Behind the Neon: Inside John Hovis's Legendary Car Collection

Broadcasting from John Hovis's legendary Hemi Hideout in Brookshire, Texas, we invite listeners into a wonderland of automotive memorabilia, rare Mopar muscle, and glowing neon signs. This special venue has transformed dramatically since opening a decade ago, now serving as both museum and gathering place for car enthusiasts. Today's open house welcomes visitors with breakfast tacos, camaraderie, and the opportunity to support local charities through matched donations.

Our automotive journey begins with a fascinating look at the 1971 Plymouth GTX – perhaps the most criminally overlooked muscle car of the Mopar golden era. This sleek fastback with coke-bottle curves arrived just as muscle car mania began cooling, resulting in just 2,900 sales despite its impressive 440 cubic inch V8 engine options. The rarest configuration – just 326 examples with the 440 Plus 6 and four-speed manual – now commands upwards of $166,000 at auction, demonstrating how collectors have finally recognized this hidden gem.

We also dive deep into the completely redesigned 2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph, a luxury behemoth assembled in America that competes directly with Escalade, Navigator, and Grand Wagoneer. Beyond its imposing presence and twin-turbo V6 producing 450 horsepower, this seven-passenger SUV pampers occupants with heated, ventilated, and massaging seats in both first and second rows. At $113,965 fully loaded (yes, including that much-discussed $355 umbrella holder), it represents Infiniti's flagship offering in the increasingly competitive premium SUV space.

Whether you're fascinated by forgotten muscle cars, curious about modern luxury SUVs, or simply enjoy immersing yourself in automotive culture, join us for this unique broadcast from one of Texas's most extraordinary automotive destinations. And don't forget to mark your calendars for upcoming events including Tailpipes and Tacos on April 19th and the Hot Rod Tour of Texas on April 26th!

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Transcript

Live from the Hemi Hideout

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast From Hobus' Hemi Hideout in Brookshire, texas. It's the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Better late than never, had you fooled huh Coming up? We're going to talk a little bit about the Mecham auction. We had planned on having Brianne Poland on the line with us, but unfortunately we didn't bring the right equipment to be able to do that. Our fault, shame on us, sorry. Re-end, jeff, is going to bring us some car culture and we're going to have the overlooked Mopar muscle car of the 1970s. Then, mr Mars, have you recovered from your heart attack?

Speaker 2 0:40

yet, not yet.

Speaker 1 0:41

Not yet. Mr Mars is going to review the 2025 Infiniti QX80. Howdy, along with Mike out of this world, mars, we always need more. Jeff Zekin, chief Engineer David Ainsley. I'm, don Armstrong, so glad that you could join us today from the Hemi Hideout in Brookshire, texas, and that's what we are going to talk about throughout the show. But we're going to try to make this a little bit different for you in the fact that we are also going to feature uh hovis's mopar collection here at the hemi hideout, because I have not seen all the cars and gosh as long as we've been coming out here 10 years.

Speaker 1 1:15

When the hideout first opened uh and john will fill us in on all this, but when it first opened several years ago, we came out and it looked a lot different than it does today, and you can see by our camera shot out here that it's quite full of a lot of neon signs Also some porcelain signs, but mainly neon signs, because John has decided to fill it up with lots of neon signs. And also, this is an open house out here today, as I mentioned earlier, and $10 per person to get in no children under 12. It's cash money only and John matches that $10 per person to the charities out here in Brookshire. So, now that we got all that out of the way, continuing on with the Hemi hideout story? So the reason that there aren't that out of the way continuing on with the Hemi hideout story? So the reason that there aren't all the cars in here? Because it needed to make room for some tables and chairs, because we have loopy tortilla the truck is out there, the truck is out there.

Speaker 1 2:14

So breakfast tacos are available for purchase and there's also a club coming, I think the Northside Mustang Club is going to get here. And it's an open house for everybody else too, and that means you, so we'll be here until noon, noonish, 30ish, something like that, today, yeah, maybe through Tuesday, oh God. I can't do that, but we'll try anyway. Sorry a little bit late getting on this morning because we've had some equipment issues, technical difficulty Is that your?

Speaker 3 2:41

stupid computer that did all that.

Speaker 2 2:46

Yeah, we were on the wrong setting for all the settings that we have to set Okay, and I think that we should set it up so that when we set up, we don't have to set up too many settings on the future.

Speaker 1 2:55

Yeah, theoretically, theoretically, theoretically. Yeah Well, you know we try to do this little test at about 30 minutes before the show starts in earnest.

Speaker 3 3:06

Remember, ernest, don't you?

Speaker 2 3:09

He just left Ernest.

Speaker 3 3:11

In fact, their board is empty now too.

Mecham Auction Updates

Speaker 1 3:13

Exactly. So since we don't have Brianne talking to us today from Mecham Auctions, I can tell you that this is the final day of Mecham Auctions out at NRG Center, and they've been generous and bought some time with us and we were going to have them on this morning to talk about how the auction is going. Have you watched any of it? I have not. I have not either. You know, it's so funny because the auction is a Thursday, friday, saturday event and sometimes they do Sunday, but not in Houston.

Speaker 1 3:47

We found that out in the last interview that we did with them, and so usually sunday is the big, big, big, big, big, big day yeah and uh, we always watch meekum auction as it's been recorded and we get to play back after it's over with because, well, just because we we're not, I'm not available on thursday and we didn't attend this year.

Speaker 3 4:09

Uh, you know a live walkthrough or whatever there this year.

Speaker 1 4:13

So yeah, a little different, but anyway, you always go to amicamauctionscom and get the latest and actually get a live feed from there.

Speaker 1 4:20

I think as well, but that's that's going on at NRG Center most of the day today, and we hope that you'll get a chance to look over some of the cars. I was bragging to one of my friends this week about the fact that there are cars there that you wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. Matter of fact, they've got 10-foot pole marks all over them, but there are some other cars there that are really choice cars and but there are some other cars there that are really choice cars and they go through.

Speaker 1 4:46

Oh, I can't afford that. Oh, don't cut yourself short. Yeah, Because you know, Raise that hand, Get that bid in. Well, not only that, but everybody thinks that okay, well, where's the bidding going to start on that $50,000 car? Well, it's not going to be $50,000. It could be $10,000. It could be $10. It could be $60. Yes, and I've known some people that have bought some real bargains there.

Speaker 3 5:07

They turned out to be really nice cars and I think what they do at the first opening day is generally not the premium or the high-end exotics. They kind of go through the inventory of the lesser value and up to the time they get the primary.

Speaker 1 5:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it's a fun, fun event. It's a car show within an auction. That's the way I've always looked at it, and you can people watch too.

Speaker 2 5:30

It's a big car show.

Speaker 1 5:32

It's a big car show and all the cars are going home with somebody yeah, and they're not necessarily the owner.

Speaker 3 5:38

Well, there's a butt for every seat. Is that what they call it?

Speaker 1 5:41

I don't know. I've never heard that before.

Speaker 3 5:43

Butt for every seat, for every seat for a butt, something like that. Okay, check your butt.

Speaker 1 5:47

That's it. Yeah, it could be a terryton, could be, it could be a camel. How about an old gold? Old gold.

Speaker 3 5:56

Oh, okay, you're talking about. I got you.

Speaker 1 6:00

The filtered kind.

Speaker 3 6:00

Altered comments.

Speaker 2 6:01

Got to keep up, I'm still 11 minutes behind so.

Speaker 1 6:03

Yeah, well, we are this morning and we're going to have to try to make up some time.

Speaker 1 6:06

All right, let's hurry through this Time, all right, well, as a matter of fact, I'll tell you what we're going to do, because we need to get back on to time and we're going to culture. And the feature about most overlooked Mopar muscle is still ahead. Yep, the Ed Wheel Time Car Talk Show continues in just a couple of minutes. You've waited all winter and it's finally here the Tailpipes and Tacos Spring Cruise Inn. It's been a while, but the popular Tailpipes and Tacos Cruise Inn returns to the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Mex in Katy. Saturday, april 19th. Make any donation to Shirley's Kids and get a free breakfast taco. There'll be mimosas and Bloody Marys too. Get to the best cruise inn of the year Tailpipes and Tacos.

Speaker 1 6:57

Saturday, april 19th, 8 to 11 am. Cruise in, make a donation of any amount and grab free loopy tortilla breakfast taco. Tailpipes and tacos only happens at the loopy tortilla tex-mex in katie, 703 west grand parkway at kingsland boulevard, just south of the katie freeway. Join the car camaraderie and your car will automatically compete for one of three chili pepper trophies at no charge. Spring is here, and what better way to celebrate than with a free taco at tailpipes and tacosos?

Speaker 1 7:24

Saturday, april 19th, 8 to 11 am. The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show will be there too. We hope to see you then Come on out. 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.

Speaker 1 7:44

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. 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, I want to remind everybody that the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show hits the road literally when we join the Hot Rod Tour of Texas on April 26th. It's coming up quick, yeah it is.

Speaker 1 8:39

Check out our link to the website through inwheeltimecom and once again, we'd like to thank you for joining us today here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show.

Speaker 3 8:54

Okay, time now for Jeff's Car Culture, the most overlooked Mopar muscle car of the 1970s. Yes, and since we're here at.

Speaker 2 8:56

Hemi Hideout why not Absolutely, let's just check it out. So here we go.

Overlooked Mopar Muscle Car History

Speaker 3 8:58

Michael, let me put the button for you, you're on. So the early 70s were stacked with legends. You had Plymouth Roadrunner, you had Chargers lighting up the street, kudas prowling the strip and Challengers flexing their serious muscle. If it had a Hemi it got attention. If it looked mean and sounded louder it probably sold well. But somewhere in all that Mopar noise, one car got unfairly lost in the mix. The reason it got overlooked was timing. This car showed up when the party was just starting to wind down.

Speaker 3 9:30

The Plymouth GTX had already been around for a few years by 1971, originally positioned as a gentleman's muscle car. By the time 71 model hit showrooms, the GTX had evolved into its final standalone. Year For this last hurrah of the Plymouth, plymouth dropped the GTX name onto the redesigned B-Body platform. The result was a slick fastback, coke, bottle curves, sculptured lines, arguably one of the best-looking Mopars of that era. The front end looked aggressive. The grillhead attitude, the bodyhead bulges like Don, gave it some serious street presence. But buyers just weren't biting. Part of the problem was that insurance premiums had started to creep up, emissions were tightening, gas prices were staying not too friendly for the people that were using it.

Speaker 1 10:15

I don't believe I've ever seen that car.

Speaker 3 10:17

That's why it's one year.

Speaker 3 10:18

People were starting to cool off on the big block performance, but unfortunately that meant the 71 gtx flew under the radar, despite being an absolute beast. Now this plymouth specs on this. The engine was a 7.2 liter v8 powered 385 horsepower. The torque was 490 foot pounds of torque. 0 to 60 at 5.7 seconds. I thought it'd be a little better than that, but that's what they say under Under the hood.

Speaker 3 10:42

The GTX buyers could option up to a mighty 440 cubic inch V8 with a six-barrel carburetor setup Known to most of us. David, That'd be three, twos, right, it would be the 440 plus six. The 440 plus six used two three-barrel two I'm sorry, three two-barrel Holley carburetors to create a flow of fuel at the air-made 385 horsepower. The 71 Plymouth sold just over 2,900 of the GTXs and of those only 326 were equipped with the 440 Plus 6 and a four-speed manual, Mike, making it the rarest configuration from the majority of muscle cars with the nameplate of that era. To put that into perspective, David, Dodge sold about 10,000 Chargers that year. Chevy moved tens of thousands of chevelles. So there's a big difference, big variance there. Auction prices have been climbing. Uh, 71 gtx might go for about 50 to 80 grand a properly restored. 440 plus 6 version can easily clear uh 150 so you know that you get your money together.

Speaker 3 11:44

As Hagerty put it, one in good condition is a whopping $166,000. 71 buyers could spec it out with a grabber hood, vacuum-operated scoops that popped out under the throttle, a little bit more intimidation, graphic options and color options. So if you've got a rare one, check the color options on it. It's going to be a good value car for you.

Speaker 1 12:04

Where is Hovis? How come he doesn't have one? I'm going to rib him about that. Because he usually has all the pristine one-of-a-kinds, all of that sort of thing.

Speaker 2 12:13

Well, he's going to have to go shopping On that particular car there. If I'm not mistaken, that car would be even more rare, because I believe that car is called Sassafras Green. Something like that be even more rare because I believe that car is called Sassafras Green, something like that. They had it in 70. I did a GTX in a 70 model that I shot for a magazine and it was that car and his was one of 90 painted that color.

2025 Infiniti QX80 Review

Speaker 1 12:35

So a 71 might be even more rare. I'm thinking it should have been weed back in the day. Well, yeah, all right Time now for this hour's car review. Mr Mars has the Infiniti QX80 to talk about the big Infiniti QX80.

Speaker 2 12:48

Now this is the 2025 Infiniti QX80 Autograph trim level all-wheel drive. Now there are four different trim levels, starting with the Pure, the Lux, the Sensory and the Autograph. So we had I mean, yes, so we had the top of the line and it comes with all-wheel drive. That's just the way you're going to get it. Now the final assembly for this vehicle is in LA, so it's actually one of the cars that's built, put together, assembled in the United States. It's been redesigned for 2025. So this starts the third generation of this particular vehicle. And again, we were talking about the autograph all-wheel drive comes with a standard seven passenger. It's seven passenger vehicle, but you can get an optional bench seat in the second row so that you can make it a passenger.

Speaker 2 13:35

It's considered a standard SUV, but to me, this is a very large, full-size SUV, but your government says it is a standard. Now, outside you're you're gonna find a very large distinctive grill, got sharp LED headlights on it, got auto folding, heated outside mirrors, got roof rails on it, got a motion activated liftgate, panoramic moonroof not a sunroof but a moonroof and this is just a big vehicle. 22 inch wheels contribute to the luxury SUV. Look on it and the stance on it. Now, inside you can find quilted leather upholstery that too. Front seats are heated, ventilated and massaging.

Speaker 2 14:13

The second row, another set of captain's chairs are also heated, ventilated and massaging. The third row is heated as well, and there are touchscreens back there for the passengers to use. Up front, you're going to find a 14.3-inch center touchscreen. You're going to find the digital instrument cluster for the driver, as well as a heads-up display, and it's got that digital rearview mirror that I think just about everybody ought to go to just a much nicer view of what's behind you, even with a lot of people in the back like it. Uh, technology it's wireless phone charger charger got a google apps in it, which gave me some issues because I like apple carplay and I had to adapt not very well. Android auto now it did have the 24-speaker clips. You're in your Apple.

Speaker 2 14:56

Apple yeah, 24-speaker clips audio system. Now that meant that in the headrest it's got two speakers, one on each side of the driver's head, and it's very nice when you're talking on the phone, because it puts that phone conversation much easier to hear, but you still ignore them anyway, like you do us here on the show.

Speaker 2 15:13

He's got you blocked. Yeah, you're just blocked. The worst part is it's so much bigger to put that in there. It's already a big headrest. It's bigger if you're trying to look to your side, like we were taught to drive that way.

Speaker 1 15:25

Look back you can't see. Has anybody told you that?

Speaker 2 15:28

Yeah, Not in the last five minutes. The other thing we had I wanted to point out we had the optional umbrella holder at $355.

Speaker 1 15:37

Yes, Dang $355. Here, hold this.

Speaker 2 15:41

Yeah, yeah, up under the hood we had a 3.5 liter V6 twin turbo, which is the only engine that's available Up to, because it's a variable compression on the turbo. It's up to 450 horsepower, 516 pound-feet of torque, backed by a nine-speed automatic. So this vehicle can tow up to 8,500 pounds. Now EPA says in the city you should be looking for 16, highway 19, combined 17. Now I drove 433.5 miles in this vehicle and got 18.7 overall. I was very happy with that, with the mileage that I put on it, since it weighs about 10 tons.

Speaker 2 16:16

Absolutely One thing about the ride and handling it does have the air ride suspension, so the highway ride is smooth. It's pretty quiet, unless you really hammer that V6, and then you kind of hear a little bit of engine noise. But if you're just driving easing up to cruise speed, even at I-10 speeds, you're just fine. Around town it is very quiet, it is easy to drive. But you've got to remember it's a big vehicle. So when you go to Parkistang you know you're driving a big vehicle. Now, base model price $82,450. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Just wait, just hold on.

Speaker 2 16:47

Base trim price $109,900. And the as-tested price with a $355 optional umbrella holder is $113,965.

Speaker 3 17:00

Yeah, I don't want the umbrella holder. Pocket change Take 100 grand, you know what?

Speaker 1 17:04

They've got people right out there in the driveway here at the Hemi Hideout taking that money right now. They're waiting for it. One of them just fainted.

Speaker 2 17:10

Now some people may be looking at other things like that kind of like Escalade that starts at $88,100. The Lincoln Navigator starts at $99,995, which surprised me. Or even the new Jeep Grand Wagoneer, that starts at $84,945. So this is the new Infiniti QX80. This is their big SUV, and if you're looking for something in that category, you really ought to look at this one.

Speaker 1 17:34

All right. Thank you, mr Mars. The Unwilled Time Car Talk Show continues after this quick break.

Speaker 1 17:39

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Speaker 4 18:40

Mecham Auctions, the world's largest collector car auction company, returns to Houston April 3rd to the 5th at NRG Center. Join us for the fun, fast-paced, high-energy Mecham experience. With 1,000 vehicles up for grabs For avid collectors, first-time buyers and enthusiasts of all ages, there's something for everyone. Bring home your dream car Register to pick and buy spectator tickets now at Mechamcom.

Show Wrap-up

Speaker 1 19:11

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 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.