Cruising the Lone Star State with Gearheads and Classics from the Tailpipes & Tacos Cruise In.

Car Talk at Tailpipes and Tacos

Speaker 1 0:01

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast , a 30-minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am Central . Hey , thanks for joining us . Just wanted to give you a little thank you ahead of time because we're getting ready to play the official open of the show . So thanks for being you , you ready . Good Welcome to the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show .

Speaker 1 0:35

Today we're proud to say we're finally back at the world-famous Tailpipes and Tacos Cruise Inn at the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex in Katy , texas , and we thank you for joining us . Throughout today's three-hour show we'll have cruisers , we'll have some judges , officials , some hangers-on Hangers-on . You'll hear my thoughts on driving the new 2024 Ford Ranger , and Mr Mars has this week's events calendar just ahead on the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show . Howdy , along with mike out of this world . Mars , we always need more jeff z , we do . We also have with us today the ever elusive david ainsley . I'm , don armstrong , so glad that you could join us today . We're glad to be alive today . It's going to be hot hot , hot , hot .

Speaker 3 1:23

Did you see somebody posted on facebook during the the tailpipes and tacos ad that we have somebody typed in underneath ?

Speaker 1 1:32

I don't know who you are out there , but here he is , right there I missed that , that's . It was hilarious , yeah well , all right , so shall we get going ? Absolutely all right . Joining us today is mr chase murray , and he's kind of been put in charge or has taken charge . Let me put it this way he drew the short straw .

Speaker 3 1:50

That's what he did .

Speaker 1 1:51

Taken charge of tailpipes and tacos . That's why it's back .

Speaker 3 1:55

All right yeah .

Speaker 2 1:56

Beautiful . Thank you , I'm not sure if it was taken charge or given charge , but you know , I'm here now . Charges , that's all that matters . Charges in front of the judge we have somebody that returns his phone calls and stuff .

Speaker 1 2:07

So that's good , that's it . Yeah , well , I can say that because I know the boss for a long time .

Speaker 2 2:14

Stan , you know he just puts his phone wherever , it doesn't matter .

Speaker 1 2:16

We know and gets it lost . Hey , have you seen my phone ? No , I haven't seen your phone . Oh darn it .

Speaker 2 2:23

There's only one good thing about Stan leaving his phone around is that he can't buy another car since he doesn't have his phone .

Speaker 1 2:34

Well , Stan , just by the way , Stan is the owner-proprietor here at the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex in Katy and three other locations , including the original down off of Stafford at I-10 and Highway 6 . Loopy 1 . That is beside the point . The point is that I just got word that Stan has expanded the collection and with a new building , apparently up north from here with some more cars and it's almost finished up there and ready to be open to the private public that it's open to .

Speaker 2 3:01

Yes , stan acquired a metal shop building over there in Montgomery County and he started putting a few cars up there . Anybody that's kind of close to Stan knows he has a huge car collection in his hangar . So he's putting the finishing touches on the barn and hopefully he'll get everybody up there and get a tour .

Speaker 1 3:21

So which is the one that excites you the most ?

Speaker 2 3:23

And don't tell me that , because that's not it it might be the red tr3 no , it's not the red tr3 um , he has so many , uh , I really couldn't pick one . I actually drove the 46 ford this morning that's one of the newer ones of the of the group and uh I actually enjoyed that thing it was . It was quite nice , was it ? I'm to tell the truth , I'm not a ford guy , you know , so I had to shake it off before I got in there . But , um , it was really fun to drive and I enjoyed it .

Speaker 1 3:54

The 1946 , you weren't even the gleam in somebody's not even thought , even building a spine , right yeah , yeah , nobody built a spine yet . No , yeah , I got that . So , um , you brought that . That's good . We like that . Do we have a picture of that out there ? We're showing it , we're trying to .

Speaker 2 4:11

We're getting it out there , all right , somewhere .

Speaker 1 4:13

Yeah , so that's a very nice car . There's a wide selection of automobiles at the cruise inn this morning .

Speaker 2 4:19

I'm so glad , you , I'm so glad .

Speaker 1 4:21

Were you worried .

Speaker 2 4:23

Honestly no , because I know the car culture around here is so huge and I realize this was so last minute Memorial Day weekend . We've been waiting a long time to bring it out . We got shattered with some rain and different forecasts the last few times we tried it .

Speaker 1 4:39

Are you kidding ? Rain and cold weather , it didn't matter what it was .

Speaker 2 4:42

It just wasn't going to let it happen . Yeah , I know , now it's on , it's on and I'm glad it's back . I'm looking forward to many more in the future , as long as we can get everybody's schedules in line . I plan on doing something at our Beaumont location in the fall .

Speaker 1 4:57

Yeah perfect .

Speaker 2 4:59

Everybody that doesn't know I am from Orange born and raised and just recently moved to katie . That's orange that's it .

Speaker 1 5:06

You're coming over here . You're talking about orange . You got to talk about fruit city .

Speaker 2 5:10

Yeah , yeah so I had to do have a lot of friends over there and um with I know that , yeah , there's . There's the same car culture over there and in beaumont golden triangle area , so I'd like to bring that later on the fall , get some more planning and build it up real nice .

Speaker 1 5:25

Yeah , exactly . Well , mr Morris , is your local connection over ?

Speaker 2 5:28

there . Yeah , we'll help you with that . He's the Niterville boy .

Speaker 1 5:32

How far is Niterville from Urnge ?

Speaker 2 5:34

It's right around 25-30 minutes . It's not too bad though .

Speaker 3 5:38

Take all the hot spots there . It gets over the bridge , the tallest bridge in the south .

Speaker 2 5:43

That's it Apparently . Everybody says it's a scary bridge .

Speaker 3 5:46

It is a scary bridge . I went around it . Yeah , I went through Chicago to get around it . Yeah , yeah .

Speaker 1 5:51

Absolutely so . How's life in the drag racing world ? I know that you're a sportsman racer . What ?

Speaker 2 5:58

class do you race in ? I race in two different classes . One is top dragster .

Speaker 1 6:05

This is NHra stuff , okay , well , so explain to everybody what a top dragster is . Top not a top fuel drag , it's not a top fuel dragster .

Speaker 2 6:10

It's essentially two classes below that , so they have top fuel dragster . The next step below is top alcohol and the next step below that is top dragster . Essentially it's a bracket based et category . Bracket-based ET category where they have a ET limit of 6.10 seconds . Most of those cars will run in the 220 to 235 mile an hour range .

Speaker 1 6:33

Wow , are you in that category too ?

Speaker 2 6:35

Yes , yeah , it is the fastest bracket class in NHRA and this is a long skinny car . It's a long skinny car , it's a dragster . It's a 272-inch wheelbase . It has mostly big-block Chevrolet-powered plants .

Speaker 3 6:50

You've got the wings for downforce and all that .

Speaker 2 6:52

I have the wings for downforce and they are useful for that Yep . A lot of people might think they're for show Of course they have dual parachutes out the back , so I run that class .

Speaker 1 7:07

What shoots out the back ? Um , so I'll run that class and another motor is that , and so if I cubic inch , but is it naturally aspirated ? It is supercharged supercharged .

Speaker 2 7:11

It is a 509 cubic inch um , has a 1471 high helix cabelco supercharger on . It . Runs on methanol . We've had it on the dyno before but not pushed it too hard . It's still putting out over 2 000 horsepower .

Speaker 3 7:27

So huh , and you said 601 is the fastest yep , we really hadn't been that long since top fuel was in pro stock .

Speaker 2 7:34

All then , we're still yeah and a lot of those cars . Even though we have an et limit , those cars are capable of more , you know , but it comes down to insurance regulations and making sure that the chassis are safe to that point .

Speaker 3 7:46

Have you heard of or have been working with Samson Performance in New Braunfels ? We were just out there a few weeks ago .

Speaker 2 7:51

Yeah , talking about Simpson .

Speaker 1 7:54

Simpson or Samson .

Speaker 3 7:55

Simpson . Okay , samson Performance , but Simpson Fire Seat .

Speaker 2 7:58

Simpson does a lot of safety apparel . I actually have met with them many times . They have a great staff . They're able to get us whatever we need , even custom stuff .

Car Enthusiasts at Hot Rod Show

Speaker 3 8:09

Well , I was thinking of the Hot Rod Shop in New Braunfels .

Speaker 2 8:13

I haven't messed with them before . I haven't met them .

Speaker 1 8:16

Pretty impressive shop . We did the Hot Rod Tour of Texas . Maybe next year you can get on that .

Speaker 3 8:21

Absolutely Hot Rod .

Speaker 1 8:22

Tour of . Texas . Yeah , so we started down in Victoria . It's a three-day affair .

Speaker 2 8:27

Oh nice .

Speaker 1 8:27

Leave on Friday morning and then we went up to Shiner and did a tour of the brewery Nice 350 cars , so it's substantial .

Speaker 2 8:35

Oh wow , that's a great tour .

Speaker 1 8:37

And it is , and it's lots of fun and great people , as you probably are aware of . As you probably are aware of because it's the car culture .

Speaker 2 8:43

It's the car culture , it's good people all around .

Speaker 1 8:46

Yeah exactly .

Speaker 2 8:47

I think that's what it takes to . Anybody that builds cars like this knows you know what it takes to get it to that point , and it's always a brotherhood , yeah .

Speaker 1 8:56

Well , I brought one this morning .

Speaker 2 8:58

Yeah , you did .

Speaker 1 8:59

It's the one that you parked kind of close to there , that Ford Mustang .

Speaker 2 9:02

There we go . I parked kind of close to there that Ford Mustang .

Speaker 1 9:04

There we go , the GT . Yeah , I thought , well , I could actually show that that's a Ford Motor Company car . All right , I didn't buy that . Clearly it's a convertible . And ask me how much it is and I can't tell you because it's a pre-production model .

Speaker 2 9:18

It's a secret . Yeah , I don't have that information .

Speaker 3 9:21

See , don always gets the fun rides . I do ?

Speaker 2 9:23

We don't get access Now , Mr Mars ?

Speaker 1 9:25

You're driving a Yugo this week , aren't ?

Speaker 2 9:27

you ?

Speaker 1 9:27

Yes , I am Mr Mars actually is going to review the Mustang Dark Horse . Oh nice , which is 500 horsepower and six-speed manual . Did you get the manual or automatic ?

Speaker 3 9:38

No , the Dark Horse is six-speed . Okay , the Tremec 6-Pack yeah .

Speaker 1 9:42

So at any rate , I had that a couple of weeks ago . He's driving it this week , that's awesome . Yeah , as you can imagine . So I thought well , you know what , since I'm the first one here , I'll get the cheese parking spot over there .

Speaker 2 9:53

That's it .

Speaker 1 9:54

Yeah , and so I put the hood up and the top down and style it . That's the way to roll a good parking spot . That's right that this week it's me . Yeah , normally it's not , but this week it's me . So , um , are you surprised at the different kinds of cars that are here ?

Speaker 2 10:13

I , I am slightly , but then again that's .

Speaker 1 10:15

That's houston for you because we got old school and we got brand new I see we've got old school brand new .

Speaker 2 10:21

We've got hot rods . I see a big blower sticking out of the hood over there . Yep , it's just a nice collection of everything . Yeah , and it's something I was raised on , and I love going to car shows and seeing what everyone's built and put together .

Speaker 1 10:33

Did your dad drag you to cruise-ins too ?

Speaker 2 10:35

Yes , all kind of car shows , cruise-ins .

Speaker 1 10:46

I did that with both of my girls . But yeah , you know , um , they're into other things now .

Speaker 2 10:48

One is into space and the other one , uh , is into uh , mental stability , that's it well , yeah , funny story my dad had a uh 85 square body chevrolet truck in high school and , um , my parents had me when they were in high school . So instead of uh having a bench seat , you know , to put their child in , they decided to keep the bucket seats and I got to sit on the transmission tunnel there you go so it's easy to strap you down that yeah .

Speaker 3 11:13

Well , at least you didn't grow up shiftless so you could say I get it honestly .

Speaker 1 11:16

You know , I heard well , um , it's , it's great to see you . What is your everyday driver ?

Speaker 2 11:27

My everyday driver , actually what I've been driving for the past few years . I have a 2015 Chevrolet Stingray and I've done a little bit of work to it not too much . Some carbon fiber all over it , I put some long tube exhaust and I just love driving it around it . I never regretted . You know , when I bought it in 2015 , I got every option I could think of and I still love it to this day so your dad uh is still involved in your racing career , is he ?

Speaker 2 11:58

your crew chief and car owner . He is , and , um , partly some of that is because he opened a engine performance shop in orange , texas called diamondback performance . He does ls big block , small block and a lot of it is actually airboat motors for down in that area in louisiana .

Speaker 1 12:17

He's so close really , there's it's crazy they've got 1800 horsepower airboat motors yeah , but it's got a great big spinny thing on the back of it . A spinny thing .

Speaker 3 12:27

Yeah , that's a technical term . Yeah . They have these big carbon fiber propellers Big spinny thing , big spinny thing Some of them have dual spinny things , but it's been really cool to see him .

Speaker 2 12:38

Yeah , I saw her once .

Speaker 1 12:45

So in . So in Orange there used to be a cruise inn at the Der .

Speaker 3 12:46

Wienerschnitzel , just off the surface Der Wienerschnitzel . Are you old enough to have ever gone to that Well ?

Speaker 2 12:49

to tell you the truth , my grandmother's the one who started that it used to be at the Kroger Shopping Center where she worked at , and they moved it with my grandfather . They moved it to Wienerschnitzel . So yes , yeah . I was around . So yes , I was around my grandparents have Probably a small pike . No , I was around . I remember it very vividly . I remember going and setting out the concrete poles with my grandfather and we had a 24 Ford Model T that I would go with him . It had the Coke wagon on the back .

Speaker 3 13:18

So yeah , I remember it very well , we'd come over from Nederland , yeah , because it was a big place .

Speaker 2 13:24

I've actually had thoughts and trying to talk about bringing it back over there , you know , once or twice a year at least At the Derwiener Stitzel .

Speaker 1 13:31

Yeah , is it ?

Speaker 2 13:32

still there . It's still there . And there's a huge shopping center behind it , which makes for the perfect parking lot for the car show .

Speaker 3 13:38

Well , there's some guys trying to bring Nederland Avenue back .

Speaker 2 13:48

So maybe , if you do , maybe you could coordinate it to where okay one weekend , we're here another weekend over .

Speaker 1 13:51

Yeah , definitely that's what it used to be , something to look into . Yeah , definitely , notice how he kind of sidestepped that , yeah , something to look into .

Speaker 2 13:54

So no , they don't know where neaterville is .

Speaker 1 13:55

It's been on my mind google it it's been on my mind for a while , yeah well , uh , you know , um I I have not seen you since you got married . Congratulations , thank you so much . You all dated for quite some time , beautiful girl , and she was going to be here today , but she's an RN , so she got called to work .

Speaker 2 14:13

Yeah , those NICU nurses , they never stop working and giving .

Speaker 1 14:17

Yeah .

Speaker 2 14:18

Well , that's

Charity Event at Loopy Tortilla

Speaker 2 14:19

good .

Speaker 1 14:19

And you know , I got sidetracked . I was supposed to be at your reception over in Louisiana , that's it , and I got sidetracked . Somehow I had to fly or something . I don't remember exactly what it was , but yeah , I was asked . Asked , leslie , how ticked off I was about that .

Speaker 2 14:36

Yeah , well , it was one heck of a party . I'm giving that , you know , in Louisiana .

Speaker 1 14:40

I know your family so I can only imagine I've been to the parties that your family have had .

Speaker 2 14:47

Yes , definitely I think it was a great time Too much about them , but yeah , at any rate .

Speaker 1 14:55

so now you're brought into the fold fully with the Loopy Tortilla job .

Speaker 2 15:01

Yeah , I'm just recently just started helping Stan out and trying to help in any way I can for the day-to-day operations and learn as much as I can . I'm really enjoying it . There's a lot to learn , a different industry change for me , but I'm glad that I'm able to be a part of it , and definitely stuff like this too , because a lot of charities is heavy on Stan's mind and we've had a lot of talks about that .

Speaker 1 15:27

So , being able to do that with God's Garage today is a big plus , yeah great guys over there and for those that are here that can hear me , be sure and stop by and talk to the guys at God's Garage . Not that you want to donate one that you've got here . I got all of that , that's precious metal , but maybe you or someone you know has got a car . Matter of fact , jeff's wife donated her old car to God's Garage and we're going to talk to Brad Thompson a little bit later about that . So we got the charity thing going this morning here at Loopy Tortilla .

Speaker 1 16:00

This is the Loopy Tortilla in Katy . This is the Loopy Tortilla in Katy and , in case you didn't know , this is just a short distance from I-10 , the Katy Freeway . Here off of Kingsland Boulevard on 99 , the Grand Parkway , easy to get to from wherever you're coming from . Make yourself a little road trip this morning . We go till 11 o'clock , at which time we'll break down . We're going to have lunch here and it's uh , it's a great place , great big , huge parking lot and all sorts of different cars . So we invite you to come by .

Speaker 2 16:33

Thank you , it's good to talk to you and glad to have you on the show and thank you so much , don .

Speaker 1 16:38

Yeah , thank you as your mother says , honey , he's a good boy , so I didn't want that to go without saying that .

Speaker 3 16:46

So he is , and yeah she's been hovering over here watching the interview making sure we don't ask the wrong question all right time now for a break here on the in-wheel time car talk show .

Speaker 1 16:56

You know our show's available 24 7 through the iheart radio app just look for in-wheel time car talk . We also video stream our three-hour weekly show on facebook , youtube , youtube and InWheelTimecom . And podcasts are available from your favorite podcast provider . So when you got the car hauler going down the highway , pull up a podcast or two . Yep , the In Wheel Time Car Talk show continues right after this quick break .

Speaker 1 17:18

Pro-am Auto Accessories has been serving Houston's auto enthusiasts since 1984 , providing world-class products for sports cars , european sedans and American muscle . Pro-am is known as the place to go to find exclusive and hard-to-find parts and accessories . Pro-am is one of the very first distributors in the USA for brands such as Recaro , redline , momo Corbo and Simpson . Located in the heart of Houston's premier retail and service corridor , the Galleria area , pro-am's walk-in storefront includes an 8,000 square foot warehouse , showroom and installation bays . Pro-am not only sells parts and accessories , but also offers installation and service . Pro-am is now reaching a worldwide audience through Pro-Amcom , taking its local reputation to the rest of the world . At Pro-Am Auto , you'll be dealing with a small group of professionals who truly want to help you with your automotive needs . If you don't see what you're looking for on the website , call and Pro-Am will lend you a hand . Pro-am Auto 6125 , richmond , at Greenridge in Houston's Galleria area . Call them at 713-781-7755 . Area . Call them at 713-781-7755 .

Speaker 1 18:23

Want to feel good about something special ? You did for someone special In Wheel Time and the original Loopy Tortilla group of Tex-Mex restaurants have joined together to help a very worthy cause God's Garage , a Christian-based 501c3 charity . We know there are lots of places and organizations out there where you can donate a car , truck or SUV . We know there are lots of places and organizations out there where you can donate a car , truck or SUV , but we're asking you , our car enthusiast family , to consider donating to God's Garage . Visit GodsGarageorg and learn about its mission , the women that have been helped , how each one is screened and about their Restore you program . A car donation is an easy way to make a difference in the lives of others . A car donation is an easy way to make a difference in the lives of others . God's Garage needs good operating vehicles but will take all types in working and non-working condition . Make your heart and soul feel good by donating your gently used vehicle and help support single mothers , widows and wives of deployed military at godsgarageorg .

Speaker 1 19:20

Welcome back to the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show here at the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex in Katy . This morning it's the Tailpipes and Tacos Cruise Inn . Come on out , we're here till 11 o'clock this morning . We hope you can join us . The food's great . It's free actually for the tacos . Make a donation to Gods Garage and get a free taco . Yeah , the food's great . It's free actually for the tacos . Make a donation to God's Garage and get a free taco .

Speaker 2 19:41

Yeah , can't beat that .

Speaker 1 19:43

And then the proceeds are matched . Yes , all of the proceeds that you donate , whatever it is that you decide to donate , stan will match them and give all the money to God's Garage . So good cause . Alright time now for the events calendar , and Mr Mars has that . Well , the money to god's garage , so good cause . All right time now for the events calendar , and mr mars has that .

Speaker 3 20:00

Well , in case you missed it , it's we are at loopy tortillas . What in case you missed it ?

Speaker 3 20:06

in case you missed it we are at loopy tortillas , 703 west grand parkway , south katie , texas , for tailpipes and tacos . We're here from 8 to 11 . Now next we're're going to be June the 7th through the 9th is the 49th Lone Star Street Rod Association State Run in Granbury , texas . We are going to be up there on the 8th doing our remote from that . If you're looking for more information , go to lssraorg for more information . Now , if you're a little further north , like Dallas , you want to do something up in that part of the world . Heroes and Hot Rods in the Ozarks is also on Saturday , june the 8th . You can go to heroeshotrodsozarkscom and make a little road trip up into Arkansas a really nice place . Now there is a new show that is coming out this year first time out Texas Elite Auto Showcase .

Speaker 2 20:54

Oh , I've heard of that .

Speaker 3 20:55

The date is Saturday , august the 10th and the 11th , custom car truck and exotic indoor show at NRG Park . It's going to be hot , so that's a good time to be inside TexasEliteAutoShowcasecom for more information and Don . I found this late yesterday just for you .

Caravan and Ranger Review

Speaker 3 21:13

It is the National Corvette Caravan . Oh , Starts 829 , ends 831 .

Speaker 3 21:20

Now , this event only happens every five years and it coincides with the National Corvette Museum anniversary and what happens is caravans form all across the country and they meet up up there at the museum and the Texas event the ones coming out of San Antonio . There's a caravan coming out of Houston , several other places . They're going to meet up in Texarkana before going up to Little Rock to spend the first night and then they're going on up to the museum the next day . The Dallas Corvettes are going up into Oklahoma and meet up with the Oklahoma and Arkansas Corvette Caravan and they're coming in from all over the country and it really sounds like find out about all the details and stuff well , you go to corvettecaravancom and , uh , that's , that's where you're going to find out all the details .

Speaker 3 22:09

And it's got about . The . The national event , the big one , leaves out of curville the guy that's leading it is in curville . He's going to lead the tex Texas group and sync up with everybody along the way and actually lead everybody into the museum .

Speaker 1 22:21

I think I'd go from the Houston group , and the reason being is because I don't want to go west , to come all the way back east .

Speaker 3 22:29

Yeah , because they're coming out of Corpus Christi , the Caribbean , san Antonio , austin , killeen and Waco and they're going to join up with the Houston group in Texarkana . And and they're going to join up with the Houston group in Texarkana and then they're going to go up from there .

Speaker 1 22:41

Good luck in trying to find a motel in Texarkana . Yeah , buddy .

Speaker 3 22:44

Yeah , they got lots of them . You could be in Texas or Arkana .

Speaker 2 22:49

Either one Arkana . Yeah , arkana , arkana , arkana , arkana , arkana .

Speaker 3 22:52

Arkana , arkana , arkana Sounds like a really neat trip . They're going to make a lot of stops at Buc-ee's while they're in the state of Texas to meet up with people along the way . If you don't , then you're not allowed .

Speaker 1 23:01

Yeah , you're not a general Texan , but anyway .

Speaker 3 23:03

I thought I'd bring that out because I really thought that sounded like a fun event .

Speaker 1 23:06

It does . We heard that once before and I kind of blew it off but I forgot .

Speaker 3 23:10

It's only every five years , and it's this August 29th through August 31st . Oh my .

Speaker 1 23:19

God , check your air conditioner before you leave . You know how hot , it's going to be .

Speaker 3 23:24

Put the top down . It's going to be caliente , yeah it will be , but you're going to be rolling in your America's sports car all the way to Bowling Green .

Speaker 1 23:34

Alright , it's time now for this hour's car review . I had a chance to drive no .

Speaker 3 23:40

I thought it was .

Speaker 1 23:40

Mike's no , it's .

Speaker 3 23:41

Don's . Oh well , then I better back this up . Don said it was mine , but on the schedule it's Don's . Ah .

Speaker 1 23:48

Yeah , okay , yeah , right there , see , yep , right there .

Speaker 3 23:53

Don's , you have to go by what he reads , not what he says .

Speaker 1 23:57

Yeah . So I had a chance to drive the 2024 Ford Ranger . It comes in these trim levels XL , xlt , lariat and Raptor . Did you know that they make a Ranger Raptor ? I did not . No , the one that I had is the SuperCrew 4x4 Lariat , which is the top of the line for the regular Ranger Compact pickup truck . Seats five including the driver yes , it is a crew cab . All new sheet metal . This is the fifth generation of the Ranger .

Speaker 1 24:33

Exterior features include , well , one of the best-looking compact pickups around , I think Sharp-looking grille with subtle side badges . Wheel and tire combo looks great on this . Door crease adds to its upscale . Look what I liked about it how the Ranger mimics the F-150 , but with a smaller stature . What could use improvement ? Well , prices rising exponentially with the upper trim . Would somebody go out there and tell that boy to quiet it down ? Yeah , prices rise exponentially with the upper trim levels . If you want to get into the Raptor , you're talking about some serious money right there .

Speaker 1 25:13

Interior highlights Tesla-like optional infotainment screen is the centerpiece to the interior . Great cloth seats yes , leather's available for you people that don't know how to deal with the heat in Houston , texas . Awesome dash layout , well-designed . Now , as far as the bed size . They only come in one bed size and one cab , and that's the four-door , the crew cab . Yeah , what I liked about it the design . It's really nice looking . If you have not seen one , I encourage you , if you're in the market for what we call a midsize pickup truck , to go and check it out . What could use improvement ? More interior color , like the Raptor has , just a little bit more color . I think would be a little splash of good .

Speaker 3 26:03

Accents .

Speaker 1 26:04

Yeah , comes with a 2.3 liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine that turns out 270 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque through a 10-speed automatic transmission . Toe rating 7,500 pounds , haul rating 1,800 pounds . So this is a workhorse , this is a body on frame . This is not like the Maverick . 21 miles per gallon city 25 , highway for a combined of 22 is what it's rated for . I got 22 over 487.5 miles . What I liked about it plenty of power . 487.5 miles . What I liked about it plenty of power . If you need more , there is a 3-liter V6 still available at 405 horsepower . Yeah , wow , uh-huh . I don't know what you'd do with that , but okay .

Speaker 3 26:53

Did you say turbo or no ?

Speaker 1 26:55

Just a V6 . V6 . Ride and handling pretty smooth for an unloaded pickup truck . What could use improvement ? Maybe an optional air ride suspension . But you know you start adding that kind of thing and you start increasing the price of it , and price is important . Base trim price thirty two thousand six hundred seventy dollars . So it's not cheap . That's the base Price is tested $4,3630 . Now that's the top-of-the-line Lariat , just one below the Raptor . You don't even want to know how much the Raptor is . Base model price $39,565 . So with that base model price in mind , competitors include the Chevy Colorado for $31,095 , toyota Tacoma for $33,700 , and the Honda Ridgeline , $39,750 . And that is my review of the 2024 Ford Ranger SuperCrew 4x4 Lariat with the 2.3 liter EcoBoost engine .

Speaker 3 28:02

Very good . Yeah , I think that's kind of like the Ranger's always been out there . Yeah , well , they've done the improvements , made it a little bit bigger , which is not necessarily A little bit smaller . Yeah , it's a nice size .

Speaker 1 28:16

I think so too . I liked it very much . What could use improvement ? Well , you know you pick it because I just didn't make it up but a little bit more splash on the interior . But remember it is a truck and I know people now have limousine trucks Exactly .

Speaker 1 28:34

Hey , if you'd like to get in touch with us , shoot us an email . The address here is info at inwheeltimecom . We are back on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show right after this quick break . Everyone at the Tailpipes and Tacos Cruise Inn at the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex in Katy , thank you for participating in the best cruise in around and look forward to seeing you again . You'll hear about the next cruise in date right here on In Wheel Time . Next time you're in the West Houston Energy Corridor area , be sure and stop in at the original Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex at I-10 and Highway 6 or the KD location on the Grand Parkway at Kingsland Boulevard when passing through Beaumont or College Station . Stop in and have Loopy's award-winning beef fajitas and frozen margaritas . There's always a celebration at Loopy Tortilla . Loopy Tortilla founders Stan Holt and his wife Sheila are winning racers on the NHRA drag racing circuit and have a collection of hot rods and classics that everyone appreciates . Look for them at the next Tailpipes and Tacos cruise-in . The date will be announced soon and will once again be held at the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex on 99 and Kingsland Boulevard , just south of I-10 and Katy . We'll give you all the details right here on the In Real Time Car Talk show and online Donations benefit God's Garage . We'll see you then .

Speaker 1 29:41

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Speaker 1 30:09

Curbed your wheels . Instead of buying new , why not have them repaired ? How about a professionally installed radar detector ? Gulf Coast AutoShield does that too . Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautoshieldcom . 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 gcautoshieldcom . 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 8 to 11 am Central on Facebook , youtube , twitch and our InWheelTimecom website . Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts , spotify Stitcher , iheart Podcast , podcast Addict TuneIn Pandora and Amazon Music . Keep listening and we'll see you soon .