In Wheel Time Podcast
In Wheel Time Podcast
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, the In Wheel Time Podcast is a 30-minute version of the In Wheel Time live automotive talk show simulcasting every Saturday from 10a-12aCT. The LIVE broadcast covers a wide variety of content that automotive enthusiast find interesting - including new car reviews and maintenance tips that can be found here. Join Don Armstrong, Michael Marrs and Jeff Dziekan, LIVE every Saturday from 10a-12nCT. For more information about In Wheel Time, visit: www.InWheelTime.com
Sept. 8, 2026

The Best Off-Road SUVs And Trucks For Real-World Adventure

The Best Off-Road SUVs And Trucks For Real-World Adventure
The Best Off-Road SUVs And Trucks For Real-World Adventure
In Wheel Time Podcast
The Best Off-Road SUVs And Trucks For Real-World Adventure

Adventure vehicles are one of the most misunderstood corners of the car market, because most of us buy them for the trips we imagine, not the ones we actually take. We sit down with John Vincent from U.S. News and World Report to unpack the 2026 Best Adventure Vehicle Awards and the real criteria behind the picks, from approach and departure angles to the stuff that makes a vehicle easy to live with on a random Tuesday.

We move through the off-road SUV winners across multiple size classes, including the Ford Bronco Sport, Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco, and the Nissan Armada Pro-4X, plus the surprisingly controversial idea of a “trailhead-capable” hybrid like the Toyota RAV4 Woodland. Then we step up to luxury and electric off-roaders, where the Land Rover Defender’s traction tech makes a strong case, and the Rivian R1S wins big by balancing true capability with everyday comfort even when competitors shine on raw specs.

Truck fans get plenty to argue about too: Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro’s off-road-focused seating tech, Ford F-150’s FX4, Tremor, and Raptor flavors, and why the Rivian R1T stands out for smart storage, usable range, and over-the-air updates that can fix infotainment headaches without a dealer visit. We also run through camping-friendly winners like the Hyundai Tucson, GMC Acadia, Toyota Grand Highlander, GMC Yukon XL, and the electric Hyundai Ioniq 9, then wrap with quick hits from the racing calendar, automotive history, and a snapshot of Tesla’s share of new EV registrations as the overall EV market cools.

Subscribe for more straight-talk car buying insight, share this with your favorite road trip planner, and leave a review with the one vehicle you think truly deserves “best adventure” status. What would you pick and why?

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!

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 is now available on Audacy!

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

In Wheel Time 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 Podcast, email us at

info@inwheeltime.com






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

00:00 - Welcome And Awards Preview

01:33 - Off-Road SUV Winners Breakdown

10:47 - Off-Road Trucks And EV Pickups

14:33 - Best Camping Vehicles By Category

17:33 - Should There Be One Winner?

19:26 - Sponsor Break And Podcast Info

21:24 - Racing Calendar Quick Hits

22:49 - This Week In Auto History

29:30 - Tesla Leads A Shrinking EV Market

30:05 - Ads And Final Signoff

Welcome And Awards Preview

Don Armstrong

Welcome to the N Wheel Time Car Talk Show just ahead of our U.S. News and World Report Car Connection, John Vinston. With the 2026 Best Adventure Vehicle Awards, the gonna get a charge of these. Jeff has his car culture featured this week of white letter tires. Remember those? And Mr. Mars has 10 speaking bees in the Houston area. I think if they start there, they trickle over our first dead.

Jeff Dziekan

Yeah.

Don Armstrong

Along with Mike Out of this world bars, we always need more Jeff Speaking. Chief Engineer David Ainsley will be joining us for real next week when we venture up to Granberry for our remote broadcast up there. And I'm Don Armstrong. Thank you very much for taking your time this morning to be with us. So let's go right out to Mr. John Vincent. And he is with U.S. News World Report. And hey John, it's great to see you again. How have you been?

SPEAKER_02

Great to see you guys. It's been a minute since I've been on.

Don Armstrong

It has been a minute, not our problem. You're all you're always welcome here, and all you gotta do is give us a buzz. Yeah, exactly, because it should be at least a once-a-month or don't you think?

SPEAKER_02

Sure.

Don Armstrong

Yeah, that's what we think. So they have just released the 2026 Adventure Vehicle

Off-Road SUV Winners Breakdown

Don Armstrong

Awards. Now that's something different over there at US News and World Report. So we're going to talk about best vehicles for camping, best vehicles for road trips, best SUVs for off-roading, and best trucks for off-roading. I don't know where you want to start, but any of those are good for me.

SPEAKER_02

Well, why don't we just start with the best SUVs for off-roading? All right, let's do that. Yeah, this is a very long list of cars, but out of this whole group, there's one big winner, and it's GMC. But we'll talk about that a little bit more as we go on here.

SPEAKER_01

Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Um, so best subcompact SUV for off-roading, Ford Bronco Sport. Um, Ford Bronco Sport's a vehicle that's built off the escape, but is a much better escape than the escape.

Don Armstrong

And let me and let me just add to this you know, since that car came out, we thought ah, it's just a makeover. No, it's not. It is really a nice vehicle, and I have always said that from the day that it hit the ground.

SPEAKER_02

It's pretty capable of getting it in its Sasquatch trim. Yes, and I've had one of those and loved it. Yep. So best compact SUV for off-roading. Of course, this has to be on the list Jeep Wrangler.

Don Armstrong

Yeah, I see I don't even put it in a class like a compact or subcompact. I just put it as a Jeep Wrangler.

Mike Marrs

The Jeep Wrangler.

Don Armstrong

The Jeep Wrangler, yeah.

Mike Marrs

Uh oh. We lost the best loop.

Don Armstrong

Yeah, you're there. You're where you see it.

SPEAKER_02

Um the Wrangler is actually a pretty big vehicle for a compact, but um the EPA classes it as a compact.

Don Armstrong

Well, of course the EPA does.

SPEAKER_02

Your government at work. Yeah. So um, which makes it interesting because it's chief competitor, the next winner, the best mid-size SUV for off-roading, the Ford Bronco, is in a different size class. Huh.

Don Armstrong

It is what's in what size class is it? It's mid-size. A mid-size Bronco. Yeah. And a compact Wrangler. Correct. So what yeah, yeah, it's it's one of those deals where so what do they use to classify these? Is it storage? Is it space inside the cabin?

SPEAKER_02

I don't get it. I think they have a number of different measures that involves uh wheelbase, overall length, um uh weight. Well, it's all wrong.

Mike Marrs

They yeah, it's a variable thing. Anything in this range fits into this class, is what they're doing.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, exactly. You know, you know, you guys have done this long enough that you know that there are vehicles that span multiple classes and they're just hard to place.

Don Armstrong

Yep, you're right.

SPEAKER_02

Uh, best large SUV for off-roading, uh, Nissan Automata Pro 4X. Seriously, I'm surprised. Really good value out there. Um, you know, there are some really capable vehicles in this class. There's GMC, um Yukon 84, um the Tahoe, uh really capable vehicles. But when we looked at things like approach angles, um, approach departure, and breakover angles, the Armada rose to the top. Didn't they just redo the Armada within the past few years? They did.

Don Armstrong

Yeah. And it's a different vehicle uh today than it was back when.

SPEAKER_02

It is. It's um it's actually pretty nice, and it's a good value. You can get good deals on Armadas. Interesting right now. Okay, all right. Next. Best hybrid SUV for off-roading, and that's the Toyota RAV4. We uh, you know, these are all based on data, but we had a lot of discussions about this one because there are some pretty capable vehicles in this category. But the RAV4 um the woodland model comes on all terrain tires, makes it decently capable off-road. You're not doing the Rubicon with this vehicle, but um it can get you the trailhead and back.

Don Armstrong

You know, it's interesting. You you you mentioned that um that I don't really consider something like a RAV 4 to even go off-road because that's not what it comes to mind. And I guess that some people will take them off-road, but how big of a sales factor is that when you give it an award for a RAV 4?

SPEAKER_02

You know, you know, the thing about American car buyers is we car we buy the car for what we might do someday, not what we do every day.

SPEAKER_01

And we never do it. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02

So as long as it looks like it might be able to do it someday, you're good.

Mike Marrs

Yeah, one of these days I'm going up that road. That's what makes other other people think that you've done it.

Jeff Dziekan

That's what it is.

Mike Marrs

That's it.

Jeff Dziekan

It's not for you, it's for other people. Yeah, I think that's it. This is the question that I've got. John, you you've got all the matrix that you uh go through the the vehicles and you do the all the checks, all the boxes. I don't know if this takes effect, but do any of the recalls affect how all this data is compiled, or the data is compiled first and then the recalls happen after?

SPEAKER_02

So we don't put the recalls into this scoring model because these are new cars. Um we bit we put the recalls into um our studies when we're looking at used cars, but it's really hard to do that with with new cars. Gotcha. And every new car has recalls, every single one of them. Some of them more serious than others, but every car has recalls.

Don Armstrong

Okay. What's next on the list?

SPEAKER_02

Uh luxury SUV for off-roading. There you go.

Don Armstrong

Now we're talking Defender. The what? The Land Rover Defender? You just had one of those, didn't you? No, I had a Range Rover.

Mike Marrs

Range Rover.

Don Armstrong

Ah that wow, yeah. $130,000.

SPEAKER_02

It's um it's a tough this was a tough category because um the defender's up against the Lexus GX, which is also a great vehicle. But um approach departure Brankover angles with the air suspension on the defender, uh, may the numbers come out on top for it.

Don Armstrong

Well, it doesn't surprise me. After driving the the Land Rover Range Rover, you know, I I don't get those very often. I'm sure you don't either. There just aren't that many around. But I will tell you that I was impressed. Uh uh, I didn't take it off-road, but it is so off-road capable, I I don't even know what controls what anymore. I mean, you can't it'll do anything and everything. It's like a Swiss Army knife.

SPEAKER_02

Their electronics for traction management are stunning. I mean, they can make me look like I'm decent off-road.

Don Armstrong

The big camper that you are.

Jeff Dziekan

Exactly. I think I mean, wait, he's a glamper.

Don Armstrong

Yeah, that's right. You're a clamper, not a camper.

SPEAKER_02

We just get the dog from one hotel to the next. There you go. Uh, best electric SUV for off-roading, Rivian R1S.

Don Armstrong

That's interesting you should say that because you know, I was just talking about Rivian, and uh the Rivian truck is a contender with the Land Rover Range Rover, and I would have never even thought of Rivian being a competitor to anything they're so new, but apparently they are.

SPEAKER_02

They are, they are very good vehicles. This is a company that I'm really rooting for because they're doing it right. Um, unlike uh some electric car companies out there, they're taking more of a measured approach, and their second car is about to come out, um, the R2, which um I just sent somebody to that launch event and he came back with a big smile on his face. So looking forward to reading about what he says about the R2. But if it's anything like the R1s, they're gonna be really good. Well, I'll tell you this.

Don Armstrong

I I got a chance to see an R1 up close and personal, and I'm going, oh my god, the fit and finish on this, it's like a custom car.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. Um, so this category actually came down to very close between this and the GMC Hummer EV. And the Hummer EV beat it on a lot of the technical factors, um, the off-road factors. But when you come down to a car that you want to live with every day, the Rivian was definitely the choice.

Don Armstrong

Interesting. Uh it's such a new company to come this far and to actually win an award and be a contender to begin with.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's impressive. It's actually not that new new of a company anymore. It's what five, six, seven years old now.

Don Armstrong

We don't see a lot of them around here, so yeah. Well, you know, yeah. For uh for us guys, we go back to spoke wood spoke wheels, you know. Pretty much.

SPEAKER_02

I know, I know. You you're sure your arms are still sore from cranking. Yeah, exactly.

Off-Road Trucks And EV Pickups

Jeff Dziekan

Show them your guns, Mike.

SPEAKER_02

Let's get into the pickup trucks. All right, ready. Uh, mid-size pickup truck for off-roading, Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. Um that's not a surprise. Hard to argue with this one. Um, and there are like two flavors of that truck that are fantastic for off-roading. There's the TRD Pro, which has the coolest seats in any pickup truck. They're actually air suspension seats with shock absorbers in the seat back. So you are isolated from the vehicle as you're ripping across the desert. How fun.

Don Armstrong

It sounds like a you know, an 18-wheeler truck.

Jeff Dziekan

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.

SPEAKER_02

Except much more managed than that. I mean, you're it's I swear it feels like you're it's a gyroscope where you're not moving and everything else around you is. Wow.

SPEAKER_01

Interesting.

SPEAKER_02

Well, that's brilliant, yeah. It's really cool. And then on the flip side for the slow technical off-roading, um, they have the trail hunter, which uh it's a different setup, but just as capable in a different off-road realm. Very interesting. Yeah, uh, full-size pickup for off-roading Ford F-150. Um, they have three flavors of that truck that are fantastic for off-roading. There's the FX4 package, which is just a basic off-roading package, there's the Tremor, and then there's the Raptor. And it's hard to hard to argue with the big Raptor V8.

Don Armstrong

Yeah, and the only thing that I can think that would come in close would be the uh Ram TRX.

SPEAKER_02

Ram TRX, uh, which is not currently available yet. It's going to be again. For 27, it will be available, yeah. For these purposes. Yes, I got you. Yeah. Um interesting. Although the Ram Rebel is still pretty capable, too. Yeah, love the Ram Rebel. Um, best electric SUV for off-roading. People actually do this. It's the Ruby and R1T. Um, some pretty unique features. Uh, hidden storage and its gear tunnel, uh, great range. You know, people will be heading to the gas station with their trucks before you're heading to the charger.

Don Armstrong

How is the uh how is the interface there with the infotainment system?

SPEAKER_02

It's getting better with a lot of the new startup companies. They're having trouble getting all the bugs worked out of their infotainment systems. Um, although I was just in a legacy automaker's car last new car last week that was just as buggy as any startup car company's um infotainment system. They are getting better. One of the great things about them is they can take uh over-the-air updates so you don't have to go to the shop to get them fixed. They just send a file into the car and it fixes things.

Don Armstrong

Nice. Well, that's handy.

Jeff Dziekan

Yeah, mine does that.

Don Armstrong

Yeah. We'll we're looking for the maid to do that here at the house. Yeah. Uh we'll have her just come.

SPEAKER_02

Rosie the maid is a little bit.

Don Armstrong

Rosie, yeah. Rosie.

Mike Marrs

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. I just bought a new car a couple weeks ago. You actually bought a car? I did. What did you buy? I bought a Genesis G V70.

Don Armstrong

That's not a surprise. I can understand that. That's a very nice vehicle.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it really is. It's and I got the the Twin Turbo Twin Turbo V6, which um it rips. It rips, yeah.

Jeff Dziekan

So spunk, that's some spunk. Yeah.

Don Armstrong

Uh, was it real expensive? Because when I think of Genesis, I think a pretty expensive.

Jeff Dziekan

Higher-end vehicle.

SPEAKER_02

They are a yeah, they're a higher-end vehicle, but um, compared to buying a Mercedes or BMW, quite the bargain. And 10-year warranty.

Mike Marrs

Yeah, that makes a big difference with that twin turbo.

Don Armstrong

So

Best Camping Vehicles By Category

Don Armstrong

let's wrap up the uh adventure vehicle awards.

SPEAKER_02

Uh, let's go into best vehicles for camping. Umcompact Rocco Smart again. Subcompact hybrid, Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid. I knew Subaru was coming. Yeah, Subaru's gotta be on this list. It's not here as often as you would think, but it's okay. Uh Compact SUV for camping, Hyundai Tucson. Uh the Tucson wins on cargo space, which uh is just a little bit better than the RAV4 or the CRV. Interesting. Yeah. Um same reason for the compact hybrid for camping. Um Tucson hybrid. Um compact plug-in hybrid SUV. We're slicing things pretty close here. Toyota RAV4 plugin hybrid. Mid-size SUV for camping, GMC Acadia. Uh tons of cargo room. Um, very capable versions of that vehicle are available. Mid-size hybrid SUV for camping, uh, Toyota Grand Highlander. And whether you put this in the mid-size or large category, um it's just a really nice family vehicle.

Don Armstrong

Yeah, they have grown that Highlander to big sizes now.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and you know, you gotta remember that when we're talking adventure vehicles, people might do this 10, 20 days a year. You want a vehicle that's gonna, you know, do everything you need it to do for the other 355.

Don Armstrong

And be able to put the bicycles on top of all the junk that you've got in the back.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Exactly.

Don Armstrong

Yeah, not the mother-in-law. I've seen that, including the mother-in-law.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, you've seen vacation. Okay.

Don Armstrong

That's right.

SPEAKER_02

Uh, best mid-size plug-in SUV for camping. Uh, this category's gotten smaller. Um, Mazda CX90 P Hev. Um, with the departure of the Grand Cherokee 4xE. There aren't many plug-in hybrids available out there in this category anymore.

Don Armstrong

Well, they don't sell that many of them anyway.

SPEAKER_02

No, they don't. Yeah. Uh large SUV for camping, uh GMC Yukon XL, which is essentially the suburban version, the GMC is suburban. Right. Uh, with a slightly nicer interior.

Don Armstrong

Yep.

SPEAKER_02

Electric SUV for camping, Hyundai Ionic 9. I think you uh I think we've talked about this vehicle on the show before. Um, this is just a great all-around family vehicle that happens to be electric.

Don Armstrong

Yeah, if we if we could just get the range up uh to the point where, like this uh GMC that I had recently with a 500-mile range on it with the big battery, yeah. And I think that that that's gonna be more of a thing of the future that uh more and more of these manufacturers are gonna do that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I mean, evolving technology, things are gonna exactly better, faster, smaller.

Should There Be One Winner?

Don Armstrong

Yeah, so the let me ask you this. So who wins the top tip top award for best adventure vehicle overall? We don't have one.

SPEAKER_02

We broke it down into classes.

Don Armstrong

No, Buick, yeah.

Mike Marrs

Gotta have a big trophy.

Don Armstrong

Well, you know, I yeah, it's what I'm thinking. And I'm thinking also that in next year, when we do this for U.S. News and World Report, now that in wheel time has mentioned it, that's gonna be the new deal. So all those vehicles gotta have number one.

SPEAKER_02

I will say, I will say this in the politically correct way that a manufacturer would tell us. We will take that into consideration.

Jeff Dziekan

Under advisement. Under advisement.

Don Armstrong

That's perfect. You've heard that before, haven't you? Somewhere, no doubt.

Jeff Dziekan

Some of these that you mentioned, I don't have an affinity with their looks. So I'm thinking that some of these I've they just don't do anything for me aesthetically, so I wouldn't be interested to begin with in looking at the vehicles.

Don Armstrong

It narrows the field, so to speak.

SPEAKER_02

That's whenever you're a car buyer. Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

It's always that way, yeah. No doubt.

Don Armstrong

Well, John, it's great to talk to you. Thank you so much for sharing the list with us today. And like I said, call anytime.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely. Okay, because we are your number one show, you know. Yeah.

Jeff Dziekan

Or your staff, anybody, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. And if you ever need an expert to talk about pretty much anything in the car market, we have people. So that's right.

Don Armstrong

We'll definitely do it. John Vincent, thank you so much. U.S. News and World Report 2026 Best Adventure Vehicle Awards. Thanks again, John. We'll talk to you soon. Okay, uh, just ahead. It's Jeff's Car Culture. White letter tires is the subject this week. Mars has hidden Houston speakeasies. That's the one I'm whatever. Well, that's coming up right after this break here on the Big Wheel Time. They won't be hidden anymore. Stay with us.

Don Armstrong

The Texas Max dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortillas, your destination for Texas's best beef ahitas and frozen margaritas. Since 1983, Loopy Tortillas has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients. Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience of Loopy Tortillas, all developed in a little house near Highway 6 to I 10 in Houston. Visit any of the Loopy tortillas, and you will see the same attention to detail at each and every location. Start your loopy experience with costa flaminato and guacamole, along with a plastic frozen margarita. Done on famous loopy beef and chicken tomatoes, four pepper trip crochet, or a fresh or vegetarian entree, and finish with a scrumptious vlog for dessert. Find loopy tortilla in Houston, College Station, Beaumont, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, Fort North. There's a Texas location near you. The recipes are authentic and time-tested. The ingredients always fresh. Loopy tortilla. Eats pretty good. Apple or Android In Wheel Time podcasts can be found everywhere, on the stream and through downloads. Whether you're on the road or at home and searching for a fun 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, mic'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. Inwheeltime.com has a list, so check us out. 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 a.m. Central on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheeltime.com website. Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music. Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.

Racing Calendar Quick Hits

Don Armstrong

All right, time now for the racing calendar, sponsored by those famous people that we can never get on the air. The Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.

Jeff Dziekan

Thank you for that. Well, Formula One is the Italian Grand Prix, and that goes off. I think it's going to be on the internet and some uh FS1 channel, I'm not sure. Uh, then you got Darlington for NASCAR. You got the O'Reilly series that's going to be uh at 2 30 p.m. on the CW, and then you've got the big boys running at 5 p.m. on the USA network. And then, of course, you've got Indy at the Grand Prix of Monterey. That ought to be fun. And then uh Second through the seventh, you've got the Cornwell Quality Tools N H R A US.

Don Armstrong

I have a Cornwall Cornwell Dwell meter. Oh wow. Very good. Do you know how old that is? Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty old. When's the last time you had to check the dwell?

Jeff Dziekan

I don't think they do dwells anymore.

Don Armstrong

No, I don't think they do either.

Jeff Dziekan

And then uh the lawnmower racing is off. So they're they're they're changing blades and tires and all that.

Don Armstrong

Have you seen any of that on the internet? Yeah, I have seen. Oh my god, dude. They've got these things they're popped up. I guess they got motorcycle engines in them or something because they are fast. You're gonna try to put an LS in one of them, I'm sure. I'm sure somebody's already done that. All right, time now for this week in auto history,

This Week In Auto History

Don Armstrong

Mr. Mars.

Mike Marrs

Yes, sir. We found a few things this week in auto history that uh I think people will be interested in and checking it out. September the 6th, way back in 1891. Peugeot took their type three early gasoline-powered engine, which was uh a Daimler-designed two-horsepower engine, and they entered it into a race, a bicycle race, and they took it 1,271-mile round trip. Now, this it only got about nine miles per hour to do it, but it did complete it. And the whole point of that was to show that automobiles were something that were dependable and could be used.

Don Armstrong

And one of those one of those guys in the car looks just like you, Mars.

Mike Marrs

I think it's the one in the back on the other side. The thinner one. Yeah, yeah, I wish. So um then on September the 7th, in back in 1896, this was America's first automobile race that was held on a horse track or trotting track in Cranston, Rhode Island. Now, this was seven car seven vehicles competed over five laps. Now they had sixty thousand people actually there to watch this first race.

Don Armstrong

Although it says, although it says Narragansett Park. Every time I've been there, I've got the trot.

Mike Marrs

Well, I couldn't say Narragansett's by just skipping Narragansett. But they had 60,000 spectators watching this and an electric Riker. The car game was the Riker, won, doing 20 miles an hour. Second place finisher was also an electric vehicle. So it was third place was won by a gasly power. But again, it helped to demonstrate that automobile competition could become a major nationwide spectator sport. Then uh moving up, jumping up to 1949, uh, Volkswagen returns to German control. Now, this is after the war. The Volkswagen Company was actually transferred from the British military control back to the Federal Republic, which was new, the Federal Republican.

Don Armstrong

It's the original split window coup. Yeah.

Mike Marrs

It is. And so the and the reason this was important because it gave they after the war, they took control of the corporation, the company, the factories, and all that. So they were putting it back into the hands of the German people, which that led to Volkswagen Beetle being built so long and so far and becoming such a landmark vehicle for uh the growth of the automobile industry. Then September the 9th, 1954. The first Thunderbird, Ford Thunderbird is actually completed for the 55-mile gear. Now, they actually started this, took them two days to build this car uh because it was really the first one. It's a two-seat convertible, has VA power, and it was designed to compete with the Chevrolet Corvette. Now they ended up selling about 4.4 million of these vehicles before production ended in 2005. So it went through several generations, but it lasted a long time. And the first car here, I was in one of those once upon a time, and it was uh what you'd expect from a 1955 car, but it was really nice. Uh September the 10th, back in 1897. And this is an important event. This was the uh the London police arrested George Smith after he crashed his cab into a building while intoxicated. So George Smith became the first recorded driving arrest. And uh his fine was 25 shillings. I have no idea what that means, but uh it is the first person that was arrested for driving under the influence. Then in uh 1970, September 10th. This is important because the Chevrolet Vega goes on sale.

Don Armstrong

Now, this was could you could you could could you repeat that date again, please?

Mike Marrs

September the 10th, 1970.

Don Armstrong

Yeah. I uh just for my edification because I I I I I've had two. And I had I had the original one like that, except it wasn't that fancy, it was the bottom of the line, but whatever. I like that car.

Mike Marrs

My brother had a great one. A lot of people like that car, and it was really it was designed to challenge the imports of the domestic rivals that were coming in. The EPA was shutting down the muscle car world, and and the world was changing from an automotive perspective. And this car was what they designed to compete with it. They also made a hatchback in it that I thought would be so cool to have an engine in the back, a rear-mounted engine in that hatchback for Saturday nights down on the drag strip. But uh, and this was also one Jeff did a feature once upon a time about how they shipped these cars upright on the rail cars so they could get more of them in that place.

Don Armstrong

That didn't last long, though.

Mike Marrs

No, it didn't. Uh it's kind of like the car didn't last that long. Uh then September the 8th, 1904. Now, this isn't necessarily an automobile, but it is automotive in that 1904, the first Harley Davidson prototype was actually built functionally. And now, of course, William Harley and the Davidson brothers they went on to create Harley Davidson, that's worldwide, world-known uh at this point, as far as the motorcycles go. So it was very important. And um this vehicle, this prototype was actually 400cc, had a one-speed transmission on it. And it had wide whites on it.

Don Armstrong

Oh, yeah.

Mike Marrs

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think they were all whites. Yeah, they're all whites. But anyway, that was just a few things in automotive history this week that we thought were rather interesting.

Don Armstrong

Yeah, well, that was a trip down memory lane. Yeah, the uh I bought two Vegas, a 70 and a 74. And uh I didn't have any problems with either one. Now, the first one, four-speed manual transmission, no air conditioning.

Jeff Dziekan

Yeah, my brother had a stick in his.

Don Armstrong

Well, I couldn't afford it. That was my very first new car. Yeah, I was I was still proud of it. And the second one, then I bumped it up to the GT and only had that for one year, and then I bought the Monza. Listen, I was on the cutting, I was on the cutting edge of new car uptake.

Mike Marrs

And I was so I was so cool. I had an aunt who her husband had a Cosworth Vega out in California. Oh wow.

Don Armstrong

Oh, wow.

Mike Marrs

Well, he died and she called me and said, Hey, you want to buy this car? I don't want the Vega, a Cosworth four-seller Cosworth Vega. Nah, I don't want it.

Don Armstrong

If you had it today, it'd be worth a lot of money. It's like the Yanko of its day.

Mike Marrs

There you go.

Jeff Dziekan

Factory Yanko.

Tesla Leads A Shrinking EV Market

Don Armstrong

Hey, Tesla's winning in a shrinking electric vehicle market as other brands retreat. The EV maker claimed more than 60% of the new U.S. EV registrations in June. Uh, while registrations for other brands sharply declined, according to the most recent study from Mobility Global. New total new electric vehicle registrations fell 11%, the ninth straight month of declines after the federal EV tax credits expired. All right. Uh, we're gonna take a quick break and we'll be back after these messages. Your

Ads And Final Signoff

Don Armstrong

car is a direct reflection of you, so don't be satisfied with color fade or a dingy dull appearance. Get rid of those terrible automated car wash scratches. Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your save the paint company. John Gray and his team of detailing experts can help your cars finish without a full repaint. Searching for real experts in window tent or windshield protection, Gulf Coast Auto Shield. Dash cans, radar detectors, Gulf Coast Auto Shield. Got a new car? Get it protected as soon as you take delivery. If you don't know which of the multitude of protection products to go with, John Gray will give you an honest opinion and won't tell you something you don't need. John will help you understand the many options and pricing right on the spot. He's your guy to have your ride looking its best and protected too. See the state-of-the-art shop yourself, free tours anytime. Gulf Coast Auto Shield is easy to get to, located just south of the Southwest Freeway on the Sam Houston Parkway. Gulf Coast Auto Shield, full service luxury car care today and online at gcautoshield.com. Gift giving should be meaningful, and we have an idea: a hand-painted custom illustration of your car from one of the nation's leading artists. Now you can get one or a car show poster customized for you, a friend, or a loved one. Bill Sites will be happy to guide you through the process. No matter what the day, birthday, anniversary, or any day, an autographics custom illustration adds an extra touch of class to any home. Call Bill today, 832-922-0963. That's 832-922-0963. 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.