Shifting Away: How Technology is Killing the Stick Shift

The humble manual transmission is quietly disappearing from American roads, and most drivers haven't even noticed. Nissan recently halted production of manual transmission Versa for the US market, effectively ending America's last five-speed manual econobox. With fewer than 5% of buyers choosing the stick shift option and automatic transmissions now delivering superior fuel economy (35 mpg vs 30 mpg), the writing is on the wall for the beloved manual gearbox.

We explore the technological evolution that's made this possible, from the inefficient two-speed "slush-o-matics" of the 1960s to today's sophisticated multi-speed automatics that shift faster than any human could. The manufacturing complexities of offering both transmission types create additional challenges for automakers already struggling with integration of modern safety features and hybrid powertrains.

Our personal experiences with manual transmissions spark a nostalgic conversation about learning to drive stick and the unique connection it creates between car and driver. While enthusiasts may mourn this passing era, the efficiency and convenience of modern automatics simply make more sense for most drivers and manufacturers.

Beyond the transmission talk, we cover significant automotive industry news including Nissan's financial struggles (they're planning to cut 20,000 jobs and may sell their global headquarters), GM's $888 million investment shifting from EV production to traditional engines, and Tesla's growing inventory of unsold Cybertrucks being stored in suburban shopping center parking lots.

Curious about how we learned to drive stick or want to share your own manual transmission memories? Join the conversation on our social channels and let us know if you'll miss the manual or if you've already embraced the automatic revolution.

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Transcript

End of the Manual Transmission

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 we've got a new feature, our story of the week, and in it today the end of the manual transmission, along with guests, the sold car price and recalls All that coming up. Jeff has the crews in calendars and I'll bring you the stories making automotive news headlines this week. Howdy Along with Mike out of this world. Mars. We always need more. Jeff Zekin, I'm Don Armstrong, glad you could join us today. David Ainsley's resting up for a big trip up to Granbury that's coming up in a couple of weeks. He's sleeping, don't wake him. Who? Mars?

Speaker 1 0:47

or David oh okay, because I didn't hear him down there at the end.

Speaker 1 0:51

So we're going to start a new little feature here called Story of the Week, and I came up with this this week and I thought it was an interesting deal from Automotive News. Consumer indifference and US tariffs have conspired to kill America's last five-speed manual transmission Econobox and, to be honest with you, I didn't even know that they still offered them anymore anywhere. Nissan Motor has halted production in Mexico of manual transmission Versys for the US market, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. They told Automotive News. Nissan's spokesperson said the automaker plans to focus on the most popular Versa trims that deliver the strongest business performance. The Versa is one of three US market nameplates Nissan assembles in Agua Calientes, mexico. The vehicles combine to account for nearly a third of the brand's US volume. Last year I did not know that either.

Speaker 1 1:50

On May 13th, nissan projected that Donald Trump's tariffs could cost the company about $3.1 billion in the fiscal year ending next March. But the economics of producing the manual Versa were unfavorable even before geopolitics pushed its cost up 25%. Fewer than 5% of the 42,589 Versa hatchbacks Nissan sold in the US last year had manual transmissions. One Nissan retailer in the Northeast reported selling four or five manual Versys in 2024. Sam Fiorani, vice president at Auto Forecast Solutions said, limited demand for a manual transmission makes it impractical for Nissan, adding production complexity and increasing regulatory costs. The return on investment and a stick shift for an entry-level model is quickly disappearing for manufacturers. Nissan also gets dinged on its fleet emissions for every manual Versa sold. That's because the stick shift Versa has a combined fuel economy of up to 30 miles per gallon, compared to up to 35 miles per gallon for its automatic transmission counterpart.

Speaker 1 3:04

Nissan's expected to retire the versa nameplate in the us next year. So it's not surprising and I had this discussion with a couple of guys that I work with that are into cars and the efficiency of the new automatic transmissions is truly incredible. Remember we had the slush-o-matic back in the 60s. Right, the two-speed slush-o-matic. I had one in the Corvair, two speeds, and then we went to three speeds. Ooh, breakthrough.

Speaker 3 3:38

Hold me back.

Speaker 1 3:39

Yeah, hold me back. And then four-speed automatics, and as time progressed, the transmissions got more and more efficient. Hell, you could do burnouts in Mom's Impala in the 1970s if you really wanted, you did, didn't you? She didn't have an Impala, but she did have a Buick Skylark and you did burnouts in it. Oh yeah, big time. That right rear tire almost caught fire.

Speaker 2 4:02

Sort of just hide when she found out Exactly.

Speaker 1 4:04

But so did he hide when she found out exactly there's there's a reason that corvette did not do anything to make the c8 corvette manual transmission available. It makes no sense. That transmission and that c8 corvette can shift a lot faster than you can. It's much more efficient as far as fuel mileage is concerned. It is spot on when it comes to being competitive on a racetrack. You can put it in the manual mode and man. Those paddle shifters work just great, just like an IndyCar or a Formula One car. When's the last time you saw a Formula One or IndyCar? Have the guy shifting the gears over there on the right-hand side? Oh, it's got that.

Speaker 2 4:50

I don't think they put it in there anymore.

Speaker 1 4:51

Well, they don't. It's not available anymore.

Speaker 2 4:54

But they do have hybrid versions and all that other technology on the other sides coming in.

Speaker 1 4:58

And that's the latest thing, the hybrid. So how are you going to marry a hybrid with a manual transmission?

Evolution of Automatic Transmissions

Speaker 3 5:07

I don't know. I guess you can. I guess you can because you still got to have an output coming out of the engine. But but then that same question comes up with the rest of the technology. I mean, how, how do you marry it with the cruise controls and the start stop? Well, they're doing away with the start stop on the engine, but the some of the other safety features that are tied into that transmission, and how the transmission can react automatically.

Speaker 1 5:34

First of all you have to design the car to be able to have an automatic or a manual. They all used to be manuals, that's a no-brainer there. It's easy to design a car with basically a powertrain in it, but to be able to design a car that not only has an automatic transmission but now you're going to send the same body down the same assembly line with a manual transmission, chances are you're going to have to change the motor mounts in it, because now it's going to have to change the motor mounts in it, because now it's going to have to accommodate a clutch assembly back there as opposed to an automatic transmission. Yeah, the cross member, the tunnel, the tunnel.

Speaker 3 6:13

The size of the tunnel as the automatics get bigger.

Speaker 1 6:16

Well, is it rear-wheel drive? Is it front-wheel drive, with?

Speaker 2 6:18

respect to the Corvette. The transmission is in the back anyways, and now yours is a six-speed in the back anyways, and now yours is a six-speed. It is. And I've in the past I've heard you say that. You know, sometimes it's as a person gets older they don't want to use that as a manual. Now you talked about the C8. A lot of the older guys are buying the C8, so why would they want a manual transmission? The young guys are the ones that want the manual. How many young guys are buying a C8 Corvette? You don't see. The percentage is the older generation, not the younger generation, in my opinion. So I'm an older guy. If somebody said you know you're going to get a C8 Corvette, I would want an automatic.

Speaker 1 6:55

I bought that Corvette of mine with the six-speed manual transmission. It's a 2001,. In case you haven't heard 2001,. I bought it from Greg Enders. It had 16,000 miles on it. Of course, I've had to put a clutch in it since then, because thank you, greg, for burning up the clutch and me not knowing it?

Speaker 2 7:10

Yeah, but you had it for how long? And you finally put a clutch in it?

Speaker 1 7:12

Yeah, I've had it since 2017.

Speaker 3 7:20

It's not like an ongoing reoccurrence of a clutch in it.

Speaker 1 7:22

Yeah Well it was an original, exactly.

Speaker 3 7:24

That's what I'm saying.

Speaker 1 7:26

But it only had 16,000 miles on it.

Speaker 3 7:27

Well, but that's like saying my dad would say my tire's only got 10,000 miles. Dad, that tire's 10 years old, it's dry-rodding, it's leaking air.

Speaker 2 7:35

But it's only got 10,000 miles on it. Well, 16,000 miles are a quarter at a time.

Speaker 1 7:40

Well, the point that I was trying to make is more along the lines of the style of transmission that was in the car. I bought the car because it had a manual transmission, because that's what I grew up. All of my cars had manual transmissions, had manual transmissions. I don't think I ever bought a new car with an automatic transmission ever, and so this will be the last manual transmission that I will buy, because the new transmissions are so more efficient and easier on my left knee and that's the point I was trying to make Older generations, because we wear out quicker than the car will.

Speaker 2 8:13

So your left foot on that clutch pedal and you can adjust it. Is it a hard compression? How many pounds of PSI to put it? Engage or disengage? Yeah, versus the pedals.

Speaker 3 8:24

You can kind of regulate that Well yeah.

Speaker 1 8:26

Remember I put an extra spring on mine to make sure that it was disengaging all the way because I had an issue with that early on and we took it over to my place and put a Hurst shifter in it.

Speaker 1 8:36

Yeah, and put a Hurst shifter in it and those are dollars that I look back at. I'm going did I really need to do that? Yeah, it's a shorter shifter. Throw, yeah, I guess with my ego Hurst. But now they've got shifters made by everybody and anybody, all different sizes and styles, and they have quick shifts on them. So they're very short shift.

Speaker 1 9:02

I, you know, I questioned some of the money that I've spent on the car. The seats were a good investment. But if I had to do it all over again, I think I'd find somebody that was much more knowledgeable than us trying to fix that sport seat that was in there that was drawing down the electricity, spent the money on the computer control for the seat, that sort of thing. But back to the manual transmission. What a pain. Imagine going down the assembly line. Okay, now we're putting in the drivetrain. Chances are the body's not with it yet because it's going down there getting ready for the body to join the restvetrain. Chances are the body's not with it yet because it's going down there getting ready for the body to join the rest of it. Okay, now we're going to have to rethink the way that we mount the body because the manual transmission is in the chassis differently, for whatever the chassis was.

Speaker 2 9:48

Well you would think that with the running them down the line you've got, you're not going to have an automatic and two manuals and then six automatics and one more manual. I think they would run them together as a group. All right, we're going to build 10 manuals this week or today. Let's put them all in a line and build all those and then get them out. That's the way I would do it. That would be the efficient way to do it.

Manufacturing Challenges for Manual Cars

Speaker 1 10:10

Well, that's typically, I think, the way that the manufacturers work it, that they don't, you know, build them hobnob here and there.

Speaker 2 10:17

Well, back in the day in the 70s, when I was with Cadillac, they ran everything down the line, Everything. You had to look at what you're putting on.

Speaker 1 10:25

Right, but they all had basically the same engine, the same drivetrain, maybe a bigger motor or something, but the mounting points were the same and Fisher Body only built it from the firewall back.

Speaker 2 10:32

The mounting points were the same and Fisher Body only built it from the firewall back. We built the interior, we built the luxury part of it. There was a car coming down the line that didn't have a chassis, it was just a body and that's what you assembled. Now the fenders, the front fenders, the front clip was already over at Cadillac Because they painted the car in two different areas. We would paint Seriously, they paint the, I believe. So let me backtrack. They might have sent the fenders over, but I think the fenders were painted a cadillac. I'm not sure I have to look into that, but we only did it from the firewall back, from firewall the taillights, all the interior would be complete. They would put them on a car carrier, seven at a time, and ship them two miles down to the cadillac plant. They would unload them and then they would finish. They would marry them to that is Well today.

Speaker 1 11:14

They generally don't do it that way.

Speaker 2 11:16

No, no, no, no. But obviously they put manuals in them. But Well, the.

Speaker 1 11:21

Corolla factory that I went to not that many years ago in Mississippi still there, still making Corollas they had their own stamping plant, which is unusual. For the most part in most manufacturers they do the stamping off-site and then send the fenders and the body components to the assembly line. But here the stamping was in the back and they stamped the whole side of the car, Not the fenders, but the actual body part of it with the doors, and they stamped it all at the same time and cut the doors out of the stamping and took the doors away. Yeah, the doors went one way. Doors out of the stamping and took the doors away yeah, the doors went one way. The rest of the surround went elsewhere.

Speaker 1 12:01

The way that cars are manufactured trucks too are so different than they were not that many years ago, Much more efficient. They don't have near as many people on the assembly line standing there screwing the cars together and that whole car, the whole car, moves down the assembly line as it's being built and the guy rides the car forever long the platform that the car is mounted to, rides it for dozens of feet and then, once he gets his job done, then goes back and picks up the next car on the line.

Speaker 2 12:36

I did every third job. Every third car that went by was mine and all I did back. This is when they had. When you would press the brake you could see in the front, on the fender there would be little lights. That way, if you knew your brake lights were on, it would be a little red dot would come on. It would be up on the top of the dash. I installed those in all of my cars because all it is is fiber optic and you just need a little plate. But when you push the trunk mechanism and the trunk automatically popped, you open the glove box, you push the button, you close your trunk. There was a cover, it was called the striker cover and it was probably about as big as your box right there.

Speaker 2 13:11

Yes, and it was covered with carpet or whatever interior color it was, and I would put three screws in it. Zip, zip, zip, and I would go sit down and wait for this One, two, oh, this one's mine. Zip, zip, zip and I'd go sit down. Did you have a rack full of these pieces? No, you just pick them up out of a bin. That's what I said. Yeah, it wasn't a rack.

Speaker 1 13:31

They would come and drop a band off and just pick it up, Well, the part that I could get the closest to the assembly line. They were installing taillights and here was this huge rack, like a baker's rack you know that you would have at a bakery or in the back of a truck, and here are all the lights and they'd get down to like the last two. And here comes the little mini motor hauling another rack. He'd pull the empty rack out, put the new rack in, right on time. You're thinking they're going to run out. They're going to run out. Nope, they got it all timed out Just in time?

Speaker 2 14:03

yeah, exactly, but you know, manuals are manuals and it's going to help the valets out by not building any more.

Speaker 3 14:10

Well, it helps them out, because most of them don't know. I can remember this is years ago, but I remember whenever we had a new guy that came to work in our crew and they hired him the phone company hired him, but he didn't know how to drive a manual transmission Nobody thought to check and see if he did. So he showed up for work. He's hired. Well then we had to teach him how to drive a manual transmission in our trucks because all our trucks were still manual, why not?

Speaker 2 14:37

I learned how to drive on my brother-in-law Jerry's Capri. He left it with us to watch while they went on their honeymoon and I drove it. I wasn't supposed to, but I learned how to drive it. Don't tell anybody.

Speaker 3 14:48

Well, we taught all of ours how to drive a manual transmission car whenever we have one available. I don't have one in the family anymore.

Speaker 1 15:01

I still do Katie's car.

Speaker 3 15:02

Well, yours and yours, yeah.

Speaker 1 15:05

I'm trying to get the focus back down here. I'm supposed to do that late summer. Let's tub it out. Let's do that. We'll have to tub it out.

Speaker 2 15:13

Katie, you're going to tub out your car. We're going to have to. Katie, you're going to tell about your car.

Speaker 1 15:16

We're going to have to chisel through the body filler on the side of it, that's our story of the week the end of the manual transmission Coming up.

Cruise Calendar and Recalls

Speaker 1 15:23

Jeff has the cruise and events calendars and I'll have the stories making automotive news headlines this week. Stay with us on the award-winning In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show. We continue right right after this quick break. 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 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 it's pretty good.

Speaker 1 16:32

The Unwell Time Car Talk Show thanks you for 14 wonderful years. Yep, our first show aired May 7th 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. Okay, don't forget. Lone Star Street Rod Association Straight Run, a state run, is our next remote broadcast gathering. Be sure and join us from Granbury, texas, 9 to noon, two weeks from today, saturday June 14th, right here on your favorite streaming and podcast source Go ahead.

Speaker 2 17:20

I'm sorry, I was going to say before we get into mine I got something to say about our commercial. Go ahead.

Speaker 3 17:26

He's going to interrupt you.

Speaker 2 17:28

I'm going to interrupt you later.

Speaker 3 17:29

He's not going to interrupt you at this moment but interrupt you later. It's kind of like a pre-intim interrupt.

Speaker 1 17:36

It's done.

Speaker 2 17:37

Okay, lupe Tortilla, try the Mexican pizza. It's awesome. I had some last night and it's good. It's really good, that's all.

Speaker 1 17:47

Wow, you interrupted what I was saying. For that yes.

Speaker 2 17:50

I did, I certainly did.

Speaker 1 17:54

Of course, we had another conversation going on that we can't repeat, while we were in the commercial break, but that's a story for another day, in private After hours. Yeah, all right Time now for the cruise in and events calendars. Don't let me interrupt you.

Speaker 2 18:09

And who's the sponsor? Bud? No, no sponsor, no Well, saturday at the Ranch, june 7th, which is next week here, the Ranch, harley Davidson. It's a two-wheel, four-wheel show. 415 Texas 6th Frontage Road in College Station Good college town. A lot of people go there. It's Saturday. I lost my place. Here we go. This is a good day, hosting a lot of things going on out there. They've got ice cream for the kids, they've got a bike wash, car wash, they've got DJs things going on out there. They've got food trucks all that nice stuff happening. Then Alamo City, mopar Car Show. That's also June 7th. The Tower of the Americas, which is the big tower downtown San Antonio 739 East Caesar, east Chavez Boulevard. That's Cesar Cesar E at Chavez Boulevard, caesar Caesar. That's a pizza place, isn't it? Little Caesars, oh my.

Speaker 1 19:04

God, that's a big tower.

Speaker 2 19:05

You smoked something before you came here I could tell I wish it's at the base of the tower. There's parking rates, so you've got to be charged. They're going to charge you for parking. And then Octane and Espresso. It's at the Black Rifle Coffee Company Highway 6 North in Houston. What day is that? That is going to be June 8th. It's a Sunday, so it's a week from tomorrow. So there you go. All vehicles are welcome, you can reserve spots. Be cautious, be careful of the property and all that good stuff. And then we're going to Granbury in a couple weeks. Yeah.

Speaker 1 19:34

Got a couple of recalls to tell you about Ford. Imagine that no kidding Recalling 1,075,299.3 vehicles in the United States over an issue that may prevent the rearview camera from displaying images, increasing the risk of a crash. Recall affects certain vehicles among 21 to 24 Broncos, f-150s Edge, 23 to 24 Escapes, corsair, f-250, 350, 450, 550, and 600. Recall also impacts the 22-24 Expedition, 22-25 Transit, 21-23 Mach-E, lincoln Nautilus, 24 Ranger Mustang and the 22-24 Navigator. I think that the only thing that they've really left out of here is the Ford Galaxy 500. It's a set of software error may cause the rear view camera image to delay, freeze or not display at all.

Speaker 2 20:36

Man that's a lot.

Speaker 1 20:38

Toyota recalling half a million vehicles because of reverse lamps that may fail because of moisture. The recall affects 22 to 25 Tundras, 22 to 25 hybrid pickups, Tundras. The automaker recalling about 491,000 vehicles for all of North America. Those are the recalls this week. All right, you know it's funny because summertime gets close to us now and the recalls kind of go down. I don't think that they've got enough people. I think Doge has done its job over there at NHTSA.

Speaker 3 21:13

I don't think Doge has actually done anything yet, because most of that money is appropriated by Congress. So they find the problem, they've got to vote on it and then they've got to get Congress to do something about it. But I was really wanting to say you were talking about the camera not displaying. One of our Facebook channels is not displaying. We're opening a ticket with Facebook, but if you're normally joining us on Facebook, you need to go to either one of the other Facebook locations.

Speaker 1 21:39

How would they know if we're not on there?

Nissan's Financial Troubles and Auto News

Speaker 3 21:42

Well we were on there earlier Crack staff. Facebook doesn't have. Well, we were on there earlier Crack staff. Yeah, yeah, so we're trying to get Facebook doesn't have any support that you can actually reach out to. No, yeah, I know that's your surprise, look. Anyway, just thought I'd mention that. Go to YouTube, go to Odyssey, go to Facebook and complain when is my in-wheel time?

Speaker 1 22:04

We need more, mike.

Speaker 3 22:05

Yeah, something.

Speaker 1 22:06

Nissan is mired in near-record red ink and mountains of debt. It's racing to cut 20,000 jobs, shutter seven plants and slash $3.4 billion in costs. Part of the plan calls for reviewing assets that can be liquidated in a desperate bid to drum up cash to pay for the company's restructuring. That's according to the company. Nissan's own global headquarters building is among the properties now in its sights. Japan's Nikkei Business Daily and NHK National Broadcaster reported May 23rd, nissan would structure the deal as a sale-lease transaction, so it could continue using the site through a lease, thereby keeping its offices and operations in place. According to the plan and you know, they build a pretty good car, nissan Rogue. I mean, my God, they're everywhere.

Speaker 2 23:00

I'm not a fan of the Rogue I'm not, but you know, they build them, people buy them, they sell a lot of them, yeah, they do.

Speaker 3 23:07

But I'm not a fan of the. Rogue? I'm not, but you know they build them, people buy them. They sell a lot of them. Yeah, they do, but I'm not a fan of it either. My wife was going to buy one, took her to the private and everything Salesman wanted to go with us for a ride, so I sat in the back seat. You drive the car, talk to the salesman, find out what you want. I couldn't hear him.

Speaker 1 23:28

You ain't buying this car, so we didn't. That was my experience with the Rogue. Okay, well, I just thought I'd throw it out there. Four ex-Volkswagen managers were convicted by a German court for their role in the diesel emissions scandal that tarnished the automaker's image and cost billions of dollars. Former executive Heinz Jacob Neuser was given a suspended jail term of 15 months. Suspended jail term 15 months for his role in the affair that was sparked by the discovery that vehicles were equipped with software to sidestep emission rules. Neuser was previously VW's engine development chief.

Speaker 1 24:05

you bad boy among another manager who could only be identified as Jens H. Jens Codenames, I guess, must serve four and a half years for manipulating more than two million vehicles. Former manager Hanno J these people should be in jail just because of their name. Manager Hanno J these people should be in jail just because of their name Was given a term of two years and seven months. And then there's not Thurston Howell III, but Thorston D Thorston. Well, it could have been Thurston Thurston Howell III, did Mike?

Speaker 3 24:43

type that.

Speaker 1 24:45

You know who Thurston Howell III was. Come sit right down, Got a suspended sentence for one year and 10 months. All four had denied the allegations. I didn't do it. I promise VW admitted to US regulators in.

Speaker 2 25:01

September of 2015 that it had cheated on emissions tests.

Speaker 1 25:03

Uh-huh, A shopping center with a shuttered bed bath. This is a great story, Bed bath and beyond stories. In violation of Detroit suburb city code for storing dozens of Tesla vehicles in its surface parking lot In a statement. Charmaine, Kettler-Schmult what a name, Kettler-Schmult. S-c-h-m-u-l-t. I think I changed my name, Kettler Schmult, S-C-H-M-U-L-T. I think I changed my name. Director of Planning and Community Development for Farmington Hills, Michigan, said the landlord of the Hunter's Square Shopping Center has been notified that storage of vehicles is not a permitted use. Isn't that what happens In a parking lot? Isn't it a storage?

Speaker 2 25:46

facility Pretty much Technically yeah.

Speaker 1 25:48

I would say Quote the enforcement process is being followed and takes time. Kettler Schmoltz said the Tesla inventory takes up several rows of the parking lot. Or, as of May 25th, most of the vehicles being stored were cybercks which have been seen disappointing sales so far. In March, ford's electric F-150 Lightning topped the Cybertruck in US registrations.

Speaker 2 26:16

You know, if there was a store in Ferrari there, they wouldn't be complaining.

Speaker 1 26:20

The Tesla Storage which is taking up a portion of the parking lot near the former Bed Bath Beyond store, of the parking lot near the former Bed Bath Beyond store and still open Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, came to light in an Instagram post about a week ago. Hey, Charmaine.

Speaker 3 26:40

Schmaltz, schmaltz.

Speaker 1 26:41

Schmaltz liquor.

Speaker 3 26:43

Schmaltz liquor.

Speaker 1 26:44

GM investing $888 million in a New York propulsion plant to increase engine production. Investment at the Tonawanda propulsion plant in Buffalo, new York, is a shift from a previously announced $300 million commitment to make electric vehicle drive units at that plant. Announced $300 million commitment to make electric vehicle drive units at that plant. The move is likely another sign of automakers adapting to slower-than-expected market demand for EVs. No kidding, and comes after the Detroit automaker aggressively lobbied Congress to rescind California electric vehicle rules. Gm said the investment will support the sixth generation of GM's V8 engines used in full-size trucks and SUVs, expected to be more fuel efficient. I thought that those were some pretty interesting stories this week. We got more. We're going to get to those in the next hour, but perfect, yeah, is that woman's name again?

Speaker 2 27:39

Schmaltz. I was thinking what would a nickname be for people with those Schmaltz? I was thinking, what would a nickname be for?

Speaker 1 27:44

people Schmalti, no, schmo Schmo.

Speaker 2 27:48

Charmaine, is it with a C or an S C?

Speaker 1 27:53

C-H. Who is the Charmaine? Charmaine.

Speaker 2 27:55

Squeezably soft, yeah, something like that.

Speaker 1 27:58

No, that's Charmaine.

Speaker 2 28:00

They have that lower level over there in.

Speaker 3 28:02

Interville called Charmin.

Speaker 2 28:07

It's the champagne of toilet paper. Well, there you go, charmin. Go for it.

Speaker 1 28:12

Kettler Schmultz, send all of your wonderful comments to why don't we Google her picture and put that up? No, put it up, charmin Kettler.

Speaker 2 28:22

Schmaltz. Sorry, we haven't been sued in a long time, yeah.

Speaker 1 28:27

Well, it's never too late, it's never too late, that's very true.

Speaker 1 28:35

I don't want to get those confused with these, so let's put these away. Okay, it's time now for a quick break. We'd love to hear from you. Just shoot us an email. The address here is info at inwheeltimecom. We shall return, like it or not.

Speaker 1 28:52

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Speaker 1 29:53

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