Feb. 24, 2026

From Shop Class To Show Time

From Shop Class To Show Time
From Shop Class To Show Time
In Wheel Time Podcast
From Shop Class To Show Time

Ever wonder who keeps carburetors, vacuum lines, and timing lights from fading into history? We dive into the real engine behind reliable repairs: master technicians who mentor the next generation. From GM’s retention strategies and structured apprenticeships to the practical steps a curious student can take, we map a clear path into a modern shop while preserving the old-school feel that tablets can’t teach.

The headlines got hotter than a runaway pack as we unpack current recalls, including EV battery fire risks and what smaller fire departments can and cannot do when lithium-ion ignites. We translate recall notices into plain steps you can take—VIN checks, dealer conversations, and realistic expectations—without the noise. Then it’s onto our sold-car showdown: a sleeper-priced AMC AMX, a tidy ’57 Thunderbird, a six-figure Defender, and a shockingly affordable Mercedes SEL that proves entry price and ownership cost are two different lanes.

Community keeps the hobby running, so we spotlight cruise-ins and charity meets where tacos, trophies, and mentorship collide. These events are where future techs meet shop foremen, where schools find parts and partners, and where stories become careers. We round it out on the factory floor with Toyota’s use of humanoid robots to handle repetitious tasks, and what that means for human roles, from maintaining automation to elevating quality control. Through every segment, one theme holds: when seasoned pros share their craft and rookies lean in, the whole ecosystem—shops, owners, and enthusiasts—gets stronger.

If you love real car talk with actionable advice and a pulse on the industry, hit follow, share this with a friend who wrenches on weekends, and drop a review to tell us what topic you want next.

Be sure to subscribe for more In Wheel Time Car Talk!

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00:00 - Live Show Kickoff And Event Tease

01:48 - Mega Meet Details And Broadcast Plans

03:35 - Story One: Technician Retention Matters

06:48 - Training Paths For Young Techs

10:39 - Old-School Skills Meet Modern Diagnostics

13:31 - Recall Rundown And EV Fire Risks

18:39 - Sold Car Roundup: Price Guesses

28:35 - Cruise-Ins And Community Events

Live Show Kickoff And Event Tease

SPEAKER_00

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast. That's gonna be a new event for us. Yes. And uh looking forward to it. In fact, I got the flyer right here. There it is. So uh Mega Meet 2K26, Team Gilman, Saturday, March 14th, 10 to 2, uh is the show. We're going to be on the air with you live from there from 10 to 1. 10 to 1. Mega Car Show, awards, food and drinks, vendors, DJ and giveaways. And us. Yeah. The Car Meet Network. We'll get to meet those guys too, I guess. All right. Hey, uh, let's start the show, shall we? With the shall we? Okay. We shall. Here we go. Ready. It's the award-winning Enwheel Time Car Talk Show just ahead. Inwheel time. What? Yeah, it's our stuff. Jeff will have the crews in and events calendars, and I'll bring you the stories making automotive news headlines this week. Howdy, along with Mike Out of this World Mars, right there. Right here. Because we always need more Jeffs who you don't see. Thank goodness for now. David Ainsley. You're still in bed. And I'm Don Armstrong. We appreciate you joining us for our show today. And every Saturday from Normally from 10 a.m. to Central Time. So that's our live show. All right. We've got uh our story of the week. This is story one. I actually have two stories and I'll expand on that in the next hour. But for now, here's story one.

Mega Meet Details And Broadcast Plans

SPEAKER_00

Service technicians use computer tablets to diagnose issues in today's electronics-filled vehicles. Those tablets, however, wouldn't be much use with older vehicles that predate many of today's technological advances. That's where technician retention comes in handy. Experienced service technicians not only know how to work on older vehicles, they can also teach youngers, younger ones to get those skills as well. GM has done an incredible job of creating technician loyalty and retention, according to Bo Mandel, president of Mandel Buick GMC in Dyberville, Mississippi. Mandel, or Mandel, however you want to pronounce it, is a past chairman of the Buick GMC National Dealer Council. Several years ago, the automaker set out to create a retention program that includes accolades, schooling, and a bonus structure that allows technicians to stay in the same place, he said. It's important to keep experienced technicians around because these guys know how to fix these older cars, Mandel said. Some of his technicians have been with him for 25 years. His dealership also has an apprentice program that pairs a young technician with often a junior college automotive program graduate, along with an experienced technician. The young technician is not only learning through GM in all their tests and programs and training, he's learning hands-on. His dealership has graduated about 10 technicians that way. That's how we build our bench, as he calls it. Service technicians have access to an archive of General Motors training manuals, and a GM's manager, Dan Carter, said that it's possible to learn how to repair older vehicles even for a new technician. This is a spark plug. This is a carburetor.

Story One: Technician Retention Matters

SPEAKER_00

This is a key fob. GM's customer care and after-sales division has a relationship with a number of trade schools and donates unneeded parts to those schools, according to Patrick Mesner, GM's Director of Strategic Service Initiatives and Accessories. I give you that story because it's getting to be that time of the year where you may have a child, male or female, that is really interested in automotive. Well, if you'll go to a dealership, and chances are you probably know one or someone at a dealership and say, I got a kid that's really interested in this. How do we help him along? And chances are they're going to know a way to get to it. We've had people from San Jacino Junior College here on our show and uh talked about the stream that way. But this is through a dealership. You know, when I was in high school, that's when I started working for the Chevrolet dealership. And as much as I brought to the table from, you know, my friends and working under the hood of their cars and my car and that sort of stuff, um, I brought something to the table, but not near as much as you can get from, say, a junior college, a tech school of some sort. You you know this.

SPEAKER_02

Particularly these days, with so much computer being involved, it's just not pulling wrenches and taking off an alternator.

SPEAKER_00

And and ask us how well we are coordinated with our computer skills here on the in-wheel time car talking. Please don't. Don't.

SPEAKER_01

We've kind of stumbled into this. But to your point, back in our day, there wasn't anything like that. And you know, you you maybe replace the carburetor with a technician, or you help do this, or help hand them a tool right away. You you know what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00

Well, you know, you're looking for promotion. I don't know whether either one of you remember this, but on Richmond Avenue, where the loop crosses Richmond Avenue now, there used to be a General Motors training school there. And it was a big one, had lots of classrooms and uh, you know, had the blocked windows that you know look like ice cubes kind of on the side of the building, very 1940s and 50s. And uh actually Richardson Chevrolet sent me to that training school. And so there are schools out there, but not like that anymore. If you want to go to a school, you need to go through a legitimate school, one that can train you in all things, and then they can drill it down. You into body shop stuff. Yeah. Are you into paint? Are you into service department, heavy duty repairs, engine overhauls, that sort of stuff, whatever it is, once you get going and you get your feet wet in this industry, then you can drill it down to a more specific uh portion of the learning curve.

SPEAKER_01

It's not just in the back of the shop that you can you can go to school for finance, you can go to school for marketing, and all of that interplays, it all interwinds, it's all connected at the dealership.

SPEAKER_02

Well, particularly when you're talking about the the the collision versus the wrenching, because the the sensors and the computers are it all ties together. You know, you can have a bad sensor up underneath the hood someplace that keeps the car from running. It has nothing to do with the mechanics of the vehicle. It's it's really getting complicated.

SPEAKER_00

And to say the least. Speaking of complicated, there are some complications in the automotive

Training Paths For Young Techs

SPEAKER_00

industry, specifically regarding recalls. Well, I got a short list this week, which is strange, and I didn't have any Fords on here, which is the first time I've seen it. So apparently there's some headway being made somewhere good in the bookkeeping Jaguar Jaguar iPace. Hello, Jaguar iPace 2020 to 2021. They're advising you to park that vehicle outside because the high voltage battery may overheat and catch fire. Oh no. Uh, same thing with the Hyundai Ionic 5 and Ionic 9, 2025 to 2026. High voltage battery may catch fire.

SPEAKER_01

What?

SPEAKER_00

Yes, I saw one the other day on the side of the road. A blaze. I'm going, that is a battery car. They could not get it out. No, there's special teams finally had to call in a special fire truck to squirt the foam on it. Yep.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I got a nephew that got he's out of the Marines, and so he went to work for the fire department, went through all the training at the university, got certified, all that good stuff. They never taught them, and they still don't teach them how to put out an electric car, a full electric car fire because of the way it burns. They either put up the foam on it and then try and bag it before the foam dissipates enough, the air gets back to it. And and then and that's a big major hoop-de-doo. In fact, they don't do it down in you know the smaller towns of 50,000 people down there. They don't have it. So their job is to let it burn.

SPEAKER_00

Let it burn. Stand back.

SPEAKER_02

That's all they can do. And the marshmallows up there.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, marshmallows.

SPEAKER_00

And uh, our final recall of the week is the Hyundai Kona for 2026. Loss of steering control from a cracked steering knuckle assembly. Martha, I can't get into the driveway. Here, pull the beard. All right. Let's do some fun stuff, shall we? Let's do our sold car roundup um guessing game. Okay. You you got control there.

SPEAKER_02

I'll get okay.

SPEAKER_00

Um, so we had some pretty good cars this week that I I I was interested in. Uh, some of the prices are stupid, but um, you know, what do you what are you trying to say there, Doc? Well, um, I don't know as if I would pay some of the prices that they're paying for some of these cars, but there's always that one person. Hey man, I really connect with that car, and I'm gonna pay them $100,000. Yeah. So the first one up today is going to be a 1969 AMC AMX. And the AMX was uh just a several-year model uh offering by the American Motor Corporation out of Kenosha, Wisconsin. And this car um drew my attention because of the price of it. So, what do you think that that car sold for on Hemings sold car roundup? $27,000. Mars, do you have well no, you can't you can't play. He's got the so is Heitzman with us? Heitzman's saying 11,000. Oh, Heitzman's with us, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So $11,000. And is George with us this morning?

SPEAKER_02

Well, he is, but uh, you know, he's uh whatever it is is gonna be $99.95. Yeah, no, he was here earlier, but I'm not seeing him at oh, there he is. $59,99.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I like that, but no, but uh actually Jeff is pretty close, $26,250. And that's what drew my attention. I'm going, wait a minute, that's a pretty rare car. If that's an original, yes, $26,250 is cheap.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I would uh yeah. I'm wondering why it's so cheap.

SPEAKER_00

Now this one this one here, the next up, is the 1971 Chevrolet Chavelle. Now, is it a real SS? It's got the SS stripes on it. I do not see the cowl induction hood.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's there. It's got the cowl induction hood. Okay, but did it

Old-School Skills Meet Modern Diagnostics

SPEAKER_02

have hood pins?

SPEAKER_01

Or were those, it wasn't that those cars had hood phone phones?

SPEAKER_02

No, they didn't have hood pins on. I was I went to my chiropractor the other day, and he's got a 71. And uh he's this car? Is it Chevelle? Chevelle, yeah, he's got one, and he keeps it behind his office and he's working on it, he's restoring it. He hasn't driven it in a couple of years. And so I was asking him about it. That's why you're walking. And he said, No, I haven't driven while he said somebody stole my carburetor. And they stole your carburetor? I said, Well, the good news is that eliminates about three-fourths of the people that are under age 22 because they don't even know what a carburetor is. Exactly. Well, somebody knew that the car was back there. Yeah, yeah. Oh, 31. 31. You say 31? I say 31. Hydrogen says 29. Okay. And George says 2899.

SPEAKER_00

Well, they're all close because it sold for 29.4. $29,400. Which I think for a $71.

SPEAKER_01

That's a good price. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Now, is it an SS? It's got stripes on it, but I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

Well, until you buy it, you don't, yeah, you gotta check it out.

SPEAKER_00

All right, next up, uh 1957 Ford Thunderbird. Now, this is before they jacked it all up and started going away from a real Ford Thunderbird. American graffiti. Yeah, it's a two-seater. Port window. It really looks good. 57 Ford Thunderbird. What do you think that sold for? I'm gonna go why would you why would you put those aftermarket wheels on that car?

SPEAKER_01

That that's a deduct there. I'm gonna go uh 25. Just flat 25. Did you look at my papers or something? No, I did not. I'm looking straight ahead. I'm not looking that way.

SPEAKER_02

And I well, I don't have it over here. It's hidden, and I can't shuffle my paper. So Heightsman says 32. George says $20,992.

SPEAKER_00

It's sold for $25,200. Way to go, Jeff. All right. And I don't even like the car. I'm not a big fan, though. Look, it's got the porthole hard top windows. I would turn it into a donk.

SPEAKER_02

The fender skirts, it would be nice to have the fender skirts on it, and then the blonde behind the steering wheel. No donk. If you had that, it'd be good. Was that was that a 57 that she drove? I think so. I think so. But that's just a that's a topic.

SPEAKER_00

All right, next up, we're gonna go in a different direction here. Here is 1957 Willis pickup. Willis. Okay. What do you think that's so unusual, so unique? What do you think that that's sold for? You never see the 16. What? Yeah. Jeff says 16. I'm I'm not feeling it. What does Mr. Heitzman say?

SPEAKER_02

Well, he hasn't got on here yet, but I'm a little shocked. He's googling it. Jeff's 16,000. Well, that's no fun. Heitzman says 9,000.

Recall Rundown And EV Fire Risks

SPEAKER_02

Heitzman says 9,000. Yeah. So he's going to the other. So he must yeah, he must be. He knows something. He must be in the same area you are. Yeah. Okay. Because I would have went the other way. George is at 24.99. You know why it took him long?

SPEAKER_00

Because he looked it up. It sold for 24,150.

SPEAKER_02

Now you go, George.

SPEAKER_00

George. George is back. He is. Well, uh, okay, here's one specifically made for George. All right. A 1931 model AA. Wow. I know. A model AA.

SPEAKER_02

Look at the wheels on the door. I know.

SPEAKER_00

I was just going to say, but remember, has it got dualies in the back? Uh I don't know. But it's like dooley. It does. And this, if that's the case, then it would be kind of rare, I think. Yeah. Um, I kind of like it. I like the I like the colors. I like I like everything about it, actually. I'm gonna go.

SPEAKER_01

It doesn't have any horsepower, but whatever. 2999. Mr.

SPEAKER_02

Heitzman says 21,000.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Well, George says 3799. Guess what? George got it.

SPEAKER_00

How about 17325? Oh, wow. Mr. Heitzman. I know. That would be the perfect vehicle to take to the drive-in with your honey. Get in the back. Yep.

SPEAKER_01

Or the Hot Rod Tour of Texas.

SPEAKER_00

Well, uh, see, now for George Skelton, I would say that our next car would be more along his lines. Okay. This would be a 1984 Land Rover Defender. 84.

SPEAKER_02

It just if it had a turret on top of it, it'd be perfect. A turret. A turret.

SPEAKER_01

God.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, it's but uh, you know, the color's right. Um, it's a new, obviously, it's a it's a refresh. Because they didn't have that color in 1984, I promise you.

SPEAKER_03

84.

SPEAKER_00

84 Land Rover Defender. 32,000.

SPEAKER_02

It's probably gonna be higher, but above 32. Mr. Heisman says 35,000, so he's he's in the same mind as you are. George says 1799.

SPEAKER_00

All of you are terribly underpowered here. 110,250.

SPEAKER_01

And he said that's a George car? Come on. No, that is. He didn't say George would buy it. He just said George could drive it.

SPEAKER_00

George would put your money is in a savings account in millions. All right. And our final car of the morning is going to be this one. Oh man. Now, this to me is this is a Jeff Heitzman car. Yeah? A 1986 Mercedes-Benz S E L four-door stodgy. Got my I got my brown tie on to go with my brown car.

SPEAKER_02

I got the guy in the front seat with the hat.

SPEAKER_00

Well, yeah, is this with or without a chauffeur? Well, it's an 86 Mercedes Benz SEL. Uh, there's it's sold for no reserve. Now, somebody actually bought this, and how much do you think that they paid for it?

SPEAKER_01

$18,000.

SPEAKER_02

Well, Mr. Heitzman's sitting at $38,000.

SPEAKER_01

I won $18. I don't think it won as much as you think it would.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I don't know. Let's see. Um Bobby joined in on the last one a little bit late, but uh see if he got something to contribute to.

SPEAKER_00

This would be a great vehicle to take on the hot rod tour in Texas. By the way, are we talking to Bobby next day? 18 next guess.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, good. So George says 32,999. Okay.

SPEAKER_00

Uh, did Bobby guess on this?

SPEAKER_02

He didn't. I think the I think the last one blew him away so bad. Yeah. Oh, Bobby says 16,000. 16 go micro.

SPEAKER_00

This 86 Mercedes-Benz SEL sold for $5,550.

SPEAKER_02

I can buy that for one of my granddaughters and send her to cool school.

SPEAKER_00

She'd just break it. Well, you know, she wouldn't because it's a tank. Oh, exactly. Yeah. Wow. So that's our sold car roundup for this week. That was fun.

unknown

Okay.

SPEAKER_00

Getting better at it. We are. All right, coming up. Jeff has the cruise in and events calendars, and I'll bring you some of the stories making automotive news headlines this week. Stay with us. The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show continues right after this quick break. The Tailpipes and Tacos renowned cruise-in expands to Beaumont. Golden Triangle cruisers will want to experience tailpipes and tacos at the Loopy Tortilla, I tent south in Beaumont, near Washington Boulevard. Grab free Loopy Breakfast Tacos with any donation to Shirley's kids. Enjoy a coffee or an adult beverage. Every cruise in vehicle is automatically aided to win one of the beautiful chili pepper trophies for Best Hot Rod, Classic, and Modern Classic. Tailpipes and Tacos Beaumont happens Saturday morning, March 21st, 8 to 11 a.m. If you're a car cake like we are, this is the event you'll want to attend. The Influ7 Cover Talk Show will be online live, and you may be interviewed in one of your ride. Tailpipes and Tacos Beaumont edition Saturday, March 21st, 8 to 11 a.m. at the Loopy Tortilla 2050 I Tim South in Beaumont. The Katie Tailpipes and Tacos happens Easter Saturday, April 4th, 8 to 11. The free Tailpipes and Tacos Cruising is a

Sold Car Roundup: Price Guesses

SPEAKER_00

production of Loopy Tortilla Tex Mex, Beaumont and Katie. It's pretty good. Apple or Android InWheel 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 In Wheel Time a try. Honest new car reviews, fun, informative interviews with real car people, weekly automotive news, features like Jeff's car culture and Mike's driving destinations, all on In Wheel Time. Check us out on Sirius XM Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music. Mm-hmm. InWheeltime.com has a list, and we know you love lists.com. And of course, there are the podcasts that you can grab anytime. Thank you for joining us today. Time now for Jeff's cruise in and events calendars.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, we've got a little things going on all over. Now the cruise ins, our cruise-ins and all that good stuff, are are getting more and more prevalent. You got nicer weather, the days are getting longer, everybody's happy. So here we go. You've got Stephanie Nicole's 15th annual car and plane show.

SPEAKER_00

By the way, it's Stephanie Nicole's birthday. Yeah. Whatever, whoever that is. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01

Their annual car and plane show. It's February 28th, which was next Saturday.

SPEAKER_00

Car and Plane.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's at the GTU Terminal Drive in Georgetown, Texas, which is just north of Austin, Texas. It'll take place at the Georgetown Airport. The event benefits automotive technology and the students of GISD, which is Georgetown Independent School District. So good for them. Then you got Cars and Coffee at Current. This is at the current Christian Church. It is February 28th from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. It's at 26600 West Timer Parkway in Cady, Texas. Cars and Coffee at the Current Welcomes All Makes and Models. The last Saturday of the market Christian Church.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. As opposed to the old Christian church. Right. It's the current current one. Right. Not past.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Or not a future. This is the current one. And it goes from 8 to 11. We got a swap meet going on February 28th, which is next Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. And it's where in Rosenberg.

SPEAKER_00

It's down in Rosenberg. We should do that. I know, but I mean I'm thinking you could get some parts for that Mercedes-Benz that we had in the sold car round. I need that screw to screw on the bezel around the chrome light. And it's a fine machine thread.

SPEAKER_01

And you got to order it. Swap meet with the barbecue, a lot. It's going to be at the Rosenberg Fairgrounds down there in Rosenberg, Texas. It runs, like I said, next weekend starting at 10. Organizers invite attendees to mark their calendars, gathering focused exclusively on the swap meet, and they're going to be there until 7 p.m. Then next uh Saturday we've got the Bulldog Auto Detailing Car Meet. And that's in Temple, Texas, George. So in case you're out there wandering around, it's at 2202 West Adams. I can't imagine George wandering around. Yeah, you can wander around.

SPEAKER_00

Well, yeah. Well, at his age, yes.

SPEAKER_01

I'm sure you could. I saw I wander around already. I saw you wandering around yesterday, as a matter of fact. Yeah. Uh Bulldog Auto Detailing will host the event, CarMeet. It's uh at like I said, 2202 West Adams. Uh professional car photos will be available. There's gonna be a courtesy of Elafia Media while sports lasts. There you go. If la IFLA IFLA Media. There you go. And then for one of you, uh Mike, this one's the Mauriceville Cruising. Yeah, yeah. Next Sunday, uh it will be in Orange, Texas at 11265.

SPEAKER_00

When are you reaching out to these guys and letting them know about the colour?

SPEAKER_02

Everyone that we can find, yeah. All the the car clubs, the Mustang clubs, and stuff that's over there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

This one's gonna be at uh you're you actually you're spending the night in the parking lot. We're gonna uh open up the welcome wagon at three o'clock in the morning for all those early risers that go there early.

SPEAKER_02

Well, I think we decided on four, but uh I'll tell I'll check with Chase and see what it's gonna be at Leslie's uh Leslie's Place in Mauriceville cruising.

SPEAKER_01

So there's Leslie's place. Leslie's Place, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

It's on Sunday. Sunday. Interesting. Orange.

SPEAKER_01

There you go. What your hands of that.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. Uh we've got some news for you today. The US Supreme Court uh just yesterday ruled many of President Donald Trump's tariffs illegal, but stop short of saying whether or how the federal government must refund businesses for duties that they've already paid. And wait till you hear the figures. Ready? The 6-3 decision pertains only to tariffs issued by Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. Those include the national level reciprocal tariffs the White House placed on imports that vary from 10% to 50%, and import taxes Trump said he placed on Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese goods in response to fentanyl trafficking. Tariffs issued under other authorities, including duties on vehicles, auto parts, steel, aluminum, and copper, remain in effect and are not impacted by the ruling. It's so complicated. How do you ever keep this all straight?

SPEAKER_01

Well, I think he did it in mind because he knew there was going to be controversy because there's some are saying it's legal, some are saying it's illegal, whatever the case.

SPEAKER_02

In regard to the tariff refunds, they decide what I heard this morning on the way over here because it's plenty of garbage on the air this morning. The Supreme Court, it's not up to them to decide what happens to the money. They just decide whether it's following the law. Well, now they're saying that that was the wrong, that was the wrong law he did it under. There's other laws, so now he's got to change and do it under a different law.

SPEAKER_00

Still, the decision will have significant ramifications for automakers and suppliers. The auto industry paid $8.6 billion through October of 2025 in duties now deemed unconstitutional, according to an October 20th analysis by PWC. The government has also collected $29 billion on imported industrial and manufacturing goods under the now illegal tariffs in that time. The federal government has collected about $314.4 billion in total duties, taxes, and fees since the start of 2025. Oops. I'm sorry. You're not going to get your money back.

SPEAKER_02

A lot of duty going on.

SPEAKER_00

That is a lot of duty.

SPEAKER_02

Yep, a lot of duty.

SPEAKER_00

Humanoids. Are they the blow-up kind? No, apparently they're actually metal and plastic and stuff. They're Woodstock, so they may not need to as part of as part of a robots as a service agreement agility robots said on February 19th. The robotics company, general purpose humanoid robot known as Digit, is designed to take on repetitive logistics and manufacturing tasks and uses artificial intelligence to learn and adapt to new manufacturing workflows. The expanded deployment at TMCC Toyota Motors follows roughly a year working through development, proof of technology, and on-site pilot. The seven robots will be tasked with loading and unloading totes from an automated tugger. Totes are the things that they carry, like you know, parts. Parts, but in specific uh taillights. Right. Whole rack of taillights. Right, right. That sort of thing. And they bring them up on a little tug, drop off that cart, and pick up the empty one. Yep, yep. Digit, huh? You said digit.

SPEAKER_02

Did you Frankie Avalon's name you can come up with?

SPEAKER_00

Frankie Avalon. Why not? What a great name for a dog. What's your dog's name? Digit. Digit. Here, boy. After evaluating a number of robots, we are excited to deploy Digit to improve the team number member experience and further increase operational efficiency in our manufacturing facilities. TMCMC employs about 8,500 staff across its three plants in Ontario. It's by far the largest producer of vehicles in Canada, building more than half million RAV 4s and Lexus RX's in 2025. That's a lot. It is. You stand at the door and you look down there and you can't see the end of it. It's so far down the way. It's massive. You just don't have an idea how you can do it.

SPEAKER_01

It's like little cities where it was born. But it's not just one floor like that. There's several floors.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, that's true. Yeah, and uh the it's uh it's with an add-on stamping plant at the back. So it all starts back there and works its way up toward the front.

SPEAKER_01

Sort of reminds you of the uh Willow Run plant when they made B-52s up in Detroit, where they actually had to make this the factory an L because the property that they wanted to go on, they wouldn't they couldn't get the property, so they had to make it a turn. Yeah, yeah. It's still there today, I believe.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, I believe you're right. Interesting. Well, we have finished half of the show. What? We have, and so we're going to move

Cruise-Ins And Community Events

SPEAKER_00

on now, but I wanted to remind you that we'd love to hear from you. Shoot us an email anytime. The address is info at inwheeltime.com, and we will be right back. The Easter Bunny's coming. To the tailpipes and tacos cruise in at the Loopy Tortilla Tex Max in Katy, April 4th, 8 to 11 a.m. And you're invited too. Bring the kids and grandkids. It's a cruise in like you've never attended before. With a donation to Shirley's Kids, you'll get a free Loopy Tortilla breakfast taco. There'll be coffee and adult beverages, plus chili pepper trophies for the best hot rod, best modern classic, and best classic. There's no entry fee and no registration. Just bring your ride and the kids. Bad bunnies aren't allowed, but the Easter bunny will be there, and he'll be full of joy to help make this tailpipes and tacos a very special one. Photo opportunities abound. The Inmodell Time Car Talk Show will be streaming around the globe, and you can be selected to tell your car story to a global audience. It's the Tailpipes and Tacos Cruise in Easter edition, Saturday, April 4th, 8 to 11am at the Lumpy Tortilla Tex Max in Katy, located on 99, the Grand Parkway, just south of line 10, the Katy Freeway, in Katy. Make plans now. Loopy Tortilla is pretty good.

SPEAKER_04

We're collaborating with the carmine level. So your number's gonna be crazy. And that's not a moment. We're gonna be wrestling up six commerce to be sold at a thousand dollars each. See below for more details. You're not gonna wanna miss this you since March 14th. We can't wait to see you here.

SPEAKER_00

That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show. I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our 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.