Five Cool Summer Day Trips Near Houston | Prettiest Police Car | Auto History | 2026 VW Tiguan

Heat Beating Houston Getaways

Don Armstrong 0:06

Mr. Mars has four minutes to complete his driving destination. The Houston Heat and the Driving Beat. Go, Mike.

Mike Marrs 0:15

Where am I? It's beat the heat drive. So coming up here, it's summer's coming up. It's going to be plenty hot. So we got a few things you can do. Number one, you can head off to the Bluebell Creameries. And this is about 75 miles from Houston. Summer ice cream go together. Bluebell Creaming Creameries Vista Center in Brenham is a great road trip. You can tour the facility, you can tour their museum, and you can also try out some of their different flavors of their ice cream. Then if that's not what you're what you're looking for, number two, go to the Bryan Museum down in Galveston. Now, this is fairly new. It opened in 2015 and it's in the old historic Galveston Orphans Home. Now, if the beach is too hot, this is where you want to go because it's all inside air conditioned. There's over 70,000 artifacts from the American West and Texas to go in and look at uh restored galleries, interactive exhibits, and it's all air conditioned, and it's nice to go along the Galveston seawall to kind of make your way back to Houston whenever you do that. Number three, a lot of people know it. We've been there a couple of times, the Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston. Now there are 24 historical aircraft here, and kids are fascinated by airplanes. We are fascinated by airplanes. So this is a great museum to go visit, Ellington Airport. Used to be down in Galveston until Hurricane Ike came in and forced them to make a move. But they've got historic aircraft, they got interactive flight simulators, and they got a lot of aviation history from World War II through the space age. Now, number four, Brazos Bend State Park Nature Center. This is up in Neadville. This is 4,897 acres. You don't really want to go out midday walking around, but they do have the George Observatory Visitor Center that I didn't know existed. Now this provides a cool introduction to the wildlife and the ecosystems of Brazos Bend State Park. You get there early, get a little bit of shade, do a short walk around the alligators, and then go inside and check out all the exhibits that you got. Take a picnic and you got a full day of a family trip there. Then I wanted to bring up that's with a family. Now, if you've got your car and you want to go on a road trip, so you need a road to go drive on. So FM 149 in Montgomery to Anderson through the Sam Houston National Forest. Now, this is 48.3 miles, so it's not real long down Highway 149, goes through the Towering Pines of the Sam Houston National Forest, and you go off to you got beautiful old historical courthouses on either end of it that you can go in and visit. I've been to the Anderson a couple of times, and uh it's a great, nice drive after you've been with the family all day, and you just want to sneak out for a quick drive, tackle this one. So that's a few things you can do out of Houston to beat some of the summer heat

Courthouse Jokes And Alligator Safety

Mike Marrs 3:08

coming up.

Don Armstrong 3:08

So well, I have to ask you, uh Jeff and I were just sitting here looking at that courthouse thing, and you said you've been there several times. Were you in handcuffs? Yeah, was it uh was it for a misdemeanor or no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Mike Marrs 3:20

Uh doing some family research actually up in Anderson County.

Jeff Dziekan 3:24

So you're visiting an inmate. Yes, it was a distant, very distant cousin. The question I have, you said you walk along the alligators, a short walk. Walk along the other alligators. Oh, short walk. Okay, because it could be you could have to run real fast.

Mike Marrs 3:37

Well, you don't want to get that close.

Don Armstrong 3:38

Have you ever have you ever been there? No, I don't have you know it it's right down the street from where we are. And I will tell you that I have been there, and there is a lookout over a swamp, and uh you cannot believe the number of alligators that you can see walk across on alligators, yeah. And uh you you definitely don't want to take a small dog and you don't want to take children off the leash because uh they listen, those things are faster than you think they are. Yeah, yeah. Anyway, all right. Thank you, sir. The N-wheel piques your

Best Looking State Trooper Cars

Don Armstrong 4:17

interest. Time now for Jeff's car culture, American police car beauty.

Jeff Dziekan 4:21

Okay, here we go, Michael. So each year, state troopers from across the nation compete to see which has the prettiest police car. Well, the American Association of State Troopers, which is called the AAST, announced the results of the 13th annual best-looking cruiser contest after more than 360,000 votes poured in from supporters around the country. Go, Mike. Uh so that right there, uh I don't have any specifics on the cars or uh because there's a lot of them, obviously there's a whole bunch, but I'm gonna give you the history and the way they brought it up. Mississippi. It looks like like Mississippi because it's got a Mississippi uh uh map on the state. Yeah, there you go. So over the past three years, Florida's become the top cat or the top car uh for the past, oh, I don't know, three years. Uh this year it appeared though as a streak would end. But the late in the game, the Sunshine State stormed back to a fourth consecutive. Oh, we own the wrong one. Oh no, well, we I just know we're gonna go through what the other cars look like. Uh we don't get down to the nitty-gritty till the end. So Michigan spent much of the competition in first place, but Florida Highway Patrol's communication team mounted a late push that ultimately propelled the state's black and tan Mustang to win. That's not it. That's not that's not a Mustang. Uh, but uh the Troopers Association has some fun with the dramatic finish, joking that it must be hunting season in Florida because they managed to shoot down the blue goose, which is referring to the Michigan State Police car. Uh it's also equipped uh by hanging chads or late-night ballot dumps from Florida, emphasizing the good-natured rub uh ribbing as part of the contest friendly rivalry. Well, Florida finished with 52,249 votes, well ahead of Michigan's 37,654, once the polls were closed. Georgia secured third place with 34,000 plus, uh, followed by Ohio, Kentucky to round out the top five. Overall, 360 plus thousand votes were cast along all participating states. Oregon received the least with just 185. So that right there shot is the Michigan car. That's the uh what they call the blue goose. And I think if you look on that boat, I think that's David Anglesley floating by on that boat back there.

Don Armstrong 6:31

No, no, no, no, the sky's too clear. It's all uh smoky up there.

Jeff Dziekan 6:35

And then the victory means Florida will once again uh receive the best-looking cruiser award. There's Florida, uh, and the winning photo will appear on the page. Well, cover out there, Mustangs and Camaros. Yeah. Well that in uh Chargers. Uh so the Troopers Wall Calendar, sales of the calendar support the American Association of State Troopers Foundation, which awards educational scholarships to the dependents of the troopers. Now I've got the list right here. So Florida and Michigan are first and second, Georgia was third, Ohio is fourth, Texas came in ninth with 11,164 votes. So good for we got made a top ten, which is good. Uh but Michigan and we need to do better before to battle it out. Well, we need to. But you know what? We need the sergeant to get out of the room. Woodard.

Don Armstrong 7:16

It's all well, I know. Uh we need Woodard to be our spokesperson. He got a new car too. He showed it to us the last time. Yeah, matter of fact, I saw a brand new state trooper SUV. Whew. Nice.

Jeff Dziekan 7:28

Oh, yeah. They're nice. So maybe next year we'll we'll we'll get them next year. I want to know how much they cost. A trooper car? A lot. Well, I think it's all the add-ons because there was a lot of people. Well, yeah, there was a dealership when I worked for ATD. There was a dealership in South Texas that did the uh Border Patrol vehicles and they put the radios and the gun racks and all the stuff in them, the stickers and all that. And that was a process. You had to be licensed to the state to work on those particular vehicles for the state, the the vehicles in the dealership. So there's a little bit of regulation to go on with that, but I'm sure they're expensive and it's all the add-ons. Mr.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

Mars has funny.

This Week In Automotive History

Don Armstrong 8:06

All right, Mr. Mars, this week in auto history, it's all yours, sir. Yeah, we got to.

Mike Marrs 8:17

You might want to check into a little bit further. So, for example, on July the 19th, back in 1943, the Alaska Highway received its official name. So Canada, Canada and the United States totally uh built this highway across through uh from Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Fairbanks, and it became the Alaska Highway. Now, this is also called the Alcan 500. That's where they have that big race. It goes up through part of this. Now it did this to prove that long-distance travel could connect some of the continent's most remote regions and helped open Alaska to future tourism and commerce. And for the longest time, people would go up there and they would make that drive, but it was a tough drive and uh hard on vehicles. So now people just fly over it or they cruise around it. But then in July the 19th in 1955, Disneyland's Autotopia opens. Now, this was great. I remember this back in the late 50s when I had to.

Don Armstrong 9:17

And I can still see you driving that car too.

Mike Marrs 9:19

Yeah, it was right there in the blue, and right there. And um, it was all sponsored by major automotive companies over the decades. It got a lot of people came out, brought their kids out there. Not only was it because of Disneyland, but this was a big major thing because the kids could feel like they were driving after they drove for 10 days to get there. Now, it became very unusual and it helped general generations associate automobiles with freedom, adventure, and family travel. However, as a note, now according to the uh state of California, by 2, 1 in 27, no more ice engines. So Disney's trying to figure out how they're going to handle this. If they're going to go to all EV, whatever they're going to do, but the ice engines are going away.

Don Armstrong 10:01

So that was part of the fun, smelling the exhaust and hearing the little put, putt- putt putt putt putt putt going around there. Yeah, and now it's all going to be well, that's the end of that.

Mike Marrs 10:12

Yep, yep, yep. Then coming up on July the 21st, back in 1925, Chrysler introduced the Model 58. Now, this is a very important. I mean, it kind of looks like it's just another one of the cars that they've got going on here. But uh, they were trying to be a serious competitor of Ford and General Motors. So their cars featured hydraulic brakes, they had a lot of other engineering innovations that were not common at the price point they were setting. And what this really was was the bridge between the Maxwell Chalmers car company and the emerging Chrysler Company. So this was their the real important car that took them out of the Maxwell State and straight into the Chrysler Corporation, trying to become what they are today.

Don Armstrong 10:54

And it's still on the focus.

Mike Marrs 10:58

Sure is. The other thing coming up July the 22nd is uh something everybody you should remember if you've got any age on you at all, is parking meters. Now, this is the first parking meters were approved in Oklahoma City of all places. And uh it was installed that.

Don Armstrong 11:15

Well, that's why nobody lives there anymore.

Mike Marrs 11:17

Exactly, because of the parking meters. Now, they were obviously very unpopular with motorists, but they became an important part of the automotive infrastructure and they influenced traffic management in cities across America because that's how they could get people in and get people out, and it also became a source of revenue for many cities. Coming up on July the 24th, we're gonna find something that this I found this really interesting. I had no clue that GM was had a Cadillac 16, 16-cylinder engine. Now, this is for the concept back in 2002 that they revealed this. It was a massive luxury car with a massive V16 engine in it. Now, it's really a good-looking car, and you can see how a lot of the designs that have come up since then have followed this as far as the body lines and things go, but it's just uh it was part of the thing that they were moving into that line and this concept car is what generated a lot of buzz at the car shows at the time. Unfortunately, it never made it into production beyond the concept stage. And coming up on July the 25th, now I really like this one. And one of these days we're gonna do some more stories on it, but it was the first, 1971, the first Cannonball Baker C2 Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. Now, this is where it started in Red Ball Garage on the East Coast and went to the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach in California. Now it was organized by Brock Yates. There's a lot of reasons, the big story behind that. But the bottom line is the idea was to get from New York to California as soon as possible on public roads. Now it was very controversial, became what they called an outlaw race. And uh there's a lot of movies that were made about this race. And in 1981, the biggest one, it was the first of a series of three, was the Cannonball Run. They made a couple of remakes after that, but there's several others. The Gumball Rally is the one I like the best, but it was based on the 1979 Cannonball Baker C to C C2 Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. So, and that was really the last one that was, but it was based on a true story about a real race. Okay, so that's some things you can look at this coming week in automotive history. All right, thank you, sir.

2026 Volkswagen Tiguan Road Test

unknown 13:39

There you go.

Jeff Dziekan 13:39

All right, what's coming up?

Don Armstrong 13:41

Time now for this hour's car review. I had the opportunity to drive the 2026 VW Tiguan. Now, I have some experience through a friend of mine with a Tiguan, and um I was not impressed. However, let me say this it's been completely redesigned for this 26 model year. Actually, it was all new in 25, but you know how they do model years these days, you can't ever keep it straight. Anyway, so it comes up in these trim levels, the S, the S E, the S E R line black, and the S E L R line turbo. What did I have? The SEL R line turbo all-wheel drive. This is considered a small SUV. I don't know where they come up. Well, I do know where they come up with a size ranking, but uh this is not small. This is what I would call a mid-size, but that's just me. Um, it fits between the TAWs and the Atlas uh versions of their SUV from Volkswagen. Exterior changes from last model year, as I mentioned, complete redesign for the 2025 model year. Updated front fascia has larger horizontal lines and a bigger grill opening up there. They've brought it up to date, thank you. Uh flattened wheel well openings are attractive and hide the plastic surrounds of those wheel well openings. Rear hatch uh holds uh fender-defender lighting. Uh the sunshade and small rear window give it a fastback look. Uh, what I like, the overall uh design uh is modern but conservative. Just grab grab her by the collar. We're having an issue with the dog in here this morning, and uh it it's it's turned into a it's turned into being a pest, is what it is. Uh overall design, as I mentioned, modern and conservative. What could use improvement? Uh not a fan of non-functioning roof rails and why manufacturers feel that they have to put them up there, I don't know. If it's a look thing, great. Then make it an option. Do you want roof rails? You don't want roof rails. If it comes with roof rails and I don't like them, then take them off. And charge back to the company because I don't want them. That's just me. Just saying. Interior highlights. Top of the line SEL R Turbo offers quilted and perforated seating surfaces. And boy, does it look good. There you get a picture of it right there. Huge screen in the middle, easy to view and use. The new design offers uh more second row leg room because it no longer has a third row. So keep that in mind. They squeezed in a third row, and I think that they figured out, you know, just not selling that many because there's just not enough room in this small SUV for a third row. So they dropped it, and now it offers a lot more room in the back. Uh, what I liked about it, high marks for the design and execution and materials. What could use improvement? Nothing on that interior. It's hot. Hot meaning good looking. Uh, engine is a two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and this is the optional upgraded engine with 268 horsepower. Now it's got a lot of horsepower and 258 pound feet of torque, and it runs uh through an automatic eight-speed transmission. Toe rating, 1800 pounds. So a small trailer. Uh miles per gallon, 22 in the city is what it's rated, 29 on the highway for a combined at 25. Uh, I got 28.7 miles per gallon over 451 miles. Not bad. What I liked about it, plenty of power once that turbo spools up. And there's the key. What could use improvement? The transmission is slow to downshift and has significant turbo lag. It may be fine for you or somebody that drives conservatively, uh, maybe mom, grandma, whatever. Uh, in a big city, it doesn't work because if you're trying to get across a very busy intersection with stop signs, you need to have that car's power ready to go right then and there. And um, it's not quite there yet. Riding handling. What I liked, comfortable ride quality. Uh we could use improvement. Well, nothing really. It's a good middle-of-the-road drive at a comfort level. Here's the pricing. Base trim price, $43,085. Price is tested, $45,015. Now, I will tell you this, as far as price is concerned, compared to other vehicles, I think that there's a lot to offer here. Competitors to this vehicle in base size and price, the Mazda CX50 for $29.90, $900, sorry, $2,990. Now remember, the base model price on this Tiguan is $30,805. So it's right in there with it. The Honda CRV starts at $30,920. And the Kia Sportage goes at the beginning at $28,790. So that gives you uh some options there to look at if you're in the market for this size vehicle. Next week I'm going to review the Toyota Rav 4. And again, big changes to this very popular vehicle, the Toyota Rav 4. That's going to be next week. And that's my review of the 2026 VW Tig one. Comments, suggestions? It's a good looking car.

Jeff Dziekan 19:15

I like the car, the shape of it. Uh, it does look rather large when you see one on the road. Uh it's not bad.

Mike Marrs 19:21

I mean, kind of it's kind of bulbous, I guess.

Jeff Dziekan 19:23

Yeah, a little bit. And it's got that Volkswagen look, you know, the front end look.

Don Armstrong 19:28

I I I like the look of it. Yeah. I like the I love the interior. Of course, this was the top of the line vehicle.

Mike Marrs 19:34

Yeah.

Don Armstrong 19:35

Yeah. This isn't the top of the line vehicle. But that uh transmission, uh, engine and turbo lag doesn't do it for me. And I was expecting more because this friend of mine has one very similar to it. It's not the it's not the upside engine that uh this person has. It is the lower entry-level engine, but they act the same because they've got the same turbocharged system and um the transmission doesn't know what to do. If you are, let's just say, for instance, you're coming up to a stop sign and the vehicle is in third gear, so it downshifts to second, and it's supposed to downshift to first. Okay, the light turned green, stab the accelerator pedal, don't floor it, just you gotta go through the intersection. Jump on it. It doesn't know what to do, and it has to think about it, and sometimes up to a three-second delay before you get going. And to me, um, that just doesn't work.

Mike Marrs 20:31

But that's you know, we've talked about that before about the smaller these motors get, the harder they seem to have to be able to match up that transmission. Uh but not smaller, maybe less power that these motors have. They have seem to have a harder time syncing up with the transmission.

Don Armstrong 20:48

But I will say this there are others in this class that have the same kind of setup, but they don't have the lag that this one does. So if the lag doesn't bother you, go for it. But if the lag bothers you, continue shopping, is my recommendation.

Final Thoughts On Turbo Lag

Don Armstrong 21:09

All right. Hey, if you'd like to get into