Feb. 28, 2025

Hot Rod Tour of Texas and some Auto History!

Hot Rod Tour of Texas and some Auto History!
Hot Rod Tour of Texas and some Auto History!
In Wheel Time Podcast
Hot Rod Tour of Texas and some Auto History!
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
iHeartRadio podcast player badge
TuneIn podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconiHeartRadio podcast player iconTuneIn podcast player icon

What if the road trip of a lifetime was just around the corner? Buckle up as we prepare for the Hot Rod Tour of Texas, an event filled with laughter, vibrant memories, and, yes, strong margaritas. From our kickoff in Victoria to the iconic NASA, our itinerary promises excitement and adventure. A special shoutout to our friends Bobby and Jeremy, whose impeccable planning ensures a smooth ride. And let's not forget our live broadcast from Spindletap Brewery, where the stories flow as freely as the drinks.

Shift gears with us as we take you through the high-octane world of NASCAR, where a recent 34-car pileup left us on the edge of our seats. Reflecting on the sport's evolution, we revisit the days of unrestricted speeds and relish personal tales from tracks across Houston, Dallas, and Kansas. With a nod to racing legends like Jamie McMurray, we also consider the vital roles retired drivers continue to play in shaping the future of the sport.

Nostalgia takes the wheel as we savor Tex-Mex delights at Loopy Tortilla and celebrate milestones in automobile history. From honoring the legacy of Dale Earnhardt Sr. to the founding of NASCAR by Bill France Sr., the episode is a tribute to the legends who shaped the road ahead. Plus, mark your calendars for upcoming races in Atlanta, Gainesville, and Sebring. Join us every Saturday morning for our live show and stay tuned across platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more for your weekly dose of automotive adventures.

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

The Lupe' Tortilla Restaurants
Lupe Tortilla in Katy, Texas

Gulf Coast Auto Shield
Paint protection, tint, and more!

ProAm Auto Accessories
ProAm Auto Accessories: "THE" place to go to find exclusive and hard to find parts and accessories!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

---- -----
Want more In Wheel Time Car Talk any time?

In Wheel Time Car Talk is now available on Audacy!

Just go to Audacy.com/InWheelTimeCarTalk where ever you are.
----- -----
Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast provider for the next episode of In Wheel Time Car Talk and check out our live broadcast every Saturday, 10a - 12noonCT simulcasting on Audacy, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and InWheelTime.com.

In Wheel Time Car Talk podcast can be heard on you mobile device from providers such as:

Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music Podcast, Spotify, SiriusXM Podcast, iHeartRadio podcast, TuneIn + Alexa, Podcast Addict, Castro, Castbox, YouTube Podcast and more on your mobile device.

Follow InWheelTime.com for the latest updates!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/InWheelTime

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inwheeltime/

https://www.youtube.com/inwheeltime

https://www.Facebook.com/InWheelTime

For more information about In Wheel Time Car Talk, email us at

info@inwheeltime.com

Tags: In Wheel Time, automotive car talk show, car talk, Live car talk show, In Wheel Time Car Talk




InWheelTime.com/InWheelTimeCarTalk.com available on iHeartRadio, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and most podcast providers.

00:01 - Hot Rod Tour and NASCAR Transition

07:20 - NASCAR Racing and History Recap

14:51 - Auto Industry Updates and History Highlights

29:01 - Texas Hot Rod Tour Announcement

Hot Rod Tour and NASCAR Transition

Speaker 1

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast , a 30-minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am Central . This is the only place to go for all things automotive in our mind . Yep , the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show . Just ahead we travel to the Texas tea capital of the world , oh Midland . Talk with James White at the Petroleum Museum . Later , Jeff has the racing calendar . Oh yeah , Mars has this week in auto history and I'll get you caught up on stories making automotive news headlines . Howdy Along with Mike out of this world . Mars , we always need more . Jeff Zekin , I'm Don Armstrong . David Ainsley is going to be joining us . Well , I don't know whether he joined us on the air , but he's supposed to come over to the house this morning , so we'll see if that happens . Kind of like our guest that we're supposed to have right now , and Mr Mars is working on that . He hasn't clocked in .

Speaker 1

He's making the connection . He hasn't clocked in yet . There you go . Alright , you coming on the Hot Rod Tour with us .

Speaker 2

Yeah , yeah , I got my hotel reservation for Victoria . I'm not sure about the other hotel reservations just yet , but we'll talk about it .

Speaker 1

Well , I got my hotel reservation for Thursday night , the kickoff party down there in Victoria . We'll be there . You didn't go last year to the kickoff , not to the kickoff Boy . That kickoff was great , I'm telling you it was great .

Speaker 2

I think that you'll really enjoy it . They're still talking about Mike down there . They are . They are I don't know what he did .

Speaker 1

Well , I think that he and Barney got together .

Speaker 2

He made an impression .

Speaker 1

And they out of jail . It took a while , I don't know , but , uh , great event . And if you have a chance , even if you're not going to go on the tour you know the drive down there is lickety split , doesn't take you any time at all . You know , you think of victoria and you think , oh , that's too far away .

Speaker 3

No , it's not , it's not really and uh .

Speaker 1

Anyway , down there at the town square they have the . They're going to have the symphony back again this year along with the country band and high school people and it's a big to-do in town square .

Speaker 2

If you look up certain cities in Texas , Victoria is known as the secret of Texas . It's like the best-kept secret of Texas . It's a nice little town . It's what the city's motto , I guess .

Speaker 1

So that's on Thursday , and then we all gather up out at the big park . It has a big parking lot and , uh , that's when we take off and and head this away .

Speaker 1

Yeah , yeah , uh , head this way and I think , uh , the stop is santa fe and then we go to nasa . I don't believe I'm going to . I think i'm'm going to come home on Friday and spend the night here at the house yeah , I think that's why I said hotels and stuff and then , saturday , get up extra early and head up to the Spindletap Brewery and we're going to do set up up there for the show and we're going to do this live show from there , saturday from 10 to noon , and we're going to be indoors . Yep , I've made that decision . I saw your , your threads of emails on that , yep , and then , uh , we'll take off again . Let let somebody else do the teardown and I'll be on my way , yep , and then , uh , we head north up toward madisonville . On sunday , we spend the night , I think , in the woodlands and I think I'm going to do that .

Speaker 2

See , that's a little unsure on whether we're going to do that or just come back to the house and then restart the day the next day , yeah .

Speaker 1

You know I've shortened it and at the last minute I'm going . Man , I wish I hadn't shortened it .

Speaker 2

Oh , to each his own . Yeah , Anyway , so I'm going , man . I wish I hadn't shortened it . Oh , to each his own .

Speaker 1

Yeah , anyway . So I'm going to take it on up there to Madisonville and then come back that afternoon , sunday afternoon . Really looking forward to it . It'll be interesting to see all of the 350 cars , and there's no way you can put 350 cars in line and keep them all together .

Speaker 2

Yeah , and what bobby and jeremy did on this on the website way , if you get onto the hot rod tour texas website , they've actually listed the day's events hour by hour , where you're to be at , you know eight o'clock you're starting off this and then there's a timeline of what you could be doing in that timeline and this we're going to meet . So the whole thing is planned out . He did a really good job of that .

Speaker 1

You know I'll say this , that it is a major undertaking to do this .

Speaker 2

But let me interrupt that , because not only is he preparing for that , but every weekend he's got a show going on somewhere . He's going this way and that way .

Speaker 1

He does lots of cruise-ins on his own . You know , not necessarily with the Hot Rod Tour a bunch , but lots of cruise-ins , especially around the Victoria area .

Speaker 2

You know , and we do the cruise-ins here for the time we have and the folks that we want to , you know , promote . We don't get paid for it , obviously , but if you want to find out more , you can get onto the Hot Rod Tour of Texas website or follow Bobby and Jeremy on the Facebooks and they'll load you up with things every week . They really will . I don't need to be loaded up any more than I already am . You were loaded last night . I'm telling you .

Speaker 1

Well , margaritas are pretty potent . Shut up , mars . You didn't go , you're right , I didn't . I behaved , but you know what ? We're having a lunch today and I can go down the loopy tortilla and get you a couple of margaritas to go .

Speaker 3

That's right .

Speaker 1

He's already got it . I got to go to my mom's birthday party today .

Speaker 3

She is 96 today , wow .

Speaker 2

Happy birthday . Yeah , where is she right ?

Speaker 3

now she's at home .

Speaker 1

Is she preparing ? Getting her makeup on ? Yeah , all that good stuff , setting up decorations , she's probably cooking and all that , yeah , probably .

Speaker 2

He's got her setting up decorations . She's probably cooking and all that .

Speaker 3

Yeah , probably he's trying to keep her off the ladder .

Speaker 2

you know hanging decorations and stuff Not since that last week accident .

Speaker 3

Yeah , it was bad .

Speaker 1

I've got some stories here to pass the time . Mike just told one , did he ? I guess our guest is not going to make it .

Speaker 3

Apparently he's not . I'm going to give him one more shot .

Speaker 1

Well , there is petroleum involved , so it's kind of a slick Saturday for him . Nascar is bringing its electrification and sustainability efforts closer to home . Stock car series , known for the thunderous roar from V8 engines , has added a new batch of electric vehicle charges to its headquarters in Daytona Beach . You know what's next , don't you ? It's shocking . Nascar partnered with Florida Power and Light and Swiss Industrial Group ABB for the project , which included 30 new level 2 EV chargers Not ones , but twos . Chargers are for employee and industry use and will facilitate NASCAR's transition to electric fleet vehicles . According to the press release , ford and Chevrolet have both since revealed their own EV prototype race vehicles .

Speaker 1

A Chevrolet Blazer EVSS served as the pace car for the Daytona 500 on February 16th . It was the first EV to pace NASCAR's most famous race . Did you watch it ? I did , I did . You knew it was going to happen , and there was always that one driver . I'm going to make a place for me , whether you're going to move over and let me in or not , because I'm faster than you .

NASCAR Racing and History Recap

Speaker 1

Well , he caused like a 34-car pileup .

Speaker 2

There was one early and then there was one late . Everybody settles down they want to be in it and then they say go , go , go and they go yeah .

Speaker 1

Yeah , it's like putting 10 pounds of stuff in a five-pound bag . It just didn't work .

Speaker 2

And of course , the whole race time was this person hadn't won it in 20 years . This person's never won it , but the guy that won it won back-to-back , so go figure that Well , you know .

Speaker 1

The other thing is Sorry , mars , I cut off the wrong microphone . The other thing was with it they got I don't know 12 laps in and then they had to red flag it because of the rain .

Speaker 2

Yeah , they did that twice yeah .

Speaker 1

And it was all day waiting . They even played last year's 500 .

Speaker 2

But follow up to it all . It was only 10% chance and by the time race day came it was 45% and we're all going to die . You know that kind of thought crazy .

Speaker 1

Well , it was a mess , but whatever , it was still a race . I will say this Well , it was a mess , but whatever it was still a mess . I will say this If you recall , back in the day there were no restrictor plates , it was just wide open and back then Arrow was coming into the whole thing with the road runners , the Super Bs , all of that stuff . Well then they decided they were going too fast .

Speaker 1

So , we're going to put a restrictor plate underneath the carburetor . Well , there's no carburetor anymore . I don't know how they're restricting it , but they're doing some something to jetting . Keep it under 200 miles I'm sure , and uh , the problem there is is that everybody's doing the same thing . They got the same kind of engine , the same kind of horsepower , so they all run together , which used to not be the case . Remember , you'd have first place , you know two minutes ahead , and last place , yeah , and the last place car has been lapped a hundred times .

Speaker 2

Yep , that , that's no fun and they've got other issues with nascar . Now they've got things about uh , there's gosh , I can't remember what they call it , but when you you have to , you can pay to get a spot as a team . So I'm going to pay you X amount of dollars , nascar , but I'm guaranteed a spot in the race , whether you qualify good or not .

Speaker 1

I can't remember the name , the other thing is that they had the foreigner at the back of the pack driving a car that it's like here . Here's a gimme put the . The other thing is that I wanted to mention did you happen to notice that there is no more back , back , uh , straight away grandstands anymore ? Did you know that ?

Speaker 2

I did not notice that they took them out . Charter when you pay for a charter to get in a race is what it is .

Speaker 1

They took those grandstands out in the back and they completely redid and added seats to the front straightaway . I guess nobody was sitting back there . When I used to go to the circle track race here in Houston , I always sat in the back stretch because the seats back there were cheaper and you could get real close .

Speaker 2

Well , when they opened up , the . Dallas Motor Speedway for NASCAR . It real close . Well , when they opened up the Dallas Motor Speedway for NASCAR , I was at the first race . We sat in turn two in the bleachers . Now there's multi-million dollar hotels and , whatever the case may be , oh , the condos down there , condos and all that . I sat in bleachers on cold , rainy , wet bleachers . That first race in Dallas . Kathy and I were there . Yep , they flew us up for the race .

Speaker 2

I've been to one race up there , one , nascar racing used to go to kansas all the time with , uh , uh , keystone . Uh , we would have booths and things like that was it a mile and a half yeah , yeah , it's a cookie cutter mile and a half up in kansas .

Speaker 2

Yeah , that's when , uh , I worked for keystone and I worked for um . That's when I worked for Keystone and I worked for Jamie McMurray's dad , jim McMurray . He was my boss and that's when Jamie was in go-karts . Any relationship to Fred McMurray ? No , no , it's probably a distant cousin my three sons , but they would . Jim would bring his trailer in his truck to my house , park it in front . He would pay Jason to wash it , and then him and I would go make sales calls in san antonio . But his sales calls were everything for the go-kart , nothing to do with what we had to do . So guys tagged along . It was great . Uh , jim , I think , has since retired . Jamie uh is now a broadcaster for nascar . So I knew him when he was , you know , growing up a tyke , yeah , little guy , when his first race was the craftsman trucks in um daytona . Craftsman truck race , daytona , I don't . He got in a wreck and all that stuff .

Speaker 1

So that happens , everybody gets in a wreck daytona .

Speaker 2

Uh , he drove for sterling marlin . When sterling marlin had his wreck and had to get out of racing , jamie took his car and won daytona . I'll be . Yeah , I've got the newspaper articles and all that stuff for it .

Speaker 1

You gotta wonder sometimes whatever happened to those old , very successful race car drivers .

Speaker 2

Uh , terry labonte terry labonte still around . Bobby labonte well , they used to be broadcasting last year , I know .

Speaker 1

But did he ? Is he not racing anything anywhere ? I don't know how do you just say I'm not going to do that ?

Speaker 2

well , don't quit . I think they get involved in more of the safety aspect . They get involved in the marketing . They get involved in different parts of NASCAR . No but it's not driving the car , I know , but you're too old that , barbra Streisand the BS , send it to Big Ben yeah send it to Big Ben . Do I need a seatbelt ?

Speaker 1

do I need a seat belt ? Well , I , I don't know . I just it was different . I really hadn't watched the daytona 500 a number of years and I thought , well , uh , I'm gonna do that and I did . Yeah , I got all this stuff done around the house . Yeah , you kind of piddle around , one , do another stuff , yep , it was interesting . And I'm not too sure about the segments . The segment racing , yeah . Stages , yeah .

Speaker 2

I don't . Why not just run it all the way ? Everybody gets a trophy . That's what it is . Everybody gets a trophy . Oh , I'm going to get a point for this , because I finished third . Why don't you try to finish first ?

Speaker 1

I want it to go all the way From the start to the finish green flag until there's a wreck . I agree , the staging thing doesn't do it for me . You've got a 500-mile race and part of the appeal of that is being able to go the long distance without stages . Come on in , change the tires . No , you get a free pass . That's not it . No , I say on those big races like that no , nay , nay , nay , nay nay , I say Nay , nay , you eat too much .

Speaker 2

Yeah , it just didn't work for me . Well , to get right into it , we got , I'm going to do the racing calendar . It's coming up next , next segment . What do you ? Next segment ? What do you ? The racing ?

Speaker 1

calendar . He's reading ahead . I know he's always when he's ready to move , when he's ready to go somewhere , he is ready to go . Get out of his way , I gotta go home , why ? Well , I got stuff to do . What do you got to do ? Well , I don't know . I got stuff , okay . What do you got to do ? Well , I don't know . I got stuff , okay , oh , I got you Just ahead . As you've already previewed , jeff has the racing calendar , mars has this week in auto history and I'll have some more news headlines for you Coming up on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show . We're back in a flash .

Auto Industry Updates and History Highlights

Speaker 1

The Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla , your destination for Texas' best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas . Since 1983 , loopy Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients . Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience at Loopy Tortilla , all developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in West Houston . Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location . Start your Loopy experience with Queso Flamiado and Guacamole , along with a classic frozen margarita . Dine on famous Loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp brochette , or a fish or vegetarian entree , and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert . Find Loopy Tortilla in Houston , college Station , beaumont , austin , san Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth . There's a Texas location near you . The recipes are authentic and time tested , the ingredients always fresh . Loopy Tortilla it's pretty good .

Speaker 1

You own a car you love . Why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it ? Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state-of-the-art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts . We promise you'll be impressed . Whether you're looking to massage your original paint to a like-new appearance , apply a ceramic coating , install a paint protection film , nano-ceramic window tint or new windshield protection called ExoShield , gulf Coast Auto Shield is where Houston's car people go .

Speaker 1

Curbed your wheels . Instead of buying new , why not have them repaired ? How about a professionally installed radar detector ? Gulf Coast Auto Shield does that too . Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautoshieldcom . Better yet , stop by their facility at 11275 South Sam Houston Tollway , just south of the Southwest Freeway , and get a personal tour . Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior . Call them today 832-930-5655 , or gcautoshieldcom . Hey , you're going on the Hot Rod Tour of Texas with us . Be sure and follow us , the In Wheel Time team , as we join over 300 other enthusiasts beginning April 24th as we trek across Texas . 300 other enthusiasts beginning April 24th as we trek across Texas . Get the info link at inwheeltimecom and our In Wheel Time Facebook page . Time now for Jeff's Racing Calendar , sponsored by the Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge .

Speaker 2

Thank you for that . Now we talked about NASCAR . Nascar is in Atlanta . They're just moving a little bit north out of Daytona to go up to Atlanta Motor Speedway . There's some challenges with weather it's cold , they're finally putting heaters in the garages and stuff . But that is tomorrow Atlanta for NASCAR . And then you've got the Xfinity Series is today in Atlanta and the Craftsman Truck Series is today in Atlanta . They did some testing yesterday and qualifying yesterday for the trucks . I don't know any results , but they should be posted soon .

Speaker 2

Nhra in March coming up not very far away a couple of weeks . We'll be there in Gainesville . Courtney Enders was on last week and she gave us a good lowdown on that . So it's pretty cool . Saturday March 15th the 12 hours of Sebring in the Sebring International Speedway , so that's going to be cool . That's on Peacock . Now , all of these are on different platforms your Peacocks , your CW channels , your NBCs and your Foxes . So check your local listings for all that . And then , of course , we've got some Demolition Derby and Soapbox Derby coming up in March as well . It's always a Demolition .

Speaker 3

Derby here in Houston Get up 610 , just look at it and see .

Speaker 1

All right , guess what time it is now it's time for Mr Mars this week in auto history Dun dun dun .

Speaker 2

Give me a second Dun dun dun .

Speaker 3

Yeah , it was kind of an interesting week . There was a lot of things going on , like I said , a lot of birthdays , a lot of things going on , like I said , a lot of birthdays , a lot of people died , but four stories that we watched Dying Birthdays and time .

Speaker 3

Yeah , four stories that I thought were . Are these deaths or are these births ? A little bit of both . So this week in automotive history , 2001 , february 18 , 2001 , dale Earnhardt Sr . A seven-time NASCAR champion , tragically lost his life on the final lap of the Daytona 500 , much as we were talking earlier . Driving the number three Chevrolet , earnhardt was blocking for his teammates , michael Walther and Dale Earnhardt Jr , when contact sent his car into the wall . In turn , number four Now . A seemingly minor crash resulted in a fatal skull fracture skull fracture . It was a sad event , but his death led to major safety reforms inside NASCAR , including the mandated Hans device , safer barriers and improved cockpit restraints .

Speaker 1

So also they haven't had a death in NASCAR since then .

Speaker 3

I don't believe they have .

Speaker 2

That's what they said .

Speaker 3

Also this week , in 1948 , february the 21st , bill france senior officially founded the national association for stock car auto racing in daytona beach , florida . He recognized the need for organizing in stock car racing . He brought together drivers , promoters and officials and established a standardized rules and structured championship series . The first , first NASCAR-sanctioned race was held later that year and by 1949 , the Strictly Stock Series , which is now the Cup Series , debuted . Nascar grew rapidly , becoming America's premium motorsport , known for its high-speed action and passionate fan engagement . Also this week , on February 21 , 1971, . So this week , on February the 21st , 1971 , the Datsun 240Z .

Speaker 2

Datsun Datsun .

Speaker 3

Datsun , datsun .

Speaker 1

Datsun . Sorry , ladies and gentlemen , he's from East Texas , you know .

Speaker 3

Officially launched in the United States , revolutionizing the affordable sports car market . Designed by Nissan and branded as Datsun Datsun Datsun For export , the 240Z combines sleek styling , a 2.4 inline 6-cylinder engine and a competitive price of $3526 , which is what really drew people to it . It offered European performance with Japanese reliability , challenging the more expensive sport cars like the Porsche 911 . And with 151 horsepower and the lightweight chassis , it became an instant hit , selling over 160,000 units in the US alone . This established Nissan as a major player in the sports car industry and laid the foundation for the legendary Z car lineage . Lineage Lineage Lineage Dahatsu .

Speaker 3

February the 22nd 1962 . The Shelby Cobra , featuring a Ford V8 and a lightweight AC chassis , secured its first competitive victory , marking the beginning of Carroll Shelby's racing dominance . Now , this was at the Riverside International Raceway . Driver Dave McDonald secured that Shelby Cobra's first racing victories . Dave McDonald secured that Shelby Cobra's first racing victories . It was built on an AC Ace chassis with a Ford 260 V8 , lightweight , powerful and fast . This triumph not only showcased the Cobra's performance , but it signaled the emergence of a formidable competitor in sports car racing , as the engines in the Shelby grew to a 289 cubic inch V8 and later the dominating 427 cubic inch V8 . This is Mr McDonald , who was killed a few years later . That picture struck me that here he is with the car and crew cut , flat top . It was a different era of people and race cars .

Speaker 1

I had me a flat top forever , until I went to high school . Wow .

Speaker 3

That's what I mean . It was a different error and it had nothing to do with somebody dropping you on your head .

Speaker 2

It's true , man speaks truth .

Speaker 1

You know he manages to throw these little tidbits in there . They're great , aren't they ? Yeah , but I'm really not ready for them . Stellantis is temporarily halting all activity at the Brampton Assembly Plant .

Speaker 2

Where's that ?

Speaker 1

Ontario . Oh okay , effective immediately as it evaluates its strategy for the next generation Jeep Compass that was slated to be produced there . Spokesman said . They said as we navigate today's dynamic environment , stellantis continues to reassess its product strategy in North America to ensure it's offering customers a range of vehicles with flexible powertrain options to best meet their needs .

Speaker 3

Unless they want to be eight .

Speaker 1

As a result , the company is temporarily pausing work on the next generation Jeep Compass , including activities at the Brampton assembly plant . This does not change our previously announced investment plans for Brampton . In a statement , canada's Unifor Union called the decision a matter of grave concern . Okay , continental , not the car , but the company maker of lots of different things components for cars . Continental's automotive unit plans to cut 3,000 jobs in its search and research and development unit as the German supplier prepares to spin off the struggling business . The reductions , equating to about 10% of the R&D workforce , will be made by the end of 2026 , with fewer than half of them in Germany , according to Continental . The move comes on top of 7,000 job cuts already announced by Continental and a restructuring program that has been in the works for over a year . Continental said it also aims to reduce its R&D ratio to below 10% by 2027 .

Speaker 1

Elon has gone from an electric vehicle evangelist , popular among liberal EV buyers , to a hero of President Donald Trump's MAGA movement , splitting Tesla's brand image along partisan lines . A new survey says and Mr Musk had a 42% favorability rating from gasoline vehicle owners , versus 37% unfavorable . The survey said Pickup owners were top Musk fans at 46% , but EV drivers rated Musk the other way around , at just 35% positive and 42% negative . Musk's partisan shift from EV Jesus to MAGA God is hurting Tesla's brand image in top EV markets such as California . According to Mr Murphy , musk has more of a MAGA identity now than an electric car identity . He's a nightmare for the Tesla chief marketing officer because he's now in the way . Musk has more of a MAGA identity now than an electric car identity . He's a nightmare for the Tesla chief marketing officer because he's now in the way . Who's Judas in all this ? I ?

Speaker 2

don't know .

Speaker 1

And Ford has told its suppliers it will delay the launch of the new Model F-150 pickup . A perennial top seller for the automaker and golden goose for parts makers , ford was expected to roll out the 15th generation of its traditional gasoline hybrid pickup in 2027 . Production for the program , codenamed P736 , has been pushed out by at least a year to mid-28 at Dearborn Truck and Kansas City Assemblies . Yeah , everybody's kind of putting everything on hold , yep , yep . Well , thank you for agreeing with me Wait and see , yeah , so we'll see what happens with that .

Speaker 1

Anyway , all right , we'd love to hear from you . Just shoot us an email . The address here is info at inwheeltimecom . We're back after this quick break .

Speaker 1

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

Speaker 1

It's time for the 47th Annual Corvette Chevy Expo in Galveston . Saturday and Sunday , march 15th and 16th , at the Galveston Island Convention Center . This premier indoor event features iconic Chevrolets , from classic Camaros to America's sports car Corvette . Features iconic Chevrolets , from classic Camaros to America's sports car Corvette . See over 135 displays , automotive vendors and unique finds at the expansive swap meet . You'll also see the all-handmade Galveston Craft Show featuring over 100 local artisans . Be part of the Chevy celebration March 15th and 16th . For tickets , visit CorvetteChevyExpocom .

Speaker 1

Well , you know what that sound means . That's it . That's all for this week's In Real Time Car Talk Show . Be sure and check us out online inrealtimecom . Hey , we'd love to see a few pics of your ride . Please include as many details as you'd like . We'll feature it on a future show . Email the skinny to info at inwheeltimecom .

Speaker 1

When you're looking for award-winning car talk , you can find the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show 24-7 on the In Wheel Time app On the road . Grab a podcast anytime from your favorite podcast provider , including the new SiriusXM podcast channel , and be sure to catch us on the Odyssey Radio app . We video stream our live show every Saturday 10 to noon on Facebook , youtube and InWheelTimecom . The InWheelTime video technical director as we always need more Jeff Zekin For booking agent , video editor and people finder Mike out of this world , mars and chief engineer David Ainsley .

Texas Hot Rod Tour Announcement

Speaker 1

I'm Don Armstrong .

Speaker 1

Hot Rod Tour of Texas starts April 24th in Victoria and we hope you'll join us or at least tune in Details and links at inwheeltimecom . Be safe out there , have a great week and weekend and thanks again for tuning in to In Wheel Time . 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 InWheelTimecom website , youtube Twitch and our InWheelTimecom website . Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts , spotify Stitcher , iheart Podcast , podcast Addict TuneIn , Pandora and Amazon Music . Keep listening and we'll see you soon .