Family, Fast Cars, And A Tough Season Turnaround

Kickoff And Guest Reveal

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to another InWheel Time podcast. Welcome to the NWL Time Car Talk Show. Oh my gosh. Look who it is. Yeah. It's one of the Outlaw triplets, sportsman, NHRA drag racer, and proprietor of Emmons Autoplex, ladies and gentlemen, waiting in the wings. Jerry Emmons. Hey guys.

SPEAKER_05 0:25

How are you doing on this beautiful Saturday, man?

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Well, we're doing pretty well. Thank you for saying that. And we're going to be with you in just two shakes of a lamb's tail.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

Got it.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

Okay. All right. Very good. Um along with Mr. Emmons. Jeff is going to have this week's Motor Minute and I review the Subaru Ascent. I thought we already did that.

SPEAKER_04 0:48

You did. You did. You jumped lines. Yep. Remember, we told you we thought it was Mike in the beginning.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Never mind. I too get to make mistakes once in a while, but very rarely. Again, if you had a four-hour show, we can tell you about it. Yeah, really good. All right. And what do you what do you use your review, Mr. Mars? Uh the Chevy Tahoe the Chevy Tahoe. You know those. So we're going to interview, we're going to interview Mr. Mars about his Chevy Tahoe. Jeff, on the other hand, we don't know what he's going to do.

SPEAKER_04 1:20

I have no idea. Yeah, I got it.

SPEAKER_00 1:22

But it's going to be good, whatever it may be. So all that and more coming up on the In Real Time Car Talk Show. Thanks so much for joining us today. Along with Mike out of this world Mars, who's in the house today. In the house. We got uh Jeff Zeken here. Uh David Ainsley. He's not here, but he's here with us in spirit. Oh, yeah. I'm Don Armstrong. He's haunting us. He's one of the bad spirits. And now live

Emmons Racing Family Introductions

SPEAKER_00 1:49

from Webster, Texas, world headquarters of Emmons Autoplex, and those fabulous triplets at the Emmons World of Motorsports. Here he is, ladies and gentlemen. Jerry Emmons.

SPEAKER_05 2:02

Hey man, I I gotta tell you, I was just listening to you about that story about uh was it at Makem where you're talking about the Yeah, I read that uh earlier in the week. Man, what a I always thought that they pushed those cars across. Uh they used to.

SPEAKER_04 2:18

Evidently, this person would had to pedal, and uh they that's what the first thing they said is foot slipped off, or there's a what a moron.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

Yeah, yeah. Let me just say that. Would you let somebody drive your car like that?

SPEAKER_03 2:29

Well, you know, the times that we were there doing remotes here in Houston, they were always pushing them.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, because they didn't want stuff like that happening.

SPEAKER_04 2:38

This is a few weeks ago in in the Dallas Meek Company. Interesting. The car, I mean, there's there's a lot of damage. The cars are beautiful, gorgeous, obviously. They were. Oh, they were, yeah. They're not anymore. And they were sold cars, so it would be like you just bought a car and now it's wrecked. Now you just sold it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

Yeah, again.

SPEAKER_04 2:54

I couldn't imagine.

SPEAKER_00 2:55

Well, Mr. Emmons, it's good to see you. You know, we only see you maybe, maybe twice a year. But it looks as though it looks as though that uh this is going to be uh the second time this year.

SPEAKER_05 3:10

Well, we need to make it more of a habit. We've been really you know what?

SPEAKER_00 3:13

We're always we're always ready. The problem is is you because you're oh I kid today. Yeah, I'm racing this weekend. Uh you know, I'm racing this weekend. I'm selling cars. I'm selling cars, or I'm going to the Bahamas.

Auction Mishap And Car Show Banter

SPEAKER_05 3:28

Oh, wouldn't that be nice?

SPEAKER_00 3:31

I was gonna say I missed that one. Yeah, but um, so um I assume that uh the the drag racing uh year went well for you guys.

SPEAKER_05 3:41

It went really well. We were gonna go out west. Uh I still had a chance to win the world championship, and uh we started out, and about we got about three hours from the house, and our truck lost boost. Uh I don't know if it was a turbo. Well, we replaced the turbo when we got back, but that wasn't the issue. So we were about three hours away. It was uh Weimer, Texas, and we stopped for fuel and we went to take off. And I noticed I noticed before we stopped for fuel that the that the boost gauge was reading a lot lower than it should. I'm in denial, you know, I'm I'm running on adrenaline. I was like, I sure will be okay. Well then when I stopped for fuel, and I went to leave to get back. I was on the feeder getting back onto the freeway. It had nothing for about a mile. So I and I knew, you know, I've I've driven that that path several times years prior. So I knew what I had in front of me as I got into uh got into Vegas. So I turned around, I came back home, we made some phone calls, had some guys uh meet us here that could work on it. They worked on it and tried their best, but but we couldn't get it done in time. Our cutoff was that Tuesday at four o'clock, and at 3 30, we uh they had it running when I drove around the block, it didn't help. So uh, and actually they're here now working on it as as we speak to see what's wrong with it.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

Well, listen, I think it's time you open up that wallet and buy your new vehicle.

SPEAKER_05 5:07

Yeah. When we priced one a year ago, there were what 180, 20, 200.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

So just for the tractor rig, right?

SPEAKER_05 5:15

That's right, just for the tractor part.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 5:18

And our truck is a little older by design when we purchased it. You know, it's pretty death fluid. And uh a good friend, family friend of ours that sold us that kind of say this is kind of like the route you want to go. And the truck's been a great truck. Uh you know, light maintenance all through the years, and uh so we'll we'll get it handled, but we're gonna have to hold off on buying a new truck for a while.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Yeah, yeah. Well, uh, so let's start with the drag racing season. And you and and how successful have were you this year?

SPEAKER_05 5:50

So uh things worked out really good, not only for me, but but for all of us. Uh so I ended up winning the Division IV Stock Limited Championship. My brother Gary finished second, and my nephew Will, which is my oldest brother's uh oldest son, he finished third, and his brother Landon uh finished, I think he finished in number seven, and then my older brother Speedy, so they're dead, in Superstock, finished in the top 10. I think he's number eight or nine. So we had a great year. Terry was the only one who didn't place, but only because he he had a lot of engine trouble this year. You know, he runs a modified eliminator superstalker, and I think just you know, when it's good, it's good, but we've just had some some parts failure.

SPEAKER_02 6:33

So so you're up to you're up to five or is it six drivers?

SPEAKER_05 6:39

Uh see, we have four, so four of us original brothers, and I have uh two of my nephews that are driving.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

So six. So I knew Will was there, but I I didn't know about the other nephew.

SPEAKER_05 6:49

Yes, so Landon, he's the the middle brother. So there from um older brother Speedy, so there you have Will Lemons, Landon, and Jace. So Jace is the youngest one. He this is his first year starting out in junior director.

SPEAKER_04 7:02

How old junior?

SPEAKER_05 7:05

So he'll be running in the big car. He's 13 years old, so he'll be running uh in the big cars in a couple of years with us.

SPEAKER_04 7:12

Wow, and no, so what if what so six six drivers? What six cars are you running now?

SPEAKER_05 7:17

Are they all gonna be uh Chevrolet brand or you know it 69 muscle car Camaros, baby? There you go. So and they're all they're all they all have the same drivetrain, you know, the 396 aluminum head uh with a Holly 780 carburetor, and then we also have the Cavaliers, which are the superstock cars. So my nephews are only driving stock at the moment, but in the future they're gonna move up to superstock, or maybe do both. And our plan is where we can all drive two cars apiece. But it's you know, as you guys know, it takes a lot of help uh to be able to do that. I mean, just I scaled back to only one car this year, and I'm gonna go back to two next year, but it takes a lot, it takes a lot of outside help to be able to operate that many parties.

SPEAKER_04 8:00

So, what's gonna happen next year when you got one of your old timers like yourself against one of them youngsters up there on a final on the line? Who who's gonna win?

SPEAKER_05 8:08

Hey, well, let me let me just uh give you a little recap real quick. So I ran my my nephew Landon at the uh there was a um division race in Innis, Texas. Him and I had to run each other in the final round there, and uh and so he was also if he won the final, then he was gonna be our Jags All-Star rep that happened at the Dallas National event, which is the national event that I won this year. So he won that final. And then at the Dallas National, I don't know if you guys know, but on the Monday and Tuesday, they have a Division IV race that they run before the national event starts. So we had not only did we have to run that race, a couple weeks prior was a rain-out race that had to be concluded there as well. So we had to run two division races at that Dallas national event before the national event started. So I had to run my other nephew, Will, in the final, and he got the best of me there. So I love my nephew Landon got me on the first one, my nephew Will got me on the second one, but I ended up winning the national, which made everything a little bit better. Uh you know, when when the when the sun set on Sunday, I won the stock eliminator class in Dallas. And my older brother, Speedy, he lost in the final in Superstar. He lost to a really nice guy, got put together a good race. And you know, so we had a great weekend, and and I mean it was just great weather. You couldn't ask for a better time. But my win, and that was my 20th national band win, which I'm very proud of to be able to get that at Dallas because my my family was there and I was able to take pictures with them, which is a big deal for me. But uh I think it was hard not seeing my older brother win. Uh, we've we have all been in the final together, uh, where both of us, you know, where we've won together one class and the other. We've also been at the same race uh where we both lost the final. I've lost one and my other brother lost one before, but I was able to run first. So when I turned off the end of the racetrack, I ran over to the monitors, you know, where all the NHRA officials are, the officials are, and I'll I was able to watch his run live on the TV monitor at the finish line. So obviously I was wanting him to win, and uh so I was able to get his times, his reaction time, and the and his ET as he was turning off the racetrack. And he he ran a good race, but his opponent ran an even better one, and so you know I'm happy I won, but I'm not gonna lie, man, it was it was diluted pretty heavily because it's hard to be happy when my brother drove a great race and he lost too. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 10:47

So we had a great time, but so family oriented. Let me let me just throw

Championship Push Derailed By Truck Trouble

SPEAKER_00 10:52

this out there. Did you ever hear that bowling is a lot cheaper than drag racing? Did you ever hear that? But isn't it boring? No, it's not, no, but the balls go down if you rule if you bowl with us, it's not boring, yeah. As you can uh very well imagine. All right, well, let's shift gears, shall we? Oh, by the way, before we leave this subject, uh let's talk about Stan. Oh, yes, and Sheila and uh Dale Hulquist, our friends. Did anybody have any success against the Emmons brothers at all?

SPEAKER_05 11:28

Well, wait, none of I don't I think uh Sheila had to race my nephew Will at the national event, and I want to say he he beat her. I can't remember if it was a division race or at the national event, but I I think I think they've ran twice. I think Sheila got one of them one time, and then one of the nephews got it the second time. And we none of us have ran Stan that I know of this year. So, and Stan seems to have our numbers, so I'd rather stay away from him. None of us ran Dale Holford this year.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

Stan's got a lot of people's numbers.

SPEAKER_05 12:01

Hey, he's he's very good.

SPEAKER_00 12:03

Yeah. Okay, now we're gonna shift gears, and that is talk about the used car market and how are things going down there at the Yemens Autoplex in Webster, Texas.

SPEAKER_05 12:13

Well, I can tell you we're having a better fourth quarter than we are than we were on the first and the second quarter. Uh, we're we're actually down about 10 to 12 percent for the year, and uh, but it was you know the first quarter, I think we were down 69, 70 cars. The second quarter was really bad. We were down like 180, and then the third quarter we started coming back up. We were only down like 30, and then I think when it and this month we're up like 45 cars, so things are gonna be what what what drives that?

SPEAKER_00 12:48

What drives that discrepancy or you know, off 70 percent?

SPEAKER_05 12:52

Yeah, that's quite a bit. So I think you know, obviously, and I'm not being political because I'm not about that, but I think the new president coming into office probably had it depends on what you read, right? If it bleeds, it leads, so depending on what you're hearing. Oh, yeah. I know uh when the when the uh when Trump became president, you could fit, we didn't sell any more cars on the first quarter, obviously, but the foot traffic was was really good. Uh, and then but the second quarter, I think that's when the tariffs kicked in. And you know, not only did that affect us because we couldn't get parts, uh you know, we had a lot of cars in recon that we couldn't get online, uh, and it also affected our bottom line. So not only did we sell close to 170 less cars, but we were down profit. So our the dealerships that we do business with uh for those parts, normally we get like you have retail, and then you have list price, and then you for us because we do so much volume, we get 25 to 30 percent off list. Well, they they took that that discount away because they they said that that they're not in a position to give that to us. So not only did we have to pay more for the parts, it took us a longer time to get those cars reconditioned and put back online. And I think also uh were the interest rates not a little higher? There were seven.

SPEAKER_00 14:14

They were higher, and also and also the EV thing, uh, you know, rumor had had it that they're gonna do away with the tax incentive on those, which they ultimately did. And I would like to think that that may have hurt your sales a little bit as well, and everybody cashing in going electric, which they probably regret today.

SPEAKER_05 14:32

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and then uh so the third quarter uh wasn't as bad. I think you know the interest rates started to to come down, creep down a little bit, and uh and then the you know, and then we're up. We're up like 40, 45 cars, 43, something like that right now. So we're doing we're doing better this this last quarter.

SPEAKER_00 14:50

I know that you guys sell across the board when it comes to pricing cars, and obviously it has a lot to do with the year, make, model, and um the wear and tear in the car, the mileage. There's a lot of factors that go into that. What is your number one selling price range down there at Emmons?

SPEAKER_05 15:12

25,000 and back. Yep, and I would say really when we have a lot of the inventory, that's that 15 to 18, yeah, 15 to 18,000. It's it's almost and actually you know 10 really, but that 15 to 18,000 goes almost immediately. But the you can always count if it's 25,000 or less, you we're gonna be able to sell it. Obviously, you know, conditioned upon the do you still do you still have as many Wranglers as you used to have? You know what's crazy is I think that the that the Bronco craze is starting to start to take that over. Uh, we've seen they're pretty stylish, especially when you put a little bit of a lift on it, put some wheels on it. Yeah, the hard top off, put a I'm sorry, take the soft top off and put the hardtop.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 16:00

I think we see a lot of the younger crowd uh going towards the broncos. We seem to do real well with those. Now they need to be loaded, right? They need to have the leather. Uh the soft top stock Jeeps aren't as um, or they don't sell as quick. But the Wranglers, I mean, they're always gonna sell, especially uh, you know, when when summertime comes, people want the the tops off, but uh yeah, they do the Wranglers. We don't have as many in stock as we normally do. We still have quite a bit, but the the Broncos

Season Results Across The Emmons Team

SPEAKER_05 16:30

I've noticed have been a pretty good challenger.

SPEAKER_00 16:32

So the how about how about truck sales? You that those usually are pretty strong, aren't they?

SPEAKER_05 16:36

Yeah, never we never have a problem with it with a truck. Uh those whether they're a work truck, whether they're lifted, whether they're a stock truck. I mean, we're in Texas, so I think everybody uh needs to haul mulch or be a man and haul some lumber, you know, whatever they want to do.

SPEAKER_00 16:52

So what what what are you what are your forecasting for 2026?

SPEAKER_05 16:56

I think uh I think we're gonna because we're down. I think we sold 3100 last year. Uh we're obviously down from that for this year. I think next year, because of the interest rates are gonna at least be what they are. I think right now we're at four and a quarter percent is what we can get to. I think as long as that stays steady, and I think people are conditioned uh to the market, I think we're gonna have a I think we're gonna go right back up next year.

SPEAKER_00 17:23

Yeah. And um, as far as your dealership is concerned, you offer financing, don't you?

SPEAKER_05 17:30

Yeah, well, we we no longer do in-house financing, but we do offer you know outside financing to level. You can do some people, right? Yes, yes. Um so it's a one-stop shop. You come here and uh we have a great credit department that can get that can get the guys or girls handled, and uh we have plenty of people on site, so that we try to cut the wait time down. We're constantly having meetings about customer service. You know, we want to improve. Um, we've been in, I think we've been here now seven years, and we're still trying to make it better. Uh, you know, you can never you can never be uh you just can't be complacent and think you're doing well. We have to keep moving the needle so that the customer experience uh you you say that you've been there for seven years, but that's at that location. Yes, sir. That that's correct. Yes. So uh you've been in business a long time though. We've been it's uh since 1972, since the year I was born. So it's it's been a minute.

SPEAKER_00 18:26

Well, it's time to celebrate, and we're gonna come down there and celebrate with you. Is that okay?

SPEAKER_05 18:31

Let's do it, and we're we're gonna go to Lupi Tortillas and eat on Stan. Now you're talking.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

And everybody out there listening is invited. Hey, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Everybody, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Speaking of which, uh, you know, we're doing a remote uh for Stan uh with his uh tailpipes and tacos thing. I believe that's gonna be 13th, yeah, if I'm not mistaken. Something like that.

SPEAKER_03 18:53

Second Saturday.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

Second Saturday. Well, why don't you why don't you and the boys or whoever you gather up to come with you? Come on out there to Katie.

SPEAKER_05 18:59

As long as the weather's nice, we're gonna try to bring at least two of our our college. That'd be great that have been restored.

SPEAKER_04 19:05

That'd be awesome. Yeah, we'd love it. And my my granddaughter still has her car that she bought, her first car from you. She's still probably gonna she's probably gonna take that to college with her.

SPEAKER_05 19:13

Well, I'll be able to do it. Is she really? Okay, nice.

SPEAKER_04 19:19

Nursing school.

SPEAKER_05 19:19

What's gonna be her major? Has she decided yet?

SPEAKER_04 19:21

Uh staying away from grandpa, I think, is her major.

SPEAKER_05 19:25

That's the first thing.

SPEAKER_01 19:26

That's the first thing.

SPEAKER_00 19:27

Jerry, we love you and and and your family, a great family, a great uh, you know, we do we connect with you guys and we appreciate it.

SPEAKER_05 19:35

We really appreciate that. And uh, we love you guys and appreciate the exposure that you give us and just the time to talk to you. We really appreciate that.

SPEAKER_00 19:42

Yeah, well, thank you very much. And uh hopefully we'll see you in a couple weeks. You got it. Hope to see you then. All right, man. Thank you. Take care of yourself. Very cool. Hey, I wanted to remind you that uh uh we always invite you to join us for our live In Wheel Time car talk show every Saturday, 10 to noon, Central Time on nwheeltime.com. You can YouTube and Facebook us as well for our live show. Check us out, it's free. And don't forget 30-minute podcasts of your shows right here can be had from your favorite podcast store. We are back right after this quick break. The Tailpipes and Tacos Christmas Edition 2025 happens Saturday, December 13th from 8 to 11 a.m., and you want to be a part of it. Tailpipes and Tacos is the cruise in everyone wants to attend. And the Christmas edition is extra special. Donate an unwrapped new toy and help yourself to a free Luffy Tortilla Breakfast Taco. Delvey Adult Beverage is available for purchase too. And don't forget to arrive. Just cruise in and you're automatically registered to compete for one of three famous chili pepper trophies. Best Hot Rod, Best Classic, and Best Modern Classic. Tail Pipes and Tacos Christmas Edition will be held Saturday, December 13th, 8 to 11 a.m. at the Luffy Tortilla Tex-Mex, located at 703 West Grand Parkway, just south of the Katy Freeway in Katy. Oh, and don't forget to bring the kids. There'll be special trophies and goodie bags for them too. It's the Tailpipes and Tacos Christmas Edition 25, Saturday, December 13th, 8 to 11 a.m. at the Lupi Tortilla Tex-Mex at 703 West Grand Parkway in Katy. Bring a toy, get a free breakfast taco, and enjoy the camaraderie. In Real Time will be there too. Apple or Android NWL Time Podcasts 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 InWheel 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. We are coming to you right now. And uh we've got another 40 minutes of this goodness coming your way. Time now for Jeff's Motor Minutes.

SPEAKER_04 21:57

Yeah, old Dale Earnhardt Jr. Uh we've all heard of him. We've heard of Dale Earnhardt, his dad, and his sister Teresa. I'm sorry, his sister Kelly and his his uh stepmother Teresa. This all story goes back many, many years. But uh the uh shop and museum that was part of Dale Earnhardt, his legacy, uh seemingly has a stockpile of pieces of NASCAR history and things, but uh no one is allowed to do go into there uh because of Teresa. Only two fans recently have had the tour uh of the uh museum itself uh since

Nephews vs Uncle: Finals And A Milestone Win

SPEAKER_04 22:28

2001. Uh clearly it's been maintained. The uh features trophy-lined hallways, banquet rooms, race cars, things of that nature, but related to Dale Earnhardt. Snapshots clearly caught uh the attention of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelly, who's been estranged from Teresa for many years, having left the then cup series, the DEI, uh Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, under a cloud after the 2007 uh season. So this has been festering a long time. Following the seven-time champions passing, both Kelly and Dale Earnhardt Jr. never had the opportunity to go through their dad's uh sentimental possessions, childhood items, or family photos, as per the report that was going on at the time. Uh the sister Kelly added that Teresa rejected their input input, and she says when planning this goes back to his funeral, that they've been estranged. Pretty crazy. Kelly and uh Dale Jr., whose mother was Dale's second wife, Brenda G, had also not been uh to visit their dad's grave since his and in since his internment. Since the death of uh Dale, Teresa has largely kept a low profile with the DEI eventually dropping from the grid following the 2008 season, which uh at point uh merged with Chipkanassie Racing. This change in recent months, uh however, after she failed to sell the 400-acre portion of her land to a developer for seeking a data center. So she has a museum. She's got a museum of holiday learning. Nobody can go see it. Nobody can go see it. Not even the kids. The kids were threatened for arrest. Really? Yeah, they were threatened with arrest to even go see the dad's internment. For trespassing. For trespassing.

SPEAKER_03 24:12

They'd uh they'd have had to arrest me. That's all there is to it. Yeah, that would have been my contribution. Hello, dad.

SPEAKER_04 24:17

Or they'd be in court. I mean, you know, there's I don't know if there's any lawsuits going on, but it's just been uh it's been tough on them. I mean, for any family of this tough. You have to be such a jerk. I know.

SPEAKER_00 24:28

You know, and I think of Casey Casey and and his wife. Same thing. Yeah, she wouldn't you couldn't even bury the man. Yeah, that whole thing of oh no, he's mine. Oh no, he's mine, he's mine. No. The man resting. What really?

SPEAKER_04 24:45

Get over it, get over yourselves. Anyways, uh sorry to hear that uh for their uh junior, but well, guess what?

SPEAKER_00 24:52

What Mr. Mars has driven probably one of the yes, are you calling somebody? No, I'm like, yes, because he's hallelujah. Mr. Mars had had a chance to drive one of the most popular SUVs in the world. That would be the Chevy Tahoe, and here is now to talk to you about that.

SPEAKER_02 25:09

And it is the 2026 Chevrolet Tahoe. I haven't driven one in a couple of years, so I was really happy to see that I was going to get this. Um, it's assembled in Arlington, Texas. So this is a Texas vehicle, very close to home, and it comes in six different trim levels LS, LT, RST, the E71, which is obviously the off-road suspension. You got the Premier and then the high country, the luxury. So we were driving the Premier four-wheel drive uh trim level. Now, this is considered by the government as a standard SUV that we used to call them full-size SUV, but I guess that means it's standard now, full size. I had the polar white tri-coat option. I love black and white cars. I love the color combination. Yes, almost, except it had the white hood instead of the black hood. Uh, of course, it has LED lighting all the way around on the exterior, including the fog lights, daytime running lights, had the heated folding side mirrors, all the things you would expect off of a high-end SUV. Power lift gate with power, panoramic sunroof, uh power assist side steps with premier with perimeter lighting. So whenever they would come on and it would start going back and forth, they would light up the ground so you could see it. 22-inch polished aluminum wheels were also an option that we had. Now it did have the seating for seven front and second row bucket seats, both of which were heated on this particular vehicle. Uh, had a 17-inch infotainment screen up front. Now, this was not the vertical type of screen like uh some of the cars have. This was more of a horizontal screen, and I like it much better than the vertical because it just seemed I could find things a little bit easier looking across instead of trying to search up and down. 15-inch heads-up display that was really good at seeing how things were going. And uh the rear seat had the media system. Now, this is the 12.6 inch touch screens that are on the back of the front seats. Now, I don't particularly care for the way they did that. To me, it's kind of like an uh an add-on, it's like it's hanging there. I like it much better when they build it in. But it worked, worked well. Everybody seemed to be happy with that. Now, to make this thing go, because this thing is uh a little bit on the heavy side, 5,700 pounds. We had the 6.2 liter V8. Now, this is a $2,400 option on it. The standard engine is a five-point liter, and I'm thinking that that's probably a very adequate engine. But the 6.2 liter has 420 horsepower, 460 pound fiat torque, and putting that with a 10-speed automatic, it is rated to tow 8,200 pounds, which is a pretty good size load. You can see them pulling big boats and things. Now, the miles per gallon, the EPA says you should be looking for about 14 on the highway, 18, excuse me, 14 the city, 18 on the highway, and with a combination of 16. Now, the week I had it, I drove it 267.8 miles, and I got 16.8 on an overall average for that time. And I was real happy with that because I really liked driving this vehicle. It's got plenty of power to spare, particularly if you're thinking about towing something, it's going to give you plenty of juice for that to get to that uh 8,400 pounds. So uh I also liked driving it, it was very quiet. I thought it had very responsive steering in that it's not a race car, but to get into roundtown where you're maneuvering around the streets or through a parking lot, I thought it worked really well for that size of the vehicle. I was really impressed with it. And it's also got a lot of glass, so you got a real nice field of view whenever you're looking around to see what's around you. The pillars don't get in the way of the A's. No, no, it was it was really nice. Uh, I also like the magnetic ride control. I mean, that was that was some nice stuff there. Absolutely. Uh now cost. Now, the base model price, the LS

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SPEAKER_02 28:45

base model price $62,995. That's what it'll take to get into a Tahoe. Now, the base trim price for the premiere that we have is $78,000. That was pretty good. But we had an option or two. You did. Our MSRP is tested was $92,000. So we had some options, like I say, the paint, the wheels, and lots of other things.

SPEAKER_00 29:09

The only option that it didn't have is the Cadillac option.

SPEAKER_02 29:12

Uh that would have been $192,000.

SPEAKER_00 29:14

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 29:16

If you're looking for something to compare this to, I mean, you could look across at the Ford Expedition of about the same size, $64,995 to get started. Nissan Armada, $58,800. Uh Toyota Sequoia, which is strictly all you're going to get there is a hybrid. You're not going to get a straight gasoline engine, but it's $64,000. Now, the GMC Yukon is the sister vehicle to the Tahoe or the cousin, whatever you want to call it. Uh, and it'll start at about $69,000. But I've always thought the GMC is, you know, it used to be the working man's truck. GMC?

SPEAKER_00 29:46

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. GMC now is the luxury. The Chevy and the Cadillac.

SPEAKER_02 29:52

Yeah, yeah. It's got a lot nicer. So I uh it's base price. I that makes sense that it starts a little bit more. But I really enjoy this vehicle. I thought it would do a lot of things, and I don't know what all I would do to improve it. And that's my review of the 2026 Shivery Tahoe Premier Four-Wheel Drives.

SPEAKER_00 30:09

Thank you very much. Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, the email is info at nwheeltime.com.

Used Car Market: Slump To Q4 Surge

SPEAKER_00 30:14

We are back right after this quick break. Who doesn't like a social event? How about one that centers around your love for all things automotive? Another Gulf Coast Auto Shield Car Social is back. Saturday, December 6th, 9 to noon, at 11275, South Sam Houston Parkway, just south of the Southwest Freeway. It's a morning packed with incredible cars, some of the finest rides in town, from classics to modern exotics. Here's your chance to talk to fellow car lovers. Grab a coffee, and check out how Gulf Coast Auto Shield keeps these rides looking perfect. Meet the team. Take a look around the shop to see firsthand how Gulf Coast Auto Shield gets the most of the look you're trying to create. In real time, we'll be there with their live car talk show. You might just be one of the guests. Don't miss this free, fun, and fast-paced car gathering of fellow car lovers and their rides. Saturday, December 6th at Gulf Coast Auto Shield, 11275 South Sam Houston Parkway. Bring your car, bring your friends, and bring your love for all things automotive. We'll see you then. The award-winning Inwheel Time Car Talk Show now reaches 5.3 million folks each year. Check us out on Inwheel Time.com, YouTube, Facebook, and podcasts available from your favorite go-to source, including our live broadcast every Saturday, 10 to noon central time. The Inwheel Time Car Talk Show has informative automotive guest interviews, new car reviews, along with popular features including driving destinations, Jeff's car culture, latest car news, cruise ins, and racing dates. It's all on InWheeltime.com. Join us. 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 InWheeltime.com website. Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music. Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.