Revving Up at the 41st Houston Autoboative Show: Cars, Trucks, and Nautical Adventures

Auto & Boat Show Highlights in Houston

Speaker 1 0:01

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 11am . Central Podcasting and streaming around the globe from the 41st annual Houston Auto Show at NRG Center . It's the In Wheel Time car talk show Just ahead . Look inside the car show with the executive vice president of the Houston Automobile Dealers Association . So show Salinas , who I've known for how many years ? 14? , 14 years now . No , you've been here for 14 years . Well , I guess I met you before you worked for the Houston Auto Dealers Association .

Speaker 2 0:40

Correct .

Speaker 1 0:42

I'm just getting it all straightened out in my head .

Speaker 4 0:43

And she still talks to you I don't know why we need more .

Speaker 1 0:46

Jeff Brings you information on steering a car versus a boat . When he told me that , I thought are you kidding me ? It's great , Okay .

Speaker 3 0:58

There are differences .

Speaker 1 0:59

We're looking a lot , so we're looking forward to that . Conrad has a look at the upcoming racing events . It's all just ahead on the In Wheel Time car talk show . Thanks so much for joining us today , howdy , along with Mike out of this world , mars , who's back over there . You just stay over there , king Conrad DeLong , sitting next to me today . We always need more Jeff Zekin and chief engineer David Aisley is making a rare appearance .

Speaker 1 1:22

I'm Don Armstrong . So thank you very much again for joining us today and thank you to Rochelle Salinas with the Houston Auto Show for allowing us to participate in this great event . And this event , by the way , is kind of a split event all under one roof with the boat show and also the car show , and cars , of course , talk about trucks as well . We are in the Nissan booth . We'd like to thank Steve Parrott , chad Fishburne for allowing us to take place here , along with all of the folks that apparently were in on some great big , huge Zoom meeting call to discuss whether or not they're going to actually let us in here , because they've heard crazy things about us .

Speaker 3 2:09

And Rochelle's been listening to our dirty laundry as we set up .

Speaker 1 2:13

Yes , she has . We all love each other the behind the scenes is very precious . Yes , so what we should do is we should just have the camera on and the audio on , so everybody can actually kind of get a sneak preview of what it takes to put this show on here . There'd be a lot of beeps .

Speaker 2 2:30

Full transparency .

Speaker 1 2:32

But unfortunately we don't have the word with all the making beeps .

Speaker 4 2:37

Yeah , the two hours of prep for the show and then the 30 seconds of sheer panic because we're not ready 30 seconds before we go live . That's correct .

Speaker 1 2:46

It's always every weekend . It never fails . Whether you're here or in the studio , it doesn't make any difference .

Speaker 4 2:51

Okay , nothing else Moving on . What are you doing ?

Speaker 1 2:55

Oh , you're covering that up .

Speaker 4 2:56

Sure , we can look a little better , okay whatever you say , so as I've already , introduced .

Speaker 1 3:02

Rochelle Salinas here from the auto boat of show . See , I'm sorry , I have a hard time saying that .

Speaker 2 3:08

It's a tongue twister .

Speaker 1 3:09

Well , it's not just that , it's the fact that you know we're car guys . So this would be the auto show and we're in the actual part of the show .

Speaker 3 3:17

Don't cross that auto show .

Speaker 1 3:19

Don't cross that road , because then you'll be on the boat . So where are we ? Are we in the A , b , c or D hull ?

Speaker 2 3:25

We're in the middle of C .

Speaker 1 3:27

We're in the middle of C . So when you walk in the door find C and we're down the middle aisle . Cars on the right , boats to the left . That's right Stand up , sit down , fight , fight , fight Clowns to the left of me Jokers to the right . That's it . So here I am . Here I am stuck in the middle with you what ? Do we do Shall we just sing the whole song ? Well , we are in C . Do we get a B flat ? A B flat . How's it going ?

Speaker 2 3:53

You know it is a different , but good year .

Speaker 1 3:57

Why is it different ?

Speaker 2 3:58

Well , it's slightly different from the number of manufacturers that we've had for the . You know , 15 years I've been working this auto show , but things change over time and this year is a different one . But you know , we're still providing a fantastic weekend .

Speaker 4 4:13

Experience .

Speaker 2 4:14

Something fun to do . We've been stuck in our house in Houston for two weeks now with the rain with the freeze , with the cold , like let's just get out and enjoy and do something different . And this is full of entertainment here with the cars and the boats and the Texas Parks and Wildlife has archery over there you can do , and we've got a fishing tub and we've got a Bronco simulator and test drives . There's just so much to do and have a good time .

Speaker 1 4:38

Yeah , and you've also got the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show here Of course Don's going to do a cannonball .

Speaker 4 4:43

You don't get to see these gorgeous faces in public often .

Speaker 1 4:47

No , that's a frightening thing , isn't it ? Yeah , don Armstrong doing a cannonball into the fish tank In the fish tank . You know it's funny because I actually good friend of mine , buddy Clark , buddy Cantu , bj Clark , all the names that he went by when he was on the radio . He was working for K-I-K-K Radio .

Speaker 2 5:08

Remember K-I-K yeah .

Speaker 1 5:09

Yeah , K-I-K-K , and they sponsored the fish tank and you actually could go over there and fish and if you caught one you got to take it home . Yes , I don't think they'd do that .

Speaker 2 5:20

No , they don't have that exhibit here . This is more of like a professional teaching you how to cast in reel .

Speaker 3 5:25

I see .

Speaker 2 5:25

But they did have the fish tub last year where the kids could go fishing and bring home the fish Catch and release .

Speaker 4 5:30

Oh , they could bring it home . Yeah , yeah , yeah .

Speaker 2 5:31

That was . I was kind of scared that a kid might catch the fish and then leave it in a car and forget , and then that would be a whole another story .

Speaker 1 5:38

Leave it under the front seat Sure , that's happened .

Speaker 2 5:40

So I was nervous about that A car and a show but it didn't happen .

Speaker 1 5:43

Yeah , a car and the show , that would not be good . But at any rate we always used to go to the boat show because it was fun , it was entertaining . We knew nothing about anything about the boats . Yeah , we're going to learn today because I will tell you when I walk in right up there at the very front , I guess it's the Yamaha .

Speaker 2 5:59

The Yamaha .

Speaker 1 6:00

They have motors that are bigger than me standing .

Speaker 2 6:04

Yes .

Speaker 1 6:05

They're outboard motors , four cylinder engines .

Speaker 4 6:08

They're huge .

Speaker 1 6:09

Yeah , 200 horsepower , truly amazing .

Speaker 2 6:11

Under two liters , and then people put four of those on the back of their boat . Yes , I've seen that it's like holy cow .

Speaker 1 6:17

OK , but anyway I wanted to talk to the boat guy about motors , boat motors .

Speaker 2 6:23

Yeah , he'll be able to tell you about it . And they're going to come talk about those nautique boats . They're these really beautiful luxury style speed boats here at Whirlpool with Nigel Mescher for jet ski , I mean . For water water skiing and wakeboarding . That's what I was getting at . So yeah , they're , they're really cool and there's a whole variety of boats here , like anything that you want ?

Speaker 1 6:40

Have you taken ? Have you taken your boys on on a boating trip of any kind ?

Speaker 2 6:44

Yeah , we're actually members of a boat club because we're not responsible enough to actually own a boat , so we just borrow it and it's like a subscription service to boats .

Speaker 3 6:53

And so we , yeah , we get to take it out .

Speaker 2 6:55

It's called the Freedom Boat Club . It's in Clear Lake . They're here also hocking their their memberships . But you get to just be a boat member . You show up , the boat is ready , fueled , clean , take it out on Clear Lake for a couple hours , come back , unload your stuff , they clean it , they maintenance it , they store it and that's all you do .

Speaker 1 7:15

So we go out a week . You have to be a member of the club to get that kind of service .

Speaker 2 7:18

Yes , yeah , so that's the part , but we get to bring friends , yeah .

Speaker 5 7:24

Who's your ?

Speaker 3 7:24

friend , who's your friend ?

Speaker 2 7:27

So hopefully your girlfriend continues to like me and we can all go out together .

Speaker 5 7:32

She's standing over there .

Speaker 1 7:36

But I'm not going She'll just take Leslie , leave you and ha ha , exactly , and well deserved too . All right , so let's talk about the car show .

Speaker 2 7:44

Yes , we've got about 20 different brands here . Well represented is Ford , toyota , honda , lexus , vw , nissan , and then we've got a Buick . Gmc , hyundai , lincoln and Mazda are some of our dealerships who stepped in to cover the OEM space this year . We've got star motor cars here with Aston Martin and Lotus , so a good variety . We are missing the Camp Jeep and the Ram Track this year they pulled out at the last minute . I think people don't realize how last minute that was December 15th and nothing happens after .

Speaker 2 8:17

December 15th when it comes to planning an auto show . So we filled in the space with putting the ride and drive for Ford and the electric vehicles inside in that space , as well as our classic car exhibit to contribute to the history of automotive , and then some other , you know , eclectic things that are more like aftermarket vehicles that have added wraps or or lift kits and accessories

Houston Auto Show Highlights and Challenges

Speaker 2 8:42

and all of that .

Speaker 3 8:42

Yeah , you've got some display there . You've got vehicles on the lobby of cars and boats out in the lobby and the entrance into the show , into NRG , out in the lot as well .

Speaker 2 8:50

That's right . Yeah , we've got Subaru and the Stalantis brand . So Chrysler , jeep , dodger Ram are doing test drives out front and that's their representation .

Speaker 1 8:56

Did Ben Miller . All of his vehicles are inside .

Speaker 2 8:59

Yes , the majority of his vehicles are inside this year . You know classic car people are very careful with their cars and it was raining all three days of move in and so we are missing a few that were supposed to be in the lobby , unfortunately . But we've got about 40 cars here on the inside and in the classic car section .

Speaker 4 9:18

And he gets such a nice range of cars to bring in .

Speaker 2 9:22

A good network of people . Yeah , there's a . There's a good section over there of pickup trucks . I think the oldest is a 1937 vehicle over there , so there's there's a good array of things .

Speaker 1 9:33

Interesting . Well , I love going to the car show . Yeah , I love going to the boat show , so they're both here under one roof . The automotive show . Automotive show yeah , who thought that up ? Yeah , was that you .

Speaker 2 9:45

You know it was . We have this argument back and forth . It was me or the ad agency . One of us came up with it .

Speaker 3 9:49

I think it was us .

Speaker 1 9:51

We do have an ad agency Freed freed advertising . Freed , okay , yeah . Very interesting I didn't know that , yep , I figured you would just do all of that .

Speaker 2 10:02

I . We're only a staff of four at the auto dealers association . So , I can't do it all .

Speaker 4 10:07

No , but we'll let you take credit for this one .

Speaker 3 10:10

You had some interns with you last year . Have they moved on to other projects ?

Speaker 2 10:13

Yeah , they have their getting real jobs . And I have two high school interns this year that I'm really impressed with and they they came to me because they just love autos and they wanted and they're actually in a project at school an extracurricular revamping an old classic as well , and so they said I want to get some experience . So they've been running around shadowing me all this week .

Speaker 4 10:35

That's very cool . What school district are they from ?

Speaker 2 10:38

They're over in the Galleria area somewhere .

Speaker 4 10:40

Okay , so part of A-H-I-S-D .

Speaker 2 10:41

Yeah , possibly . She doesn't know , I don't know I've forgotten at this moment .

Speaker 5 10:46

It doesn't make me Too many other things in my head .

Speaker 2 10:47

Conrad .

Speaker 4 10:48

Coming up with new concept and new ideas and things like that yes . That was last week .

Speaker 1 10:53

Yeah exactly you know . I also noticed that there is food to eat here .

Speaker 2 10:59

There is , yeah , aaron Mark provides a lot of concessions . We've got food trucks out front too .

Speaker 1 11:03

Oh , you do .

Speaker 2 11:04

And there will be bars open as well , if you need .

Speaker 3 11:08

I noticed that one right there , If you're watching on the TV , just behind Rochelle over her right shoulder there's a bar and that's why she's there , because we wanted to focus in on the bar on the middle of the bar . Nice , get your liquor on .

Speaker 1 11:22

Yeah , liquor . Ok , you know I have to . I have to ask you about the Stellantis pulling out because I think that it's a fair question . Yeah , Because they did take up thousands of square feet back there in the corner and kind of to pull out at the last minute like that kind of left you hanging , didn't it ?

Speaker 2 11:42

It did and it's you know it's disappointing . I'm definitely watching the Facebook page and I was just reading a red at feed before I started the show and I know that there are some complaints out there and it is disappointing , and so what I want to remind people is that part of that is out of our control .

Speaker 2 11:57

Right so we , as the auto show , are the host to the manufacturers to come here . It's ultimately their decision if they participate or not and everyone has different marketing strategies and different budgets and plans of how they want to participate . And unfortunately , I mean I suspect that it was consequences of the strike that happened earlier last year and them having to reevaluate their budgets and how they were spending money to be able to pay for the negotiations with the unions and they had to pull out , not only here , you know where , it's not just a Houston thing .

Speaker 5 12:31

They pull out Chicago out of .

Speaker 2 12:32

Chicago out of Washington , out of Philadelphia , Some of the biggest shows that are most successful for their , for their brand . So it's not a it's not just a dig to Houston .

Speaker 4 12:42

At least they were consistent in dropping everybody as opposed to just us .

Speaker 3 12:47

Yeah , because they they've redone their upper management level . There's been some people changing positions , and when that happens , everybody starts looking at the pennies .

Speaker 4 12:55

Start saying where can we ?

Speaker 3 12:55

cut them .

Speaker 2 12:56

But for sure it's a , it's a missing element to the experience of the show . I know my own kids are sad . The youngest one was going to be the first year . He was tall enough to ride Camp G and now it's not here . So he is very disappointed and so I feel I feel the pain for that . But I also want to add that you know people say well , why didn't you just discount the tickets ? Well , number one , we're combined with the boat show .

Speaker 3 13:20

We have costs already involved in what we're doing here Fixed , fix operations , things that were already in place before December 15th .

Speaker 2 13:26

You know all of our marketing , all of the logistics of the carpet that's in here . This is a concrete , empty building when we're not here , so all of those things are already expenses .

Speaker 2 13:36

But on top of that , you know , this is put on by the Houston Auto Dealers Association and our mission is to represent the Houston car dealers as a community and give back in nonprofit ways .

Speaker 2 13:47

So we have a scholarship program where we give scholarships to more than five hundred thousand dollars in scholarships to dealership employees and technician students that want to be technician automotive technicians .

Speaker 2 13:58

We also provide free roadside assistance to Houstonians all on the greater highways here through the Sheriff's Department and the Motor Assistance Program . We purchase their new trucks each year and then when there's a time of need in our city , be it something that the Red Cross is doing , or there's a hurricane , you know we're able to provide funds to help our city and all of that comes from the proceeds of the auto show . So this is like our fundraiser for the year . You know , as a nonprofit , everyone has their fundraising gala that people go to . This is our gala , this is our event of how we make funds at the Houston Auto Dealers Association to provide and give back to the Houston community , and that is the Houston auto show . So when I hear the you know rant about ticket prices , it hurts because I know , I know that everyone is watching their pennies , but at the same time we're raising money and we're giving you still a good value of an experience .

Speaker 4 14:49

Absolutely and giving back to the city .

Speaker 2 14:51

It might not be the same , but trust me , it is in our goals and our strategic planning to continue to build and grow back . The auto show is at what it used to be .

Speaker 3 14:59

You mentioned the gala . How was it Tuesday ?

Speaker 2 15:01

Yeah , we had a good turnout , thank you . We opened our VIP night to the public . We lowered the ticket prices to $75 and about half of the people here were general public attendees that just wanted a different experience of the auto show , a more private and intimate experience , and I think everyone had a great time .

Speaker 1 15:17

Keep that in mind next year .

Speaker 2 15:18

Yes , absolutely yeah . If you don't want to come here during the crowds and to see kids in the driver's seats , come on that Tuesday night when we opened for the VIP night . First look social event .

Speaker 3 15:28

This is adults Hour .

Speaker 2 15:29

It's adults only good happy hour experience where you can come in and have the show to yourself . Really .

Speaker 1 15:34

Yeah , Did the . Did the boat show participate in that ?

Speaker 2 15:37

They were open so you could still walk through and see the boats , but they were not selling that night .

Speaker 1 15:42

Gotcha .

Speaker 2 15:43

Cause they sell boats this whole show . So they're over there making , making deals to get you a boat when you go home .

Speaker 3 15:49

Gotcha . So we're on the auto side On the auto side , you cannot purchase a vehicle .

Speaker 4 15:53

No , it's just people that are going to be here to help you understand what you're looking at .

Speaker 2 15:57

That's right . The product specialists and a few sales people that are on on site are just to teach you about the vehicle , talk to you about the features and the innovation that have the body style changes , answer any of those kinds of questions , so then you can make your buying decision and go to a deal .

Speaker 4 16:10

You can . You can learn about the car without the pressure of I'm fine today . Sign here . There's seven copies .

Speaker 3 16:17

Is that strictly for Houston or are there other markets like the Detroit LA where they can actually sell the vehicle ?

Speaker 2 16:22

Every law is different in each state , but majority of the states are a non-selling show and that's set up because and this gets into the weeds , but I know your audience is knowledgeable in these kind of areas but and they're into weeds . It's competitive . It's about competitiveness . So we have 15 Chrysler Jeep , dodge , ram dealerships in Houston . If we were to say you're allowed to sell Chrysler Jeep Dodge .

Speaker 2 16:45

Ram here which dealership is going to get to sell and it's not fair to all the dealerships and not all of them can be here to participate . They're not all staffed the same way . They don't all have the same product or inventory , so we have to be fair in that . So majority of state laws say auto shows are non-selling and then you go to your local dealership afterwards .

Speaker 1 17:08

Because does the deal with Stellantis play out here ? Are there no Dodge Chrysler , jeep Ram product here ?

Speaker 2 17:17

We were grateful enough that they did bring a ride and drive opportunity . So a traditional test drive opportunity . In the front of the building You'll see Chrysler , jeep , dodge , ram , fiat , with vehicles out there for you to test drive . We also had some dealers put some vehicles just on display in the front of the building so at least you can walk around and check them out and then do those test drives .

Speaker 4 17:36

Okay so that's a pretty good way to be able to drive it and check it out .

Speaker 2 17:40

There are .

Speaker 4 17:40

Stellantis products here .

Speaker 2 17:41

Yes , just not in the traditional sense .

Speaker 4 17:44

But the support of the local dealers is what brought them here .

Speaker 2 17:48

That's right .

Speaker 1 17:50

Yeah , good , what are you expecting today and tomorrow , the last two days of the show this year ?

Speaker 2 17:57

Yeah , today we could see about 15,000 to 20,000 people , I think you know it's like I said about the weather it's been kind of crap and we want to get outside and do things now and this is a good place to do it . So I think we're going to have some big crowds today and tomorrow .

Speaker 1 18:11

That's good , very good . Well , because I'll tell you , I've never seen as many boats at this show , ever it's jam-packed with boats .

Speaker 2 18:22

It is jam-packed with boats and the really impressive part is when they move them in and how close that they put them together so eloquently . Yeah , it's impressive , and I'm surprised by the array of boats . I mean we've got everything from kayaks and fishing boats to luxury yachts .

Speaker 3 18:37

Yeah , there's a few over on the outside aisle . I passed one earlier this morning . It's just an amazing vessel .

Speaker 2 18:43

Yeah .

Speaker 3 18:44

It folds down into the water . It's just amazing .

Speaker 5 18:46

Oh yeah , that one's down the aisle here .

Speaker 4 18:47

Yeah yeah , yeah .

Speaker 3 18:48

And a lot of them aren't on the trailers .

Speaker 5 18:50

I know there's been a lot of them on the trailer . No , they put them on the blocks .

Speaker 3 18:53

And if you go over here about three blocks , there's nothing . A big parking lot with nothing but trailers .

Speaker 2 18:56

It looks like a trailer graveyard out there , in the middle of the city that's preparing for move out tomorrow night Did you see the submarine , no man , I missed it .

Speaker 1 19:05

It's down and brazed by you , they've got it down there and free rides to get over there .

Speaker 4 19:09

Well , if it keeps raining , they can just bring it up . Yeah , he's thrown it out .

Speaker 1 19:12

Exactly Well , it's great to have you here . Thank you very much for allowing us to come and enjoy the show with you .

Speaker 2 19:18

Yeah , I appreciate it Every year . I love when you guys come out and everyone gets to see you in real life .

Speaker 3 19:25

Which is a frightening thing , sad , sad . I think that this can be good or bad . It can be good or bad , yeah , exactly .

Speaker 1 19:30

So the hours today are .

Speaker 2 19:32

We opened it just now at 10 until 8 pm tonight and tomorrow we open at 10 am and close at 6 pm . So we close a little bit early so we can move everything out of this building before midnight .

Speaker 4 19:42

And then it's frantic after that , as everybody's trying to get their cars out .

Speaker 2 19:45

That's right , wow , it's quite a parade to watch .

Speaker 1 19:47

Everything has to be out at midnight .

Speaker 2 19:49

Yes , about 90% of the show has moved out before midnight .

Speaker 3 19:52

What happens if they're not ?

Speaker 2 19:54

I mean , there are some things that remain .

Speaker 3 19:56

The show gets to keep .

Speaker 2 20:00

One year I got to drive a McLaren out of the building . That's probably one of my highlights over the years and I really was tempted to just continue to drive .

Speaker 4 20:07

Drive on down the street . Oops , I missed that turn .

Speaker 2 20:09

Yeah , but these are guys that have loved it .

Speaker 4 20:11

No gas Rochelle .

Speaker 1 20:12

thank you , I appreciate you and you'll be back at the end of the show to post things out with us . Okay , rochelle Salinas , executive Vice President , houston Auto Dealers Association . Time now for Jeff's feature that we've all been kind of looking forward to see how he's going to treat this .

Speaker 3 20:27

Let me fire this up .

Speaker 1 20:28

It's steering a boat versus steering a car Made especially for this show Jeffrey .

Speaker 3 20:34

Okay , well , we all know car steering controls . The front tires and the back tires just follow along . It's different for a boat , as the steering controls the back of the boat . For boats , when you steer the motor , the rudder , the propeller move in opposite directions to get the direction you want to go in .

Boat and Car Steering Comparison

Speaker 3 20:51

Boating has come a long way since the early days of primitive navigation . The boat navigation methods rely heavily on manpower , basic tools like oars , poles and paddles . Interesting , the oars were traditionally installed on the right side of the boat as more people were naturally right-handed and it just fit the position to be on the right side of the boat .

Speaker 3 21:12

The early use of the right side controls may have contributed to the development of right side steering systems . As boats become larger and more complex , the need for an efficient way to steer became clear . Entered the tiller , the rudder and a game-changing innovation of boat steering Boat propellers . Listen to this , mike . Boat propellers typically spin clockwise , which can result in some torque , pushing the left side of the boat down by two to five degrees . So boats pushing . Boat designers aim to compensate for this incline by placing the steering on the right side of the controls , the boat driver and the starboard side .

Speaker 1 21:51

Let's just just keep going , that's fine , just let it go yeah yeah , yeah .

Speaker 3 21:55

So what are the differences between the boat steering and the car steering ? Response time , conrad , boats generally have a slower response time compared to cars . When you turn the steering wheel in a car , the vehicle responds almost instantaneously . Contrast , the boat takes more time to react to the steering inputs and the factors such as water resistance and a hull design and you'll see a lot of the different hulls here at the show . No brakes , mike the Mike says that . A lot . No brakes . Unlike cars , boats don't have the brakes to stop or slow down quickly . Instead , boaters must rely on shifting the throttle to neutral or reverse to reduce the speed to come to a complete stop .

Speaker 3 22:32

And hopefully not bump into something right drifts and current boats face different drift and current situations and significantly impact the steering and maneuverability . Unlike cars , tires grip the road . Boats slide into different ways and drift sideways in the water , especially when facing strong currents , winds and other things in the water , boats must constantly adjust their course . Propeller torque we talked about that . This is not a problem for cars Visibility . Visibility is often more restricted on boats than in cars , particularly when it comes to judging distances and spotting potential hazards . This is crucial for boaters to maintain proper lookout and use navigation aids to ensure safety and accurate steering . So there you go , take a boat lesson , get a license , do all that good stuff .

Speaker 3 23:17

Do they have boat lessons . They have boat lessons . When you get a license you got to take , let's get a car driving test .

Speaker 1 23:22

Really . Yeah , I never took any tests , I just got out there and that's why you don't have a boat . I can't hear you , david .

Speaker 3 23:31

Oh , you're not plugged in . Okay , so get a license do all that good stuff , all right .

Speaker 1 23:35

Well , thank you very much . That was very enlightening , okay , very educational . Swimmingly , swimmingly . Time now for the racing calendar . I guess Daytona has started with a crash 24 hours a day toner With a crashed Pace car Safety , safety car .

Speaker 3 23:50

Safety car ? I didn't see any of it .

Speaker 4 23:52

They totaled a safety car . Wow , how'd that happen .

Speaker 1 23:55

Exactly how do you do that ? It's a front end smash up so they ran into something .

Speaker 4 24:02

Yeah , did you figure that out yet ? Yeah , I think what happened was is he was pulling out of the pits , the tires were cold and he was going too hot and kind of skimmed into the concrete barriers Head on .

Speaker 1 24:13

I don't understand .

Speaker 4 24:13

That's beautiful . So , and you know , it happens to the race car drivers as well . But you would think if I'm driving the safety car there would be a little bit more safety practiced . So yeah . So today the 24 hours of Daytona starts . It's on TV , it starts on NBC and then it goes on to USA Network .

Speaker 3 24:35

Okay , is that where they were doing the 24 hours was on USA .

Speaker 4 24:38

Right , okay , right . And then starting . Nhra starts on March 10th with the Gator Nationals , march 24th with the Winter Nationals in Pomona . Two weeks , one week is . Nascar starts with the Bush class at the Clash at the LA Coliseum . Daytona 500 is February 11th or , excuse me , february 18th . The 125 qualifiers are on the 11th . And then the whole series of NASCAR races Circuit of the Americas up in Austin is on March 24th . Formula One starts on March 3rd in Bahrain , march 10th in Saudi Arabia and then March 24th at Australia . Indycar starts at St Petersburg Grand Prix on March 10th . Awesome , back to you , don . Where did you come up with that ?

Speaker 1 25:35

I met Don Pardo , by the way .

Speaker 4 25:38

Oh , you have .

Speaker 1 25:39

Well , when he was alive . Yeah , he's six feet under now , but yes , I did meet Don Pardo and I think that most people really don't probably don't know who Don Pardo is . Great announcer , Saturday Night .

Speaker 4 25:53

Live TV show announcer . Bunch of different game shows too .

Speaker 1 25:57

Game shows as well , yeah . So anyway , interesting guy , great storyteller , and had everybody on the floor laughing . It was pretty good . So at any rate , I'm coming through . Yes , I don't know why , I guess , everybody's joining .

Speaker 4 26:11

The door's just opened . Pardon me , the door's opened at 10 o'clock , 20 minutes ago .

Speaker 1 26:15

Yes , All right , hey . I want to remind everybody that the Inwheel Time Car Talk Show is available 24-7 through the iHeart radio app . Just look for Inwheel Time Car Talk . We also video stream our three-hour weekly show on Facebook , youtube and InwheelTimecom . In podcasts you can get from your favorite podcast provider . The Inwheel Time Car Talk Show continues right after this quick break .

Speaker 5 26:36

Grab your engines and set sail for the ultimate surf and turf the Houston Auto Boat If Show January 24 through the 28th at NRG Center . One ticket gets you into both the auto show and the boat show . See your favorite car and boat brands under one roof , learn about the latest electric vehicles and test drive one with Evolve Houston . Board your dream boat and check out the bass fishing demos . It's the Houston Auto Boat If Show January 24 through the 28th . Buy early and safe at autopotifshowcom .

Speaker 1 27:08

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 . Curb your wheels Instead of buying new one . I'd 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 Tullway , 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 .

Speaker 1 28:06

The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants will have you telling your family and friends just what the original recipes mean . When it comes to the best fajitas in Southeast Texas , founders Stan Holt invite you to visit the original loopy tortilla near I-10 and Highway 6 . Here's the original house that inspired the design of all the rest and the original charm that helped make loopy tortilla the go-to destination for Houston Tex-Mex . Speaking of original , nothing can compete with the original lime pepper marinade . That everyone will agree makes loopy tortilla award-winning beef fajitas the best anywhere .

Speaker 1 28:36

Loopy tortilla Katie is another location that gives you the same quality and service . Historians have come to expect it loopies . It's located just off I-10 in the Grand Parkway . At Kingsland Boulevard in Katie , find yourself an Aggie land . Head to the loopy tortilla in College Station , located just around the corner from Kyle Field . It's a great place to enjoy those famous frozen margaritas before or after the game . Head to East , to Louisiana . Stop in at the loopy tortilla in Beaumont . It twos on I-10 , you can't miss it . The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants invites you in for the best Tex-Mex anywhere . 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 InWheelTimecom website . Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts , spotify Stitcher , I Heart Podcast Podcast Addict Tune In Pandora and Amazon Music . Keep listening and we'll see you soon .