Electric Cars Win Early Races And The New C-HR Feels Like A Rocket

This Week In Auto History

Don Armstrong 0:08

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

Mike Marrs 0:11

Yes, sir. We found a few things this week in auto history that uh I think people will be interested in and checking it out. September the 6th, way back in 1891. Peugeot took their type 3 early gasoline-powered engine, which was a Daimler-designed two-horsepower engine, and they entered it into a race, a bicycle race, and they took it 1,271-mile round trip. Now, this it only got about nine miles per hour to do it, but it did complete it. And the whole point of that was to show that automobiles were something that were dependable and could be used.

Don Armstrong 0:47

And one of those one of those guys in the car looks just like you, Mars.

Mike Marrs 0:51

I think it's the one in the back on the left. The thinner one. So um then on September the 7th, in back in 1896, this was America's first automobile race that was held on a horse track or trotting track in Cranston, Rhode Island. Now, this was seven car seven vehicles competed over five laps. Now they had sixty thousand people actually there to watch this first race.

Don Armstrong 1:24

Although it says, although it says Narragansett Park. Every time I've been there, I've got the tron.

Mike Marrs 1:30

Well, I couldn't say Narragansett, so I just skipped the Narragansett. But they had 60,000 spectators watching this and an electric Riker. The car game was the Riker, one, doing 20 miles an hour. Second place finisher was also an electric vehicle. So it was third place, it was won by a gasoline power. But again, it helped to demonstrate that automobile competition could become a major nationwide spectator sport. Then uh moving up, jumping up to 1949, uh Volkswagen returns to German control. Now, this is after the war. The Volkswagen Company was actually transferred from the British military control back to the Federal Republic, which was new, the Federal Republican.

Don Armstrong 2:14

It's the original split window coup.

Mike Marrs 2:16

It is. Now they ended up selling about 4.4 million of these vehicles before production ended in 2005. So it went through several generations, but it lasted a long time. And the first car here, I was in one of those once upon a time, and it was uh what you'd expect from a 1955 car, but it was really nice. Uh September the 10th, back in 1897. This is an important event. This was the uh the London police arrested George Smith after he crashed his cab into a building while intoxicated. So George Smith became the first recorded driving arrest. And uh his fine was 25 shillings. I have no idea what that means, but uh it is the first person that was arrested for driving under the influence. Then in uh 1970, September 10th. This is important because the Chevrolet Vega goes on sale.

Don Armstrong 3:59

Now, this was could you could you could could you repeat that date again, please?

Mike Marrs 4:04

September the 10th, 1970.

Don Armstrong 4:06

Yeah. I just for my edification because I I I I I had two. And I had I had the original one like that, except it wasn't that fancy, it was the bottom of the line, but whatever. I like that car.

Mike Marrs 4:22

My brother had a great one. A lot of people like that car, and it was really it was designed to challenge the imports of the domestic rivals that were coming in. The EPA was shutting down the muscle car world, and and the world was changing from an automotive perspective. And this car was what they designed to compete with it. They also made a hatchback in it that I thought would be so cool to have an engine in the back, a rear-mounted engine in that hatchback for Saturday nights down on the drag strip. But uh, and this was also one Jeff did a feature once upon a time about how they shipped these cars upright on the rail cars so they could get more of them in that place.

Don Armstrong 5:00

That didn't last long, though.

Mike Marrs 5:01

No, it didn't. Uh it's kind of like the car didn't last that long. Uh, then September the 8th, 1904. Now, this isn't necessarily an automobile, but it is automotive in that 1904, the first Harley Davidson prototype was actually built functional. And now, of course, William Harley and the Davidson brothers, they went on to create Harley Davidson, that's worldwide, world-known uh at this point, as far as the motorcycles go. So it was very important. And um, this vehicle, this prototype was actually 400cc, had a one-speed transmission on it. And it had wide whites on it.

Don Armstrong 5:39

Oh, yeah.

Mike Marrs 5:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think they were all whites. Yeah, they're all whites. But anyway, that was just a few things in automotive history this week that we thought were rather interesting.

Chevrolet Vega Memories And Regrets

Don Armstrong 5:48

Yeah, well, that was a trip down memory lane. Yeah, the uh I bought two Vegas, a 70 and a 74. And uh I didn't have any problems with either one. Now, the first one, four-speed manual transmission, no air conditioning.

Jeff Dziekan 6:10

Yeah, my brother had a stick in his.

Don Armstrong 6:11

Well, I couldn't afford it. That was my very first new car. Yeah, I was I was still proud of it. And the second one, then I bumped it up to the GT and only had that for one year, and then I bought the Monza. Listen, I was on the cutting, I was on the cutting edge of new car uptake.

Mike Marrs 6:31

And I was so I was so cool. I had an aunt who her husband had a Cosworth Vega out in California.

Don Armstrong 6:37

Oh, wow.

Mike Marrs 6:37

Well, he died and she called me and said, Hey, you want to buy this car? I don't want the Vega, a Cosworth four-seller Cosworth Vega. Nah, I don't want it.

Don Armstrong 6:45

If you had it today, it'd be worth a lot of money. It's like the Yanko of its day.

Mike Marrs 6:49

There you

What The 2026 C-HR Is

Mike Marrs 6:50

go.

Don Armstrong 6:50

Factory Yanko. Hey, Tesla's time now for this hour's car review. I got to drive the Toyota CHR. Do you know what CHR stands for?

Jeff Dziekan 7:09

We're about to find out.

Don Armstrong 7:12

It stands for compact or coop, which is not a coop in my mind, but a compact high rider. Compact high rider. I had no clue. Yeah. I thought, what does that what does that mean? Well, there you go. There's your definition. Okay, so the CHR that I got to drive comes in two trim levels, the SE and the XSE. This is an electric only. There is no gasoline or hybrid version of it yet. Reviewed trim level was the top of the line. XSE, all-wheel drive. And by the way, all models come all-wheel drive. This is a small SUV, two rows of seating in it. I like the looks of that car. Uh, exterior changes from last model year. Well, this is the second generation. Now there was a gap between the first generation and this one. So this is the second generation. It is an all-new model. It shares, which I thought was interesting, most of its parts with the Subaru Uncharted.

unknown 8:18

Oh.

Don Armstrong 8:18

Which, as you remember, I had one of those not that long ago, and I liked it. I actually saw one the other day. I like this. Exterior features. Overall, modern design with split headlights, creased side sculpture enhances, bulging fenders. Optional two-tone paint gives it a more upscale look, if you notice. Fast back roof leads to a sleek rear glass, kind of like a little hot rod. But I like the overall exterior, it gets high marks in my book. What could use improvement? Nothing. Interior that you're looking at there now. Dual phone charging pads. See them there? I thought that was pretty cool. Rotary dial transmission selector, good for you. We don't need to have that big, bulky steering wheel, although they took up a lot of room with this thing. Uh, unique cloth vinyl interior materials. I'm not too sure about the cloth aspect of it. Tight leg room in the back seat. It's a small SUV. What I liked about it, the sporty nature of the interior and the exterior. Uh what could use improvement? Another choice or two for the interior coverings. You may like it, good for you. And that that's what they're hoping for, that

Range Power Ride And Price

Don Armstrong 9:37

you'll buy it. Engine, dual electric motors, uh, 338 total horsepower through the system, uh, 323 pound feet of torque. And by the way, if you didn't know, this is direct drive, so it has no transmission. Okay, on a full charge, I could get up to, according to the calculator inside the vehicle, 233 miles. I got 3.6 miles per kilowatt hour. Uh that would mean 417 miles. Well, depends on how you drive it. What I liked, 0 to 60 time in 4.9 seconds. It's a rocket. Screamer. It is a screamer. Uh, what could use improvement? More of that. They should have a plaid version. And that's with two motors. This is only with two motors. Yeah, but the you know, the battery. The battery is uh where it's at. Uh ride and handling. What I like. The suspension is a little bit stiff, but it kind of adds to the sporting nature, the whole look of it, the whole thing of this particular vehicle. What could use improvement? Nothing. Don't change it.

Jeff Dziekan 10:47

Is it heavy? Is it a heavy driver?

Don Armstrong 10:50

Um, no, not particularly. Base trim price, base trim price, $39,000. Price as tested, $43,429. So it did have some options on it. You can get into one of these, the same motor setup, $37,000 even. Competitors, well, both the Toyota and this Subaru, well, the Subaru and the Toyota, the same vehicle. Yeah. Uh both come out of Aichi, Japan. The Subaru Uncharted starts at $34,995. So the Subaru Uncharted is a little bit better deal. Um, it's its twin, it's $3,000 less than the Toyota CHR. Now, another competitor to it would be the Hyundai Ionic 5. It starts at $35,000. These are all electrics now. And the Kia Nero Electric, they're pretty proud of that one, starts at $39.7. All of them under $40,000. Well, the base price anyway. So uh that's my review of the 2026 Toyota CHR. What

Toyota Hybrids And Quick Wrap

Don Armstrong 12:05

does CHR stand for?

Jeff Dziekan 12:06

Uh high high rise. Heavy duty high rise. Yeah. Laura bought a Toyota this week. She got one. Oh really? Yeah, she got she bought a uh oh god, I can't remember now. Wasn't the CHR? Uh probably something larger too. Oh, yeah. Listen, Toyota makes hers is a hybrid. She bought the hybrid, and her headlights look just like the headlights on that car you just reviewed.

Don Armstrong 12:30

Um, good choice. Yeah, that's a good choice. The the hybrid is the way to go. And um I'm a I'm a I'm a I'm a big fan of the hybrids. Um and you know, Toyota makes so many different models, and within those models, they got a whole list as a rule of the trim levels. So you want the cheap one, they got that. You want the one that's all loaded out, they got that too, and everything in between.

Jeff Dziekan 12:55

I saw it the other day it was dark out. I really didn't get a chance to look at it, but it's pretty blue, dark blue, really nice. Yeah.

Don Armstrong 13:00

It did good. Uh they build good stuff over there. Uh well, Aichi Japan, isn't that where they had the uh earthquake? Yes, yeah. Yes. They should be up and running. I haven't I didn't see our story this week, so what that tells me is that their planned uh restart of all of that after they closed for a few weeks because of the damage that was done, that uh that apparently has happened. Okay. Hey, if you'd like to get