Tariffs and EVs: Auto Industry at a Crossroads

The electric vehicle revolution may be hitting a roadblock. Auto expert Jack Nerad joins us to unpack why we might have already reached "peak EV" in the American market. With gas prices low in most states and consumer interest waning, Nerad explains why the billions invested by certain automakers in all-electric futures may have been premature.

Diving into the recent Senate vote to block California's 2035 gas vehicle ban, we examine how this regulatory shift could reshape automotive manufacturing priorities across the industry. The conversation highlights how Toyota and Honda, once criticized for "dragging their feet" on electrification, may have been following the smarter strategy all along.

Beyond the EV discussion, we tackle the affordability crisis sweeping through the automotive market. With average new car prices hovering around $49,000 and the annual cost of vehicle ownership exceeding $12,000, many Americans find themselves priced out of new car purchases entirely. Nerad shares a striking example of how a Kia Sorento that cost $28,000 in 2015 would now command around $60,000 for a comparable model.

The episode also explores how advanced driver assistance systems, while promising enhanced safety, have dramatically increased both insurance premiums and repair costs. Something as simple as replacing a windshield has become a complex, expensive proposition due to embedded sensors and cameras.

For those looking to explore automotive culture closer to home, Mike introduces a new "Driving Destinations" feature highlighting hidden Houston gems like the Art Car Museum (aptly nicknamed the "Garage Mahal") and the impressive Hemi Hideout in Brookshire. Jeff rounds out the show with upcoming cruise-in events perfect for Memorial Day weekend exploration.

Whether you're considering an electric vehicle purchase, wondering about the future of auto manufacturing, or simply looking to understand why car ownership costs continue to climb, this episode delivers expert insights into the rapidly evolving automotive landscape.

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

Transcript

Show Introduction

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast From the Sugar Shack Studios in Texas, usa. It's the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Just ahead, noted author I put down here notated author Okay, and auto guru Jack Nerad on tariff impacts and another new book that he's written. Yeah, jeff has the crews in and events calendars and I'll bring you stories making automotive news headlines this week. Howdy Along with Mike out of this world Mars birthday boy, jeffrey Zekin 21. I'm Don Armstrong. David has the weekend off, but we're going to get back at him when we go up to. I was going to say Ganado, but that's down south.

Speaker 1 0:43

No, granberry. Yeah, I was going to say Ganado, but that's down south. No, granberry. Yeah, that's where we're going to go. We gave you a preview of our next guest in the last half hour.

Speaker 3 0:57

So here he is, ladies and gentlemen from the left coast, Jack Nerad, I'm glad to join you on this Memorial Day weekend.

Speaker 1 1:02

Having a gala weekend. What do you got planned this weekend?

Speaker 3 1:05

I have a very quiet weekend. Actually. My wife has gone with some of her girlfriends to Nashville, so I'm just kind of hanging out.

Speaker 1 1:13

You're batching it, do you?

Speaker 3 1:14

have a pool? I do not. No, I have an ocean about three-quarters of a mile away, so that suffices.

Speaker 1 1:21

And you didn't get caught up in any of those ugly fires out there. I hope.

Speaker 3 1:24

That suffices, and you didn't get caught up in any of those ugly fires out there.

Speaker 1 1:26

I hope we did not happily. Yeah, what a horrible, horrible thing.

Speaker 3 1:29

Yeah, and preventable, yeah. That's what really makes it even worse.

Speaker 4 1:34

Hey, Jack Hightwin wants to know if you've been feeling any shakes out there in LA. Did y'all have a smirk A few?

Speaker 3 1:40

I mean there are always a few roll through here. They're kind of interesting actually when they're not damaging. Have the ground shake a little bit. A little bit of a roller coaster ride.

Speaker 1 1:49

Do you keep your press cars in the garage?

Speaker 3 1:53

I do not actually. I would keep them in the driveway typically.

Speaker 1 1:56

Yeah, I'm just wondering Because you know I used to. When I had a house of my own, I used to keep it in the garage if I had the room at the time, Right, and I haven't kept it in the garage, I keep it in the driveway. I try not to keep it in the street because you're not supposed to and you know I treat those cars like they're my own. I take care of them. When we had the hurricane roll through here, I put it in a parking garage over at the shopping mall underneath. You know I didn't want anything banging into it and have to fill out. You know miles of paperwork and that sort of stuff.

Speaker 1 2:31

Yeah, exactly, so how have you been?

Speaker 3 2:35

Terrific, terrific Traveling, a lot, actually Traveling more than I was in Texas early this week on a Toyota event, the Toyota headquarters confidential event. So I got some me and 200 other journalists got to look behind the scenes a little bit at what's going on at Toyota and Lexus. That was fun.

Speaker 1 2:54

Did you happen to visit any of San Antonio while you were there? Did you have time to do that?

Speaker 3 2:58

No, I wish I had. It was a very short kind of in and out into Plano and back pretty quickly.

Speaker 1 3:05

Gotcha, gotcha. Yeah, have you had any good cars to talk about lately that you wanted to pass along? I think?

Speaker 3 3:10

so, in fact, I was on another event out of Louisville actually, where they build the Ford Expedition, so I drove the new 2025 Ford Expedition and the Expedition Tremor, which was cool. Did a lot of off-roading with that, so that was cool. Did a lot of off-roading with that, so that was exciting. Really interesting to see a vehicle of that size off-road. You have some questions about that.

Speaker 1 3:32

Usually it's the wheelbase and bottoming out.

Speaker 3 3:35

Yeah, I mean it's kind of amazing to have a vehicle you know, it's the size of a full-size pickup truck that's going through the woods and going through the muck and the mire and everything else and I did a quite a good job now, did you have a driving partner?

Speaker 1 3:51

did somebody from ford I?

Recent Car Events and Test Drives

Speaker 3 3:52

did a very beautiful driving partner named sandy nerad very nice yeah, she is very nice. I I like her a lot, I love her a lot yeah, that's good it was one of those things where we got an opportunity. She was my videographer and photographer for the event, so she was officially part of the program, which was nice, and we got to drive together. So one of the few times we got to do that.

Speaker 1 4:19

Does she do your editing for you and stuff like that? I mean, how involved in the show is she Not at all? No, for you, and stuff like that. I mean, how involved in the show is not at all.

Speaker 3 4:25

no, she gives the camera back to you yeah, she does do good video though, and uh and uh took a lot of uh photographs, so you know, earned her keep. That's good, very good that's good.

Speaker 1 4:35

Yeah, uh, before we get going in essence here, how is the new? Tell me about the new book well, it's.

Speaker 3 4:44

it's a book, my second crime novel. It's called Only One Thing Stays the Same. It's right over my right shoulder here. It is available on Amazon in both e-book and paperback form, and I like writing crime novels. It's kind of fun. If you like James M Cain, if you like Double Indemnity or the Postman Always Rings Twice, then I think you will love Only One Thing Stays the Same. It's on that order.

Speaker 4 5:12

Jack, one thing I would like to know. I'm looking at your book there. Do you do the covers?

Speaker 3 5:20

I do not, but I kind of direct the covers. You know direct how they were Back in the day. You know, when I was editor of Motor Trend I was responsible for the whole magazine, of course, including the covers, which were critical in those days in terms of newsstand sales, which was the lifeblood of all the magazines so frequently we would sell 300,000 of them a month on the newsstand. So I got to be pretty adept at putting covers together and I think this is a pretty good cover for this. I like your covers.

Speaker 1 5:51

Yeah, interesting, interesting. We got that going on and you went on lots of trips. What other kind of trips besides San Antonio and Toyota have you been on lately?

Speaker 3 6:05

I was just on a Hyundai trip to Savannah kind of 48 hours in and out of Savannah to drive the Hyundai Ioniq 9. I heard about that Electric vehicle. Yeah, did you?

Speaker 1 6:16

like it.

Speaker 3 6:18

I like the vehicle, but I have to scratch my head about what's going to happen with that vehicle. We also visited their meta plant, which is, I think, 17 acres under roof. It's just this amazing, amazing vehicle production plant, very integrated. They build seats there. There's a battery plant on campus. Just a lot going on there.

Speaker 1 6:39

Do they make nothing but EVs there?

Speaker 3 6:41

Well, that was the plan initially. That plan has shifted pretty significantly, I think, now, and I think they're going to move quote-unquote electrified vehicles into the plant, which means hybrids and plug-in hybrids, which involves some changing of things around, but I think certainly Hyundai knows how to do that. It's a big shift, though I think we have all seen right, the move to electrics was not as inevitable as we seem to have been told, right.

Speaker 1 7:13

Yeah, and especially out there in California, because I understand that there's a movement in the works to do away with the mandate out there in California for all electric and 35. That ain't going to happen.

EV Market Reality Check

Speaker 3 7:26

Yeah, I mean that just passed the bill kind of prohibiting California from prohibiting gasoline cars after 2035. Just passed the Senate. It will probably be signed by President Trump and so some sanity will return. Maybe not a bunch, but some. Not only did it require that all vehicles sold from 2035 beyond be zero emission, but I think it mandated something like 25 or 26 percent of vehicles be zero emission next year. What?

Speaker 2 8:02

yeah, it was, it was like I mean that's right around the corner.

Speaker 3 8:05

Yeah, yeah yeah, so so I think sanity will again prevail how is the charging situation out there?

Speaker 1 8:12

do you guys? I hear that you guys have more chargers than anybody in the entire world. We have pretty much next to nothing here.

Speaker 3 8:21

We have a lot of chargers. We have very reasonably few fast chargers. Right, like nobody wants to put their vehicle these days on one of these level two chargers. It's going to take four or five hours to do a recharge, like you're going to go to the mall for four hours, or you know, it's just kind of a no-go. How many Portillo hot dogs can you eat? Like you're going to go to the mall for four hours, or you know, it's just kind of a no-go.

Speaker 4 8:41

How many Portillo hot dogs can you eat?

Speaker 3 8:42

So most of those are empty most of the time and then the fast chargers are hard to get into. It's kind of a mess because I think we have the Betamax VHS situation going on in spades on this issue.

Speaker 1 8:58

So do you personally have any trouble? Do you charge your electrics there at the house on a level one?

Speaker 3 9:03

No, I'm about half a mile from a fairly sizable shopping center and there's a lot of chargers in there, so I have not gone to the $5,000 expense of putting in a charger in my home and I think that's what it would take, based on where my electrical is and all of that.

Speaker 2 9:24

There's a question that just came up. So you're going to say someone does want to put a $5,000 charger in there. What is the permitting and how long does it take to get that done for somebody? Because I know that California's got some regulations that kind of slow down it can be problematic To give you an example.

Speaker 3 9:50

I it can be problematic To give you an example. I think after the fires that you alluded to earlier, I think only one or two houses have started to be rebuilt out of the hundreds that were destroyed in the fire. So permitting and that kind of stuff is very, very difficult here. There's a lot of red tape in this.

Speaker 1 9:56

Okay, so let's go off the track here and let me ask you Is Gavin Newman whatever?

Speaker 4 10:05

I'm going to call him Alfred E.

Speaker 1 10:06

Newman's brother. Is he going to run for president?

Speaker 3 10:10

He's already running for president.

Speaker 1 10:12

I don't think he's officially. Well, I know, but not officially.

Speaker 3 10:16

It's fairly obvious, I think, that he plans to run for president. He's kind of moving toward the middle of the political spectrum. No, or trying to appear to Really Well, trying to appear to Right. I mean cracking down on the homeless now and you know telling localities that they've got to get the homeless. You know out from under viaducts and you know clean things up the stuff that people can see. He's got to clean that. Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 3 10:43

What are you talking about on your car show? Well, we're wondering about, and the name of the show is America on the Road, and we're wondering about whether we've kind of reached peak EV At least I'm kind of positing that. I'm putting that out there. I was just back in Texas Gas. You know the gas prices there are better than I do, but probably between two and three dollars a gallon or something like that.

Speaker 3 11:08

They're well over five dollars a gallon here, and there are plenty of reasons for that, most of which have to do with red tape and government interference. But with gas prices being what they are in most of the country, there's even fewer reasons to buy electric vehicles. And now we're going to see it's really likely we're going to see the subsidies or the tax breaks for purchasing of an electric vehicle go away. That's moving its way through Congress. So I'm just hard pressed to think that we're going to get much beyond 20% of vehicle sales being electric organically. It's hard to imagine that's going to happen.

Speaker 1 11:47

Jack, let me ask you this what were these car companies thinking that this is all going to change overnight? Overnight being, you know, 10 years, we're all going to be all electric. What were they thinking?

Speaker 3 12:01

Well, I think some of them were thinking that and some of them weren't, and I think a lot of them. General Motors, for example, put a lot of money into that and kind of you know, bet the farm on going all electric. Volkswagen went that direction.

Speaker 2 12:12

Stellantis went that way.

Speaker 3 12:14

Yeah, and you know, Ford invested a ton of money going electric, which now pulled back very significantly from that in terms of closing plants and just realizing this is not the way it's going. Then there were other companies that kind of were getting slammed for dragging their feet on that Toyota, honda. To some extent, they seem like the smarter ones now, don't they? Versus what's happened. What's happened?

Speaker 4 12:37

But I think that the ones that really went all in GM Ford things like that, the amount of money they spent, that's because of the political pressures here in the country.

Speaker 1 12:47

The ones that were dragging their feet.

Speaker 4 12:48

They were here, but they weren't necessarily under the same pressures.

Speaker 3 12:55

In my mind, because they've got so much around the world.

Speaker 3 12:58

Yeah, and I think when you look at the regulatory climate, I mean when things were going in a particular direction under the last administration, that is like 180 degrees from what's going on now, Right right, and I think a lot of car companies thought it was going to continue the way the previous administration was going, versus what's happening now and just kind of being irrational about what works for most people. I mean there's no sense that electric vehicles can be mass market vehicles for the broad market if they are competing with gasoline vehicles that are 10 to 20 percent cheaper. It doesn't make any sense that you as the consumer are going to rush right out to buy an electric if you can buy an equivalent or a vehicle with much better utility that's gasoline powered.

Speaker 4 13:48

Well, and I think the market has a lot to do with that because, like where you're at LA very condensed population, you know you may drive two hours but you may not be going more than 20 miles to do that. But you come back here to Texas and I want to drive 150 miles just to come over here, or I want to go down to the beach. I mean, I don't think anything about driving 300 or 400 miles unless I'm in an electric car from the press fleet. Then I've got to stop and figure out how am I going to do this?

Speaker 3 14:16

I've got to find a charger and all that, and I think people here are figuring this out too. I mean, the distances aren't necessarily as great here as they are in a wide open state like Texas, but at the same time you're using the air conditioning all the time and you're sitting in traffic for hours, whether you're going a lot of miles or not, and when you're doing that you're burning down your range.

Auto Industry News Headlines

Speaker 1 14:38

You're burning down your range. Speaking of prices, buzz around town these days is prices are now becoming out of reach for most Americans to buy a new car. I just saw a brief glimpse $49,000 average price for a new car Is that true?

Speaker 3 15:00

Yeah, I think it is true, and it's something that we've been raising alarms about for a while because, like you say, a good percentage I would say at least 25% of the population, maybe more just absolutely cannot afford to buy a new car, and I'd say a lot of other people are well advised to buy a two or three-year-old used car rather than a new car, just because they save significant amounts of money there.

Speaker 3 15:25

But you know, we review on our show. On our show this week I think, we reviewed two vehicles one, the Mazda CX-5. I think you guys love it. I certainly love it. Yeah, forty forty two thousand dollars prices tested, so that's kind of makes you wonder. Here's a compact suv that costs, you know, nearly 50k. Uh, when I five years ago, it was probably 25k right and the other.

Speaker 1 15:52

The other problem with that is the fact that I'm going to be saddled with a car loan for seven years.

Speaker 3 15:57

Uh no yeah, a car loan at a fairly high interest rate these days too, and you know I'm I'm kind of a really old school in that I pay cash for the cars I buy and I don't buy cars very, very often yeah, right, I mean both of my cars are 2015 models and, uh, bought my wife's brand new sorrento for 28 000 in.

Speaker 4 16:19

How much is that car going for today? I think the last one I drove was around in the low 60s, wow yeah.

Speaker 1 16:28

We got some work to do, Lucy.

Speaker 3 16:30

We do, we do.

Speaker 1 16:32

Jack, it's always a pleasure to talk to you. We love you.

Speaker 3 16:34

Great to talk to you guys.

Speaker 4 16:35

Thank you so much.

Speaker 1 16:35

Good luck with the book too yeah.

Speaker 3 16:37

Yep, good luck with the book too. Thank you, I will get copies your way.

Speaker 1 16:39

God bless you. Appreciate it. Thanks. Be safe, my friend. Stay in touch.

Speaker 3 16:44

Enjoy your Memorial Day, you too.

Speaker 1 16:45

All right Coming up, jeff has the cruise in and events calendars, mr Mars has his new feature coming up and I'll have stories making automotive news headlines. If we can squeeze it all in here in 14 minutes. Stay with us here on the award-winning in-wheel time car talk show. The Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla your destination for Texas' best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas. Since 1983, loopy Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients. Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience at Loopy Tortilla, all developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in West Houston. Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location. Start your Loopy experience with queso flammeado and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margarita. Dine on famous Loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp brochette, or a fish or vegetarian entree, and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert. Find Loopy Tortilla in Houston, college Station, beaumont, austin, san Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth. There's a Texas location near you. The recipes are authentic and time-tested, the ingredients always fresh. Loopy Tortilla is pretty good.

Speaker 1 17:58

The In Real Time Car Talk Show thanks you for 14 wonderful years. Yep. Our first show aired May 7, 2011 on a local radio station. Then it was a move to the digital world and social media and you followed. Thank you, we continue to build and grow our fan base and it's all because of you and your auto enthusiast friends. We appreciate your support. It's always great to see you at our remote broadcasts and we hope you'll continue to stop by and say hello. It's been a great ride and we hope to bring you more fun and adventure right here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show, lone Star Street, rod Association State Run our next remote broadcast gathering. So be sure and join us from Granbury, Texas, 9 to noon, saturday June 14th, right here on your favorite streaming and podcast source. Thanks for joining us today here on In Wheel Time.

Speaker 4 18:47

Mr Mars has a new feature. We're going to start today driving destinations. Mr Mars and I started out with Houston. I mean, it's local and it's a good place to start on a Memorial weekend. Hidden Houston Now. One of the things I found was the Sam Houston Boat Tour. Now this offers a free opportunity for families to explore one of the busiest ports in the United States. Now this is a 90-minute cruise. Takes passengers along the Houston Ship Channel aboard a 95-foot boat. It's air-conditioned. You get close-up views to what's going on in the Port of Houston Completely different view than looking at it over the bridge and going across it. But you need to make advanced reservations because this is a really popular thing to do in Houston.

Speaker 4 19:23

Buffalo Bayou Park. What caught my attention on this? This is 160 acres of green space in downtown Houston Never knew it existed. Walking trails, bike paths, play areas. It's got hiking, biking, picnics, wildlife spotting. There's a play area with rock climbing walls, water features and a sand pit that kids can play and get lost in. There's interpretive signs. This is a really cool place to go out, take the family and get out around nature without spending a lot of money.

Speaker 4 19:52

Now getting into something a little more automotive. The art car museum, also known as the garage mahal. Now, this is a unique hou Houston attraction dedicated to vehicles transformed into rolling works of art. Now, part of this comes into the Art Car Parade that happens once a year, but this is a museum that you can go to all around. If you miss the parade, you can go see where some of these cars end up at the Art Car Museum Cool. Now the other thing that you want to look at if you're a car guy is the hemi hideout.

Speaker 4 20:25

Now, this is outside of houston, but we're going to call it the houston area because it's so awesome. It's 40 minutes west of houston and brookshire. It's a private collection of restored mopars, neon signs and americana 21 000 square foot building to put this in. The building itself is worth going to look at. If you like the signs and everything, this is a great place to go. You need to make advance arrangements. All the money that people collect from going to see this, it goes to charity and they usually match that, so you need to call them and check on this. The Hemi Hideout in Brookshire.

Speaker 4 20:59

Then, going over to Speed Sports, there's something that I found. I found called the Houston Motorsports Museum. Now this is out in the Woodlands area at Speed Motorsports facility. It's a museum that's focused on the collection of race cars, memorabilia and historic vehicles. It's dedicated to preserving the history of motorsports in Texas specifically, and beyond, with things like IndyCars, formula 1, nascar and endurance racing machines. Great place Close to go check it out. Plus, you can do a little driving while you're out there. Finally, I wanted to mention the Lone Star Flight Museum. Now, it's primarily focused on aviation, but it's such a cool place. It's in Houston. It includes a collection of vintage military aircraft, war-era automobiles and it's out at Ellington Field and it's got some World War II Jeeps, motorcycles, staff cars and some other transportation vehicles. They even have hands-on activities with simulators, guided tours available. It's very family friendly, admission is modest and this is a great place to go see some really cool stuff with your family. Check out Hidden Houston while you're out and about.

Houston Driving Destinations

Speaker 1 22:04

All right, thank you, sir. Very good, jeff has the cruise in and events calendars.

Speaker 2 22:09

I do Excuse me. 20th Annual Friendswood Classic Car and Bike Show. We're including bikes because they're two-wheelers. I like them. It is today. It is from 9 am to 2 pm. It's at 1054 South Friendswood Road, south, 9 am to 2 pm. It's at 1054 South Friendswood Road, south Friendswood Drive in Friendswood, texas.

Speaker 1 22:25

That's where David is.

Speaker 2 22:26

Yep Participants are invited to bring their classic cars and bikes. A family-friendly event Starts at 9, like I said, about 2 o'clock-ish when everybody kind of breaks up the event. Then you've got Memorial Day Weekend Beach Car Show. This is at 2612 Gulf Boulevard in South Padre Island. This is for our Corpus folks Memorial Day weekend. It's happening today at Coco Beach Hotel in South Padre Island. Attendees can enjoy a day filled with the beach, music, cars, bikes, all that good stuff Sponsored by King Automotive and their vinyl wraps. Then you've got Garages and Gearheads in Katy. That's an annual event. It's like every weekend, 9 am to 11. It's going on tomorrow. So kids and cars that's another one. Tomball, it's where you take your kids, their big wheels and all that stuff and have a car show. That's it.

Speaker 1 23:19

Thank you. Some of the stories making headlines this week. That's it, thank you. Some of the stories making headlines this week. Equipping vehicles with driver assist technology has an unintended consequence. It turns out An increase in the cost of insurance and auto repairs. Bet you didn't think of that. No, it's almost becoming too expensive to fix the car, according to Hami Ebrahimi, chief commercial officer at Caliber. Collision Insurance and repair. Industry experts are urging automakers to consider how the complexity of driver assist systems has impacted the cost of ownership for motorists at a time when affordability is a widespread concern. Total cost to own and operate a new vehicle is $12,297 per year. That's over and above the cost. This is just own and operate. According to a September study done by motoring organization AAA, an increase of $115 from the previous year. Rising insurance rates are one factor. The average cost of auto insurance is expected to increase for the seventh consecutive year in the US and reach a record high of $2,000, according to LendingTree subsidiary Value Penguin. And we have a connection with that?

Speaker 4 24:32

We certainly do, we do.

Speaker 1 24:34

And I'll give you a perfect example. One is your windshield. Well, it's just not a windshield anymore, because the windshield has now become all of the stuff that it's a computer. Now the car looks ahead and sees the road ahead for you and it turns into a total pain, especially when you got to replace that windshield. There's one reason yeah amongst the other things, including the stuff like lane keeping assist.

Speaker 1 24:57

Somebody needs to clip the wires on that kind of like giving it a vasectomy, turn mine off it. It's awful, just awful. I hate fighting the car to keep it in the damn lane. That's just one of the many gripes that I've got.

Speaker 4 25:10

The only one I really like is the one that vibrates the seats. Easy, easy, you know I'm going to go to.

Speaker 2 25:21

Mike, on that one, I'm just saying yeah.

Speaker 4 25:24

I think it's rather unique.

Speaker 1 25:26

I see you turning it a little red there, mike, it's the lighting in the room.

Speaker 4 25:29

I was already putting a response together for what I thought you were going to say, what you were doing is trying to avoid answering it, because you know that Becky is listening. Well, that could be true. Thank you for the cupcakes, Becky.

Speaker 3 25:41

Forgot about that Well that could be two.

Speaker 1 25:44

Thank you for the cupcakes, Becky.

Speaker 2 25:46

Forgot about that. Let's see.

Speaker 1 25:47

Which one of these am I going to do here? Okay? Us Senate voted to block a California program banning gasoline-powered cars and other vehicles by 2035, sending the measure to President Trump for his signature. The 5144 vote May 22nd rolls back an Environmental Protection Agency waiver issued under former President Joe Biden, allowing California to enact emission standards even stricter than the US government's requirements to increase sales of electric and other zero-emission vehicles. Eleven other states, representing a third of the US auto market, also adopted California's regulations. Shame on them. The decision to repeal waivers for the state automobile program is a win for automakers and dealers, who had lobbied heavily against the rules. The Senate's vote overturns a decades-old practice of allowing the most populous US state to set stringent pollution standards. First envisioned as a way to help California combat smog, that practice helped put Sacramento in the driver's seat, designating pollution curbs that applied in other states, and have opted to follow along.

Speaker 2 26:51

Wow.

Speaker 1 26:52

All right, there's that. All right Time now for a quick break here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. We're going to wrap things up right after this. 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. 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.

Cruise-In Calendar and Show Wrap

Speaker 1 27:58

The award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show now reaches 5.3 million folks each year. Check us out on InWheelTimecom, the Odyssey Radio app, youtube, facebook and just about every other entertainment source out there, including our live broadcast every Saturday, 10 to noon Central Time. The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show has informative automotive guest interviews, new car reviews, along with popular features, including Jeff's Car Culture, the latest new cars, cruise ins and racing dates. It's InWheelTimecom. Join us. Well, you know what the sound of that means. It's the end of the show. That's all for this week's In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Be sure and check us out at InWheelTimecom.

Speaker 1 28:42

We're always looking for new, informative and fun automotive things. If you have an idea or event or road trip destination information, let us know. Our email address is info at InWheelTimecom. Hey, when you're looking for award-winning car talk, you can find the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show 24-7 on the In Wheel Time app. When you're on the road show, 24-7 on the In Wheel Time app. When you're on the road, grab a podcast anytime from your favorite podcast provider, including the new SiriusXM podcast channel, and be sure and catch us on the Odyssey Radio app. We video stream our live show every Saturday, 10 to noon on Facebook, youtube and InWheelTimecom. The In Wheel Time video technical director as we always need more Jeff Zekin, the Booking Agent, video Editor and People Finder and do it all, mike, out of this world. Mars Chief Engineer David Ainsley. I'm Don.

Speaker 1 29:33

Armstrong, be safe out there. Have a great Memorial Day weekend and a great week ahead.

Speaker 2 29:40

Be safe and don't forget why we have it.

Speaker 1 29:41

Thanks again for following the award-winning In Real Time Car Talk Show. We'll see you next week. That's it for this podcast episode of the In-Wheel Time Car Show. I'm Don Armstrong. 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.