Whether you're looking to massage your original paint to a like new appearance, apply a ceramic coating, install a paint protection film, anno ceramic window tent, or a new windshield protection called Exoshield, Gulf Coast Auto Shield is where Houston's car people go. Curbed your wheels? Instead of buying new, why not have them repaired? How about a professionally installed radar detector? Gulf Coast Auto Shield does that too. Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautoshield.com. Better yet, stop by their facility at 11275

Nissan Spotlight With Joe Garcia

SPEAKER_07 29:32

South Sam Houston Tollway, just south of the Southwest Freeway and get a personal tour. Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior. Call them today, 832-930-5655, or gcautoShield.com. Apple or Android, NWL Time Podcast can be found everywhere, on the stream and through downloads. Whether you're on the road or at home and Jones in for a different kind of car talk show, give In Wheel Time a try. Honest new car reviews, fun, informative interviews with real car people, weekly automotive news, features like Jeff's car culture and Mike's driving destinations, all on In Wheel Time. Check us out on Sirius XM Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music. Mm-hmm. InWheeltime.com has a list, and we know you love lists. Yes, friends, you've made the right choice to join us. This is your place for all things automotive, the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Today coming to you from the 43rd annual Houston Auto Show. Just ahead, another guest from this year's show. Later, Mars has this week in auto history. Jeff has the racing calendar. And I'll get you caught up on the stories making automotive news headlines this week. Howdy, along with Mike Out of This World Mars, we always need more Jeff Zeke. Chief Engineer David Ainsley decided to get out of bed and join us this morning. I'm Don Armstrong. So glad that you could join us. We're waiting for our first guest from the show here.

SPEAKER_03 30:59

He's coming right down here, about fifty feet. All right.

SPEAKER_07 31:02

Is that Joe Garcia? That's Joe Garcia. Joe, come on, we're on the air, buddy. Let's go, buddy. He's hurrying as fast as he can. He had a late night. He did. Looks like he had a late night. Yeah, he did. Oh my goodness. So he's going to put on that headset and we're going to talk to him about Nissans. And by the way, the first question I have for you, Joe, do you know Steve Parrott?

SPEAKER_00 31:21

No, I don't.

SPEAKER_07 31:22

You don't?

SPEAKER_00 31:22

No.

SPEAKER_07 31:23

Okay. Are you a local guy?

SPEAKER_00 31:24

I just uh came to Houston about a year ago. Welcome, Steve, to the show in Houston. From California. California? Southern California.

SPEAKER_07 31:32

Aren't you glad you're here?

SPEAKER_00 31:33

Ah, awesome. I'm glad I'm here.

SPEAKER_07 31:39

Yes, I am. Yeah? That's a nice dealership. Who owns that?

SPEAKER_00 31:43

It's the uh Central Automotive Group. Okay. Yeah. So we have uh we have quite a bit of dealerships, uh, Highland dealerships, and uh, and you know, we have Nissan. Uh yeah, we've we've uh been around for for quite a while. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 31:57

Yeah. Treat your customers right.

SPEAKER_00 31:59

Exactly.

SPEAKER_07 31:59

That's and it's uh that's a new facility over there. I mean they tore down the old one and put a new building up.

SPEAKER_00 32:04

Yeah, we did uh what Nissan calls it a 2.0 conversion. So it's uh it's more of a it's it's an it's a newer uh version of uh the Nissan brand. So uh Nissan rebranded uh their their dealerships.

SPEAKER_03 32:17

Updated yeah, yeah. That's the one that's got kind of an indoor showroom for the used cars too, it yes. I I was over there for the opening. I remember that because it kind of shocked me to be able to say, yeah, let's go look at the used cars and it's raining. So let's go over here.

SPEAKER_00 32:32

And it was cool. Yeah, we can uh I think we could put about uh about uh about 90 cars in our in that shower.

SPEAKER_07 32:38

Wow. Seriously? That's major. That's a warehouse in a showroom. It is a warehouse.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

It's it's pretty cool. It's it gives you like a warehouse vibe, like uh, you know, but we have all the uh um all the Nissan uh I think it's uh the whole story on on on the wall, you know, and uh and you could see uh from from the very first Nissan to where to where we're now in the our used car showroom. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 33:01

So tell me about the difference between California car sales and Houston, Texas car sales. Yeah, it's the heat. Is it car sales or truck sales? But that's that's a given. But um as far as as far as you know the buyers are concerned, because it's really two different kinds of buyers for the most part. You got the Houston, Texas buyers, and then you got Southern California. And they I mean, yeah, they're all buying cars, but it's a different vibe out there. Yeah. Um, you know, uh I know that EVs are huge out there. They're not as huge here. This is where they make the gas for the gas cars. Right. And um I've not had a great experience with EVs myself personally, and I've driven lots of them here, especially in the past year. We have a real problem here, and I think in other parts of the country, uh, with infrastructure and finding a place to get the uh fast charge. Exactly. And then when we get a fast charge, I get charged either fifty or thirty-five dollars. No, I'm not doing that. Right. Yeah, when I when I stop at the 7 Eleven on the corner, and for $30, I can get a full tank of gas that'll go 500 miles.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

In 10 minutes.

SPEAKER_07 34:11

So what is the what is the best selling Nissan?

SPEAKER_00 34:13

The uh the best-selling Nissan right now, um, it is a rogue. Yeah, so and it has been for a while. Yes. Um right, uh just uh overall, um like just just this uh last weekend we sold uh uh out of the uh 20 cars that we sold over two days, we s we sold uh 11 rogues. So yeah, so that's a big chunk of our of our size vehicle. Yes. It's a good sized vehicle. It's uh it's it's uh not as uh as um as it's not too small, not too big. Uh it's just a little bit like the three little bears. Actually, we uh we do have people come in and they and they look at our you know, they look at our kicks, you know, uh, oh it's too small. Yeah you know, they look at our our model too big, you know, they they look at our pathfinder, oh, you know, just I just need a little small.

SPEAKER_07 35:00

What's the price range of a rogue?

SPEAKER_00 35:01

The price range of the rogue, uh you're looking right about uh from 33, uh you can go to up to 42. Sure. It's not bad. That's a good solid price. The one that we have here in uh in the uh in the showroom, uh we have a a new model, it's called a dark armored. Um it's about $36,000. Yeah, we no longer have the uh uh the SV premium and the SL. The dark armor is both combined. So um, and um and it's good because the price point of the uh of the dark armor is actually about $2,500 less than the than the SL. Oh. So but it has all the equipment. Same features. Yes.

SPEAKER_07 35:40

Do you have a lot of people that come in over there and shop? In other words, okay, here's here's the Nissan Rogue. I'm gonna go over here and I want to look at the Toyota comparison. And I know that there are a lot of dealerships around here. Yes. Do you have a lot of people that come in and go, I'm not sure what y'all want to buy?

SPEAKER_00 35:56

Yes, actually, and I and I like that uh that we have that. Um we have Toyota, we have Honda, we have Hyundai, all within uh all within the loop. Um and with our side of the loop. Um and I don't mind them going and looking uh at other brands. We're I'm really confident on in in the brands that we have. So, you know, we're not a pushy uh dealership, you know, and say, hey, you know what, go ahead and take a look. And uh most um uh more more often than not, they come back and they buy they but they buy the Nisso. Right.

SPEAKER_03 36:26

And here at the auto show, they can they can still come in and they can actually sit in the vehicle. Right. They can get all their questions answered without being sold. Being standing, yeah, without being sold and go off and look at somebody else and come back

Incentives, Frontier, And Inventory Insights

SPEAKER_03 36:40

and say, This guy.

SPEAKER_04 36:41

And that was that was one of my questions. So I come up to you as a as a uh pardon me, I'm just gonna get rid of your question. Pardon me, pardon me. Uh so someone comes up to you, you're not gonna push me to buy a car. You're gonna give me maybe a business card and a location I can go look at the rest of the.

SPEAKER_00 36:59

So what I what I uh instructed my uh my my guys here, my product specialists, is that this is an information informational gathering session.

unknown 37:07

Right.

SPEAKER_00 37:08

Right? Get all the information you can. Go to go to all the all the brands, see what you like, you know, um touch and you know, touch, sit, smell, make uh, you know, and uh we'll give you all the information that that that we have to sell our brand, um, but we're not gonna sell the vehicle to you. Right. Right? And we do uh and what I do, what what I did is I have a QR code um that I I give them, then they can if they're really interested in what we're doing, not here, you know, uh they can go ahead and go at home, scan the QR code, uh look at our inventory, uh, and then uh they can make an appointment to see us there.

SPEAKER_04 37:44

And that's that's different than past years, maybe a decade or so, where people now do their due diligence. They know you know the hybrids, the EVs, the gas hybrids, the plugins, all that. So people do do their own due diligence, sometimes no more than the person they're trying to sell the car.

SPEAKER_00 38:02

Exactly. And that happens a lot uh because they um they if somebody looks at a vehicle down the down the road and they're like, you know what, I like that car. They go on the they go on the internet, they'll they'll see, you know, the horsepower, the torque, you know, everything about the vehicle. And uh, you know, and because uh, you know, our our product specialists they they we have a big line of vehicles and you know, maybe maybe five uh five different trims of one model, and they have all this information in their head, you know, but not, you know, but um but they have they're pinpointed on that one car. Right. They know what they want. They know what they want.

SPEAKER_03 38:32

See, I I would think that that could be uh real helpful to you as the salesperson because now whoever's coming here, they get all their information here, but if they come to your place next week, they pretty well got their mind made up on what they want and and they've got all their information together that they can come in and say, hey, I'd really like to have that one. And and you know, that's they come in wanting to buy, they become buyers.

SPEAKER_00 38:55

It makes it a lot easier. Um it um most uh you know most most salespeople, you know, will say, oh man, I don't want them to go shopping and and go shopping, make it a lot easier. You know, um uh n if you know what you want, it the process is gonna be a lot easier.

SPEAKER_03 39:09

Oh, on everybody.

SPEAKER_00 39:10

Mm-hmm. On everybody. Yeah, so uh you're not gonna be in a dealership for five hours, you know, um, you know, it it's just gonna be it is um it f down from the meet and greet to uh deciding in finance, it's gonna be a lot easier.

SPEAKER_03 39:23

Do you do you still get a lot of people though that come into the lot and just you know say, I'm just looking. Yes, that really haven't done their homework or anything?

SPEAKER_00 39:30

Yes. And that's what um and that's when my product specialists try to uh um they try to narrow down what they w what they need uh and their needs and wants and uh you know and land them on a car. Yeah. You know, and um I don't exp and really I don't expect them to buy right then and there. You know, I want them to do the research because um most likely I'm like I said, I'm really confident in in our brand, that they'll come back and they'll and they'll buy from us if we treated them well and if they and if they like the product.

SPEAKER_03 39:57

And if they're happy with their purchase, they're gonna be a better customer, I would think. Right.

SPEAKER_00 40:02

So if I go down there and I'll say Joe Joe Garcia sent me, should I get a special deal or yeah, actually if uh from here from the auto show, if you say if you if you tell them that uh that uh Joe Garcia from the auto show um sent you, uh we'll give you $500 of a discount.

SPEAKER_04 40:16

Oh, fantastic.

SPEAKER_00 40:17

I'm glad to do that.

SPEAKER_07 40:18

And then tell them that Don Armstrong sent you, and then they're gonna mark it up by $1,500.

Racing Calendar Highlights And DC Street Race

SPEAKER_00 40:22

Yeah, $25 probably.

SPEAKER_04 40:26

But that's good to know, and and I'm sure folks appreciate that too. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:29

Yes. Uh so uh and and we're uh we're we treat everybody like family where we're at um at Central Houston Nissan. Uh we do have a life a uh lifetime powertrain warranty. Uh so um yeah, anything that goes wrong with the engine, axle, anything that's uh um that's uh lubricated will take care of it uh uh for just a hundred dollar deductible.

SPEAKER_04 40:48

Are they uh are there any other uh incentives to buy a Nissan? You know, you see all these commercials you get this much off, you get this much off by now, financing kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 40:58

Yeah, like on uh uh a lot of our vehicles we have zero percent right now. Uh so and when and just uh just to give you an idea on the Pathfinder we have zero percent and uh and uh five thousand or five thousand dollars of a of a rebate. So that makes it really uh really easy.

SPEAKER_07 41:12

I saw a commercial last night, I didn't mean to interrupt, but uh I saw a commercial last night on television for the frontier that uh that they're pushing. I thought, you know, I haven't had a frontier in quite some time.

SPEAKER_02 41:24

Is it it it was the new one? The new it doesn't look like a frontier.

SPEAKER_07 41:27

No, it doesn't. And uh I was impressed, and the price was impressive too. The starting price on it. I'm going, huh. Not to call, hey Steve, would you please get the frontier in the press fleet? Let me have it for a week. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 41:40

It'd be interesting. I have uh I have two frontiers right now. I have a pro a pro X. So you can't get them either. I I have personally, I have, I have, I own two. Oh, you personally got the whole inventory for the country. That's why you can't get any? Yeah, so um yeah, I I do have a Pro Forex, which is our our off-road, and uh and a ProX, which is which is our higher line. You know, um it uh so uh it's a Pro X is a uh four by two.

SPEAKER_07 42:06

Do you have any over there? Yes, I have uh the Pro Forex here. No, I know, but I mean at your dealership.

SPEAKER_00 42:12

Yes, we do.

SPEAKER_07 42:13

You got an inventory here.

SPEAKER_00 42:14

Yeah, we have uh not just one or two. No, I have uh right now I I have exactly twenty-two of them.

SPEAKER_07 42:19

Okay. Yes. That's good. That that that that's a good that's a good number to have. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. So because I I I say that because, you know, the Ford Maverick has become very popular. And uh that whole segment, because you know, let's face it, half-ton pickup trucks have become so huge and so expensive that uh I know a lot of people now when they go looking for a truck, and this is truck country here, as you know, right, that they go looking for a truck and you're going, man, that thing won't even fit in the garage.

SPEAKER_06 42:51

Exactly.

SPEAKER_07 42:52

And uh, you know, that that size, what do you call it, a compact or what you you name it, whatever name you want to put on it, that fits in the garage, and it also fits my budget a lot more so than a halftime.

unknown 43:06

Right.

SPEAKER_00 43:06

And the uh the one of the biggest selling points right now uh with uh Frontier is that we are one of the last V6s normally aspirated. We don't have a four-cylinder turbo. That'd be the last frontier? Just saying.

SPEAKER_07 43:21

Do the same. That Jeff Zika, he's something else, isn't he? You need more of me, people. You need more of me. Yeah, well, there's that. All right. So um where are you located? I've got a I've got a map. So when you come in the front door, the uh Nissan booth is going to be the front to the booth.

SPEAKER_00 43:43

Oh, right there. Right.

SPEAKER_07 43:46

Don't make me have to come over there. I see it now. We need to enlarge the uh the logo.

SPEAKER_03 43:51

No, I was talking about that sign over there.

SPEAKER_07 43:54

Okay, gotcha.

SPEAKER_00 43:54

We have to see that just to the right when you walk in. Yeah, we have a big monument there that's a central Houston East.

SPEAKER_07 44:00

Very nice. All right.

SPEAKER_00 44:01

Joe, thanks.

SPEAKER_07 44:02

Hey, thanks for stopping by, man. It's great to talk to you. And uh so if you're in the market for a Nissan, even if you're not, stop by. Check them out. My daughter's coming.

SPEAKER_00 44:12

She owns a Nissan now, so she's going to be looking.

This Week In Auto History

SPEAKER_00 44:15

Uh the uh just to uh uh just to give you an idea, what we have uh right now, uh we have the Z, we have it the Heritage Edition, it's uh Midnight Purple. That's what she needs? No, she doesn't. I don't think my son-in-law like that. Everybody's looking at that vehicle because uh of the color, you know, it's uh it's um it's like northern lights, so you can see the northern lights on it. Um and then we have the the Pro 4X uh Armada. What do they call it? Murano paint, or it it's it's uh it's just like translucent. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Not Murano.

SPEAKER_06 44:45

Is it Murano Paint?

SPEAKER_04 44:46

Is that the name of a paint?

SPEAKER_07 44:48

It's called flip-flop.

SPEAKER_04 44:49

Whatever. I'll go with Murano, you go with flip-flop. You're wearing flip-flops, that's what I call it.

SPEAKER_07 44:53

That's that's why feet are cold. Um Joe, we won't let you have to put up with this any longer. But thanks so much for stopping by. We appreciate you. We appreciate you. We'll come by for a hot dog later on. Yeah, awesome. Okay. Thank you, sir. All right. Hey, um, we want to remind you that Jeff has the racing calendar just ahead.

SPEAKER_04 45:15

I got some more.

SPEAKER_07 45:16

Mars has this week in auto history, and I'll bring you this week's automotive news headlines. The in-wheel time car talk show continues right after this break. The Tex Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla, your destination for Texas's best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas. Since 1983, Lupi Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients. Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience at Lupi Tortilla, all developed in the little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in West Houston. Visit any of the loopy tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location. Start your loopy experience with queso flammiato and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margarita. Dine on famous loopy beef and chicken fajitas, or pepper shrimp brochette, or a fish or vegetarian entree, and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert. Find Loopy Tortilla in Houston, College Station, Beaumont, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas Fort Worth. There's a Texas location near you. The recipes are authentic and time-tested. The ingredients always fresh. Loopy Tortilla, he's pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 46:25

Make a splash, live the dream. It all happens at the Houston Automotive Show at NRG Center. Check out classic autos to today's cars and trucks. Experience off-road adventures with Polaris, Bram, and Camp Jeep. Explore five acres of the newest sport boats, fishing boats, and much more. It's all here from the open road to the open water. If it thrills you, you'll find fun for the whole family. Get your tickets now. The Houston Automotive Show. Making weights and fueling adventure.

SPEAKER_07 46:56

Hey, Inwheel Time invite you to join our live broadcast every Saturday, normally 10 to noon. We got a bonus hour this morning. Have you noticed that? You're welcome. We're in the bonus. Uh Facebook, YouTube, Inwheeltime.com. We hope you'll check us out. If you miss us, you'll be able to connect us, connect with us through a podcast from your favorite podcast channel. Okay. Time now for the racing calendar, sponsored by Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge. Jeffrey. Thank you for that. NHRA's coming up.

SPEAKER_04 47:24

We talked about that. I've got a lot of stuff to go through here. Bear with me. Oh, but take your time. Sure. But no, I've got plenty. Okay. Uh NHRA coming up Gainesville. That's going to be in March. I have the Formula One schedule for 2022. You don't, because usually that's barred from your list. From my lips. Not only my list, but my lips. I'm going to go ahead and follow it. You've got Bahrain Bahrain Bahrain. Bahrain you got brain testing. You need some water. Good. Uh February 13th, they're going to be testing in Bahrain. I have Bahrain. Bahrain. Bahrain. IndyCar schedules out. Hubba Hubba. That's in St. Petersburg, March 1st. When is the Indy 500? That's uh May weekend of memorial. Memorial weekend. You get it's my birthday and uh Indy, and everybody gets off for the holiday. Because of my birthday. For your birthday, yeah. Very nice. You got trucks, you got Xfinity, you got Cup coming up very soon in February. Check this out. It was announced by the president this week that IndyCar is coming to Washington, D.C. Freedom 250, Grand Prix of Washington. I'd like to go to that.

SPEAKER_03 48:32

I think we need to cover that.

SPEAKER_04 48:33

We need to be there.

SPEAKER_07 48:34

So you are

Industry Headlines And Big-Engine News

SPEAKER_07 48:35

your chart and I want you to be the witness, you, Mars, it's up to you to make sure that we get there and we do a live broadcast on the Saturday before the actual event. It's going to be awesome. It's all paid for. We want to have motel room, hotel rooms right downtown Washington, D.C., next to the Washington Monument. We want all of this.

SPEAKER_03 48:56

Maybe we could stay at Trump Tower.

SPEAKER_07 48:58

I don't care about that.

SPEAKER_03 49:00

Well, I'm just saying, if I can get him to pay for it.

SPEAKER_07 49:02

Well, it whatever, I don't care.

SPEAKER_04 49:04

Whoever pays for it, we don't care about it. Well, it's going to be at the Capitol near the Washington Mall. It's an historic event. It's going to be August 21st to the 23rd of this year, celebrating America's 250 birthday. Now, it's a lot of stuff going on, it's a lot of departments of this and department of that. Uh the race is expected to be free for spectators, and I think the way they're going to do this is you have to register online to get a ticket. But you don't, it's there going to be no cost to the public.

SPEAKER_03 49:30

Wow, I'm I'm in. I guess the bleachers will be, they'll have like reserve seating and you win and I I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 49:35

It just says the race is expected to be free to attend spectators and will be a significant event. History of American motorsports.

SPEAKER_03 49:43

One of them say that the last time they had a race there, it was a horse and buggy. You were there, weren't you? Well, I I remember it kind of sorta, but it was I was really young. You had the scooper.

SPEAKER_04 49:54

You were the scooper behind the horse. It is the pooper scooper. Now a couple more things. You've got uh this year there are 22 mushers, David, in the Ididerod Trail Sled Dog Race. There's 22 of them. A musher, a musher, that's what they call them. And the reigning champion, Jesse Holmes, has re-entered the race. That's gonna be fantastic. And now you've got also uh snowmobile hill climb racing coming up. That's going to be in uh in Wyoming. And you've got some things going on in uh Colorado, so all the snow stuff going on, all the racing, cool stuff. I like it.

SPEAKER_07 50:28

Get a snowball, take it with you, throw it, dress warm, my friends. All right, Mr. Mars has this week in auto history.

SPEAKER_03 50:35

Yes, sir, I do. So there was about six, seven things I found that I thought were really interesting, particularly coming to the car show. Now, in January of 1926, Pontiac Brand was actually introduced, and it was actually positioned to be above the Chevrolet and as one of the kind of a performance car, but actually a value cars where it actually started out. But it ended up being the GTO, the Fiber, the Pontiac, all the things that actually made the or started the muscle car environment. Then in 1958, the first production air suspension came up, and I thought this was interesting that it was 1958 before it happened. Cadillac was one of the big people that really bought into it. There were several others, like American Motors had air suspension on some of their cars that year. It didn't last very long on other cars, but Cadillac hung on to it, and they've actually used it even today in some of the vehicles, and GM puts it on some of their SUVs as well. So it was kind of uh I thought it was kind of interesting that it all started then. Then in 1969, the Ford GT40, this is its last major victory. Now, it won a lot of things going on. If you got to see the movie um Ford versus Ferrari, you saw how that all worked out. And there's another story about that I think we need to look into and how that race ended. But anyway, it dominated in Le Mans and it really set up American endurance racing as something that actually competes. And it's a very historic car, and this is actually the car that's on uh in a museum. Then in 1971,

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SPEAKER_03 52:21

we relate back to history how it kind of repeats. This is actually what is considered the end of the muscle car era. Now it was part of it, everybody thinks it was because of the smog controls, that was a big deal of it, but the insurance premiums really is what started putting the pressure on people buying these cars. They were high-powered engines, they got expensive to insure. If you were 18, 19 years old out of high school, had a job, and you wanted to go buy one of these cars for four or five thousand dollars, insurance could cost you a thousand or fifteen hundred dollars a year, it costs you almost as much as the car. And then you combine that with the emission regulations that was putting pressure on the car manufacturers to go along with lower sales because of insuring them, and it all worked together to kind of create the end of the muscle car era as we knew it. Then in 1987, of course, somebody's got to be different. Beauty. Thank you, thank you. The GNX was released, and it was very unassuming, it was a black coupe, but it's meant to look at the world. Then tying it all together in 2010, the last Pontiac was built. Now, this was uh it had been worked around for generations through the Transams, the GTX, the Grand Prix, I mean the GTO and the Grand Prix, but the last Pontiac that was actually built was this particular car right here. And it's a G8 car, and it's in the museum like everything else, and everybody goes, Wow, what happened to them?

SPEAKER_07 53:58

The G8 of all the things. Really?

SPEAKER_03 54:01

All the things that could that was the last one that was built.

SPEAKER_07 54:03

You remember the G8? Some frumpy sedan that General Motors came up with that nobody bought. Way to go, Pontiac.

SPEAKER_03 54:11

So it was uh that was this week in auto history since uh we're at the new car show.

SPEAKER_07 54:15

Uh for a lot of automakers, Super Bowl marketing is in the rear view mirror. The category, once a stalwart, is poised for another down year with only two brands, Toyota and Cadillac, confirming ad buys as of now. Instead of shelling out as much as nine million dollars for 30 seconds of airtime in the game, plus millions more for production costs, many automakers are seeking more value with their media buys, according to experts. The in-real-time car talk show is a great buy. Oh, it's excellent. The reality is that the while the game routinely attracts well in excess of a hundred million viewers, only a fraction of those people are typically in the market for a car, and reaching those consumers has become a priority. Toyota, an official NFL sponsor, is back after taking last year off. Cadillac is in the game for the first time since 2021. The GM brand is using its ad to promote its new Formula One team via a buy and creative approach handled by its joint venture with TWG Motorsports. Possible for automakers to still jump in, but AdAge has confirmed that two Super Bowl regulars, Stellantis and Kia, are setting it out. BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Audi, Honda, Nissan, and Mercedes Benz also do not have plans to run in-game spots, according to representatives. Wow. Volkswagen, which last ran an ad in 2024, was less explicit, telling AdAge that we don't have any Super Bowl plans to share at this time. Well, of course, you're not gonna share anything. Well, and there's a lot more outlets now to uh spend your ad dollars. And uh BMW is sticking with large combustion engines, including V eight and V twelve units, even as it pivots its core lineup toward electric vehicles under its new class strategy spelled N-E-U-E, capital K-L-A-S-S-E. I before E except after C. I know. It's German. High performance engines remain a central part of our strategy, a BMW spokesman said, pushing back against speculation that the automaker was preparing to phase out its biggest engines. Those rumors gained traction after BMW ended V8 production at its style plant in Austria at the end of 25. The move marked a relocation rather than a shutdown. Production of V8 and V12 engines has been transferred to BMW's Hams Hall facility in the UK, where the company's been building three and four-cylinder gasoline engines and has produced large displacement engines since 2022. Wow. So there's that. And finally, Ford Moto Company has formed a broad multi-year partnership with WorkWare CarMaker Carhartt, aimed at getting more people into skilled trades and improving communities. Collaboration also involves co-branded merchandise, uniforms for aspiring dealership technicians, and a carhart edition for the 2027 Ford Super Duty pickup truck. We got more also just ahead, so stay with us for that. Okay? Hey, we'd love to hear from you. Shoot us an email. The address is info at inwheeltime.com. The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show continues after this break. You own a car you love. Why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it? Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state-of-the-art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts. We promise you'll be impressed. 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 tent, or a new windshield protection called Exoshield, Gulf Coast Auto Shield is where Houston's car people go. Curbed your wheels? Instead of buying new, why not have them repaired? How about a professionally installed radar detector? Gulf Coast Auto Shield does that too. Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautoshield.com. Better yet, stop by their facility at 11275 South Sam Houston Tollway, just south of the Southwest Freeway and get a personal tour. Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior. Call them today, 832-930-5655, or gcautoShield.com. Apple or Android NWL Time Podcast can be found everywhere, on the stream and through downloads. Whether you're on the road or at home and Jones in for a different kind of car talk show, give In Wheel Time a try. Honest new car reviews, fun, informative interviews with real car people, weekly automotive news, features like Jeff's car culture and Mike's driving destinations, all on In Wheel Time. Check us out on Sirius XM Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music. Mm-hmm. InWheeltime.com has a list, and we know you love lists. That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show. I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our In Wheeltime.com website. Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, PodcastAddict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music. Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.