Hot Wheels Tour: A Celebration of Automotive Creativity in Houston

Ever dreamed of seeing your custom car immortalized as a Hot Wheels die-cast model? That dream could become reality as the Hot Wheels Legends Tour rolls into Houston on Saturday, August 2nd.

We're joined by Eric Han, lead designer at Hot Wheels, who pulls back the curtain on this extraordinary traveling car show. Now in its eighth year, the Legends Tour has become a global phenomenon where builders showcase their custom creations for a chance at Hot Wheels immortality. The Houston stop promises to be spectacular, with hundreds of unique vehicles expected to fill the Walmart parking lot in Cypress from 8am to noon.

What makes this event truly special is its accessibility and family-friendly atmosphere. Admission is completely free, making it an ideal weekend activity for automotive enthusiasts of all ages. Parents will appreciate the dedicated play areas where children can test out the latest Hot Wheels track sets, while die-hard collectors can purchase exclusive merchandise only available at the tour. Eric reveals that previous Houston events have drawn massive crowds, with lines forming as early as 6am as builders eagerly arrive to secure their spot.

For Han, the connection between Hot Wheels and automotive culture runs deep. His journey began as a child fascinated with orange tracks and tiny cars, eventually leading to a design career with the company. This full-circle story highlights how Hot Wheels continues to bridge childhood dreams and adult passions in the automotive world. Whether you're a serious builder looking to have your creation judged or simply a fan wanting to experience the excitement, the Hot Wheels Legends Tour represents the perfect celebration of automotive creativity and craftsmanship.

Ready to see if your custom build has what it takes? Register at HotWheelsLegends.com or simply come enjoy the spectacle on August 2nd at the Cypress Walmart (26270 Northwest Freeway). Who knows? The next legendary Hot Wheels design could be sitting in your garage right now!

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Transcript

Introducing Hot Wheels Tour

Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast, a 30-minute mini version of the In Wheel Time Car Show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am.

Speaker 1 0:09

Central, the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show coming up, the Hot Wheels Tour coming to Houston, and we got the folks from Hot Wheels. Later, jeff has the racing calendar, mars has this week in auto history. Now I'll get you caught up on the stories making automotive news headlines. Howdy Along with Mike out of this world, mars. We always need more. Jeff Zekin Praise Jeff. I'm Don Armstrong, glad you could join us today. Thank you very much. We are all looking forward to. You know, hot Wheels was invented in my generation, way back when, right after they invented dirt well, it started with matchbox and then evolved into hot wheels well, okay, whatever you want to put it, that's fine.

Speaker 1 0:54

Yeah, exactly, and so, um, it was a phenomenon back then. Of course, back then we also had, uh, little racer cars on tracks, slot cars, slot cars, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 1:07

I had the bigger slot car that you'd go down to the corner store where they'd put a great big slot car track in it. We'd all get together as boys and enjoyed that. Little HOs is what we had. They were fun and this kind of fit right into it All sorts of different body styles, and that's really what it's all about when it comes to Hot Wheels. And you know, I have a grandson that's going on two and a half years old, two going on 14.

Speaker 1 1:34

Going on 14. And so I'm sure that he'll have some in the not-too-distant future. Absolutely, let's check in with the Hot Wheels spokesperson here, and that would be Eric Hamm. Eric, am I pronouncing your name right, hi, eric Hahn? H-a-n, h-a-n. Thank you, mr Mars.

Speaker 4 1:53

Well, I tried to text him and anyway.

Speaker 3 1:57

Eric, thanks for joining us.

Speaker 1 1:58

Yeah, anyway, so sorry for that. That's a Mars duty that he has not been too good at lately, so we appreciate your patience.

Speaker 4 2:06

The last 20 years is about right, pretty much right thanks for joining us.

Speaker 1 2:12

We appreciate it. I know that you're a busy guy, so where is the tour today and how long is it going to take to get to Houston, and when is the Houston event?

Speaker 2 2:23

so the Hot Wheels Legends tour itself is the world's biggest touring car show and it has become this, and it's been eight years in the making. It started out in 2018. I believe we just had Kansas stop this weekend and I believe Houston in Cyprus is next weekend. Are you going to be here? Unfortunately, I won't be able to. I really wanted to. I have been a judge in Houston before and also I've lived in Dallas for a couple of years, so any chance I get I'd love to be back, but this time I had to give my spot to another great designer to be a judge there.

Speaker 1 3:04

Well, I will tell you that it's going to be hot, okay, so you know it's going to be hot like the cars. So explain to everybody what the Hot Wheels Tour is like. Does everybody and anybody just show up with their car and present it to be a possible Hot Wheels car?

Speaker 2 3:24

and present it to be a possible Hot Wheels car. If you would like to attend and register for your chance to have your vehicle maybe become a winning car at the location and maybe turned into a 64th, you could go to HotWheelsLegendscom for a formal registration and once you do you'll get email follow-ups. But that's for the registered attendees. But if you'd like to visit, the event is free. It's open for all ages. In addition to likely more than a hundred awesome customized cars will have an area for children with track sets and play sets so they could try them out play. Alongside with the car show we'll also have food carts and vendors, some of the exclusive products to be sold at legends only. We'll have a spot there and also a display of all pretty much all the heavy hitters and one of the top favorites of our current diecast lineup. You'll be able to see that on display there.

Speaker 1 4:27

So will those cars that that you ultimately have turned into current hot wheels? Will any of those cars be there?

Speaker 2 4:34

uh, yeah, maybe I can't um exactly say the winning cars, but we do have a roster of legends car that are one toto-one that will also be on display as well, like the bone shaker twin mill and a few other ones.

Speaker 1 4:49

That is so cool. Uh, you know how did you get involved in this? Did it start when you were a kid?

Speaker 2 4:56

oh, of course. Um, I think I heard you uh mentioning about like track sets when you were young. Yeah, I was similar, I was. I was that kid in the toy aisle of toys r us target, yes, um, just throwing tantrum, and sometimes those orange tracks did become a form of discipline for me time to time. Yes, and then the funny thing is, when I started in hot wheels, I uh I started in tracks and play sets. So, um, motorized booster sets, play sets, orange tracks, uh, I did my rounds there and I am on uh diecast vehicle team as a lead designer. Um, prior to how I got started is I am actually from uh detroit. I graduated school there studying design and I interned, uh, fortunately, during my school at hot wheels, um in el segundo. Then that's kind of how I figured oh man, these are my people, I need to be here. So I kind of targeted my portfolio and my studies and ultimately, uh, it took a little bit, uh, it wasn't easy, but I'm here doing my thing.

Speaker 3 6:01

It's great to be on the team with you, the players you had mentioned at the event. There's going to have an area for kids, for a play area. Are you actually selling some Orange Track to these kids? Could they buy track sets and things while they're there? Not?

Speaker 2 6:17

at the Legends booth area. We have sponsors with Walmart and Walmart usually does a really good job helping us out with pallets or moving a lot of the Hot Wheels, tracks, die-cast cars towards the front of the store and more products in the store during the weekend. So if you have interest or wanted to check out some of the products, that would be a great time to check out Walmart.

Speaker 1 6:41

So it's out there on the Northwest Freeway that's 290 and in Cypress zip code 77429, and that's a pretty easy destination to get to for almost all of Houston because of our freeway system here. So not that big of a deal to go out there. The address is 26270.

Speaker 4 7:05

Northwest Freeway.

Speaker 1 7:07

That's a Walmart parking lot, right? Yeah, it's a.

Speaker 2 7:08

The address is 26, 270 northwest freeway and um, that's a walmart parking lot. Yeah, it's a walmart parking lot. Yeah, you're clear. Walmart usually allows us to block off a good chunk and historically texas and houston the crowd has been amazing. We've usually had to block and maybe turn down some of the cars because we just have so many cars coming in. We expect the same for next week, maybe a little larger than we expect.

Speaker 1 7:31

Now this is a one-day only event, correct? Yes?

Speaker 2 7:36

only one day, Saturday, August 2nd. Official start of the show is at 8 am.

Speaker 1 7:42

It goes on until noon noon 12 pm, so it's only a four hour show, so you're going to be right out there uh, up against us on the air, because we're 10 to noon, so eight to noon, four hours and I I'm just guessing you'll probably have people lined up to get in.

Interview with Eric Hahn

Speaker 2 8:02

Oh, yeah, the, the builders and the fans. They bring their cars and they want to make sure they get in. Oh yeah, the, the, the builders and the fans. They bring their cars and they want to make sure they get in and get the spot. So every time I've visited different locations to judge, I usually show up an hour or two before the event actually starts and I've seen lines go around the full block and maybe sometimes almost a block and a half, like 6 in the morning. Yeah, and it is an amazing sight.

Speaker 1 8:29

No doubt. So. Do you guys set up this thing on Friday evening, or something?

Speaker 2 8:33

Yes, we have a trailer and on their way to location, we usually have it propped up the day before make sure everything's working, finalizing and then we enter cars, starting at around 7 am the day so you said that you're setting up and everybody's uh lined up.

Speaker 3 8:50

Do folks trailer their cars in or did they drive them in? What is the norm?

Speaker 2 8:54

in my experience, from what I've seen, I'd say about 90 percent of the people attending will drive their cars, but there are a few cars that are, um, you know, price, possessions, high value, or you know something of in progress, or you know it just needs to be trailered because it's not so you know well drivable in long distance. So I do see a few cars that come on trailer, but they're all equal contendees. It doesn't matter. You show up on a trailer or you, you know, drive in. As long as it starts and you're able to drive it out, it qualifies as a car.

Speaker 4 9:27

Perfect Mars. Yeah, I'm just. I was thinking about remember a couple of years ago. Then they came the Texas Toot, I believe, is what he was called a little mini truck, monster truck. Yeah, he's from my hometown, he's where I live and he's a couple of miles away and it was really nice to see somebody local involved and he was at the event and we've talked to him a couple of times.

Speaker 2 9:49

So it's really cool.

Speaker 4 9:51

This is a big deal. It is regardless of how old you are, whether you're small.

Speaker 1 9:55

Well, let me just say this about that you know, one of the first things that I was exposed to Hot Wheels with was the drag racing tour when Hot Wheels sponsored the Snake and the Mongoose. Oh, that's right and the car carrier is all painted up in yellow and with the Hot Wheels logo on the side of it. I'm sure that you're familiar with that.

Speaker 2 10:16

Of course, it's one of the more iconic duos in our drag lineup.

Speaker 1 10:21

Yeah.

Speaker 2 10:23

And I think that energy carries on.

Speaker 1 10:27

Yeah, it does, and it was such a great time, by the way, those two trucks were, uh, found, I don't know, in a field somewhere, and somebody said you know what, I think we're going to restore these. So they restored the trucks. They look all brand new, just like they've even put a. I think they put a couple of funny car dragsters on there, with Don the Snake, prudhomme and Tom McEwen the Mongoose, and it was great memories for all of us and I wish that they would bring that display for you guys. Somebody would say you know, hey, we're going to bring the actual Hot Wheels drag cars out. I would have to come out there. I would have to, you know keep an open mind.

Speaker 2 11:08

We don't know what we might bring still and we do have a lot of good, amazing stuff to come forward for the fans. So, yeah, keep the eyes open. I'll be sure to let you know personally.

Speaker 1 11:20

Yeah, please do so. Let me ask you this. So is there a website that we can go and get all the information about the event?

Speaker 2 11:29

Yeah, you can check out at Hot Wheels Legends hashtag on Instagram or go to Hot Wheels Legends dot com. It'll show you all the information that has to do with the event itself and the schedules. And also we are going global as well on the website. If you're international, you work and you can also check out information regarding.

Speaker 3 11:51

Is it free to the public or is there a cost? Yeah, he said it's free. Okay, it's free.

Speaker 4 11:54

I have a question Are you in your office? This is my home studio, I was going to say, because you got lots of neat things sitting back there in the background yeah, maybe, hey, maybe next time I'll have to take a tour of your studio.

Speaker 2 12:07

Hey man, if you guys come through, if you're in, la, reach out. I'd love to give you.

Speaker 1 12:11

What'd you say?

Speaker 2 12:11

you were el segundo yeah, our headquarters is in el segundo gotcha.

Speaker 1 12:16

Well, man, I hope to see you guys in the studio well, yeah, or uh, for all of our friends that uh, listen, watch the show out here, be sure, and go out to the big event. It's at the Walmart parking lot and again, it's 26270 Northwest Freeway in Cypress. It's kind of close out there to Hooks Airport if you're familiar with that.

Speaker 4 12:39

And it's just a Saturday morning. It's not an all-day deal, Right? 8?

Speaker 1 12:42

to noon, and that's it's it.

Speaker 4 12:44

You can get out of the heat, the heat of the day, the heavy heat in the afternoon. You're going to miss that.

Speaker 3 12:49

Go into Walmart and buy Hot Wheels.

Speaker 1 12:52

Or use their restroom, you know, tear up the toy department there you go. They've got to have something to do over there. Absolutely Well, Eric Hahn, it's great to talk to you, my friend. Thank you so much for joining us out there. This is probably a little bit too early for you on a Saturday morning.

Speaker 2 13:13

No, it's all good, happy to help.

Speaker 1 13:14

Thanks for having me on the show. Well, thank you, we appreciate you. It's a great event. Yeah, look forward to seeing the cars out here in Houston Appreciate you. Have a good day you too. Cool stuff, I get excited. I mean, you know, we're all little boys.

Speaker 4 13:29

I sent that to you, yeah you sent that to me and so when I saw the data when it was, I kind of tried to rush them and they worked real good and they got a hold of Eric, because at first they said man it's too close and they came back and said we got somebody that'll talk.

Speaker 3 13:45

We got a guy.

Speaker 4 13:46

We got a guy, we know a guy, we got a guy, so it's a great event.

Speaker 1 13:51

I'm glad that you got a hold of him. I know that I saw an ad somewhere, I guess it was on Facebook or something, and that's the one I sent to Mike. Yeah, yeah. And so I thought, wow, we've got to have these guys on. Yeah, it'd be great.

Speaker 3 14:01

I think it'd be great to go out there. So if you have an idea at home that you want on, get a hold of Mike. Mike at InWheelTimecom.

Speaker 1 14:11

Or info at.

Speaker 3 14:12

InWheelTimecom, there you go, any of those things. A good basil soup recipe Mike's got that too. Ooh, tomato basil's good there you go.

Speaker 1 14:19

Jeff handed me this story and I think I know why, but I think it's time to put this. Hot dogs are a concession staple at any ball game, but not often are they used to pursuit a world record. The Joliet Slammers yeah, it's a triple A as part of a partnership with Pabst Light, will attempt an unconventional world record the most hot dogs dropped in an hour from a helicopter. And I am not going to be in that helicopter Because you wouldn't be able to tell me, apart from the hot dogs, you'd be eating them up there Between innings of an upcoming game, the Slammers will drop 2,600 packaged hot dogs.

Speaker 1 14:58

This is kind of like the turkey drop.

Speaker 3 15:00

How big are the packages?

Speaker 1 15:03

Are these the sausage length? Are these the ballpark?

Speaker 3 15:07

length. No, no, no, it's a regular hot dog and they showed it on an advertiser. They're smushed and squashed and things flying around. I mean, is it a five-pack, six-pack?

Speaker 2 15:17

No, it's just one hot dog wrapped in a bun.

Speaker 4 15:20

One hot dog in a bun. How do you keep the bun on the hot dog you?

Speaker 3 15:24

put the bun in the hot dog, you wrap it up in foil and then you drop it in the hot dog.

Speaker 4 15:28

So they're metal bombs that are going to be dropped. Pretty much yeah.

Speaker 1 15:33

As God is not my witness, I swore that turkeys could fly. It says we've done a lot of wild promotions at the ballpark, but dropping 2,600 hot dogs from a helicopter for fans to eat to attempt a world record, that's a new one even for us. Slammer's owner and EVP, night Train Vek, said in the release partnering with Pabst Light to celebrate the new beer in the most absurd, delicious way possible just felt right. Well, the only thing is is that I don't know where this is when is it going?

Speaker 4 16:08

to be.

Speaker 3 16:08

I believe it's in Indiana.

Speaker 4 16:10

Yeah, Joliet.

Speaker 1 16:11

With Pabst it should be in Milwaukee. Dub the wiener drop.

Speaker 4 16:17

Joliet Jakes up there.

Hot Wheels Legacy and Event Details

Speaker 1 16:19

The world record attempt is scheduled for July 22nd, which is last week At the Slammers we missed it, did we? Oh, you didn't tell me that. I didn't know you were going to read it the. Frontier League game also announced ticket and drink deals to accompany the wiener drop. I think we should start a movement, no pun intended, to get a wiener drop here in Houston, right out here at.

Speaker 3 16:43

Constellation Field. You're looking up in the air in a helicopter and a wiener hits you in the face.

Speaker 4 16:47

That's just something to be terrible about what if you didn't look up and it hit you on top of the head? Any lawn?

Speaker 1 16:51

or infield reserve seat $2.60 using the promotional code Wiener26. It was last weekend, damn it.

Speaker 3 17:02

And we missed it.

Speaker 4 17:03

So if you've got a wiener and a bun wrapped in aluminum foil, how fast would that thing be going by the time?

Speaker 3 17:10

Well, the helicopter was hovering, no.

Speaker 4 17:12

Yeah.

Speaker 3 17:12

It was hovering over the ball field. They had a picture of it.

Speaker 4 17:15

Well, it could be like 100 feet up.

Speaker 3 17:16

Well, maybe, yeah, probably 100 feet, so it doesn't blow them around, but you have to actually pay to be on the field to get a hot dog. It was probably the promotion as part of that.

Speaker 1 17:25

You know, portillo's is announcing that they're bringing all of these Portillo's restaurants to Houston. Right, lots of them, hello Promotion.

Speaker 3 17:35

A.

Speaker 1 17:35

Portillo's hot dog promotion.

Speaker 3 17:38

I did not have the hot dog. When I went I had the beefsteak sandwich. How was it? It was good, it was very good. Did they dip it in the juice? No, I had one. That was just a regular plate, not with the au jus. I didn't have that. You could get one like that, but I didn't do that. So the hot dog's next. But I thought of Don. Of course he did.

Speaker 2 17:53

I'm proud of that.

Speaker 1 17:55

The Juliet.

Speaker 3 17:56

Slammers, the Juliet Slammers.

Speaker 1 17:57

Well, I wonder who won.

Speaker 3 18:00

The hot dogs won $2 Pabst Lights 2,600 hot dogs raining down. I love it, raining wieners, it's raining men raining wieners, whatever.

Speaker 4 18:10

Was you allowed to use a net to go around catching them?

Speaker 1 18:13

I don't know your glove. It's a specially shaped glove. It's a specially shaped glove, a wiener glove. A wiener glove Just ahead, jeff has the racing calendar.

Speaker 1 18:21

Mars has this week in auto history, I'll bring you auto news headlines all coming up on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show, which is back in a flash. The Tex-Mex dining experience is defined by Loopy Tortilla your destination for Texas' best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas. Since 1983, 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 he's pretty good. Apple or Android In Real Time podcasts can be found everywhere on the stream and through downloads, whether you're on the road or at home and jonesing for a different kind of car talk show.

Speaker 1 19:39

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 and Mike's driving destinations all on In Wheel Time. Check us out on SiriusXM podcasts, iheartradio or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music. Inwheeltimecom has a list, and we know you love lists yes, we do. Hey, welcome back to the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. You're invited to join our live broadcast every Saturday 10 to noon Central Time on InWheelTimecom Facebook and YouTube, and we hope you check us out from our home base here in the Sugar Shack Studios. If you miss us, you'll be able to hear the paint dry on your favorite podcast channel. Nice Time now for the racing calendar. Jeff has that sponsored by the Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.

Speaker 3 20:25

Thank you for that. Imsa is off this week. They'll be back next week, august 3rd, at Road America. It'll be on Peacock. You've got Craftsman Truck Series. They are off this weekend. They'll be back on July 25th. Okay, then we go into the Xfinity series July 26th, indianapolis, which is actually tomorrow, xfinity's today, so that would be the 26th is today, 27th, tomorrow, indianapolis.

Speaker 3 20:51

And do you know who the Grand Marshal is of the Indy race for NASCAR? No Cookie Monster. Go figure. What Cookie Monster is the Grand Marshal for for NASCAR? No Cookie Monster, go figure. What Cookie Monster is the Grand Marshal for the NASCAR race? But why? I don't know. I have to ask them. That's where it's going, just throwing it out there. Anyways, nhra, you've got this weekend Denso, nhra, sonoma Nationals, sonoma Raceway.

The Wiener Drop Story

Speaker 3 21:12

And I alluded to it a little earlier. The driver that lost his finger put a pin in his thumb, and there was also a lady that was hurt in that race too. Part of the tire came off and went into the crowd and she was hospitalized. 300 miles an hour crashed it. Well, actually, the tire blew off and then he crashed it in the walls twice. You got Indy. Indy is going on this weekend at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca, monterey, california. I saw a little bit of the time trials yesterday. Oh, by the way, the Indy race was rained out, or the Indy practice was rained out yesterday. Belgian Grand Prix is going on for Formula 1. This is July 27th. This was tomorrow. Cirque du Spa in Belgium.

Speaker 2 21:52

Cirque du Spa. Cirque du Spa.

Speaker 3 21:54

That's what it says. It's a 44 lapper and I think the prize is a giant waffle. So there you go, belgian.

Speaker 1 22:04

A Belgian waffle. I got it. I knew you were up to something. Yeah, I know. All right, here you go. Time now for this Week in Auto History. Mr Mars, what have you gathered for us?

Speaker 4 22:14

Several things I found were rather interesting gathered for us. Several things I found were rather interesting. One of them was in 1903, the first cross-country US car trip was completed by Horatio Nelson Jackson.

Speaker 1 22:26

Jackson Lilienthal. Lilienthal is what I was thinking too.

Speaker 4 22:30

He kind of this is. They said it took a while to map it.

Speaker 3 22:32

So this guy.

Speaker 4 22:33

He sort of looks like him up there. Yeah, but he went from the other way. He went from San Francisco to New York, where he went the other way. He went from San Francisco to New York Where's his navigator? And he did it in 63 days in a Winton Touring car along with his mechanic.

Speaker 1 22:42

What if he had skid plates on that?

Speaker 3 22:44

thing, I don't know.

Speaker 4 22:44

I don't see a camper top. Said they had some breakdowns, poor roads, lack of maps in 1903. I don't understand that. And then, in 1958, gm introduces air suspension, as on the Cadillac Eldorado.

Speaker 3 22:59

Yeah, baby, look at that. Oh my God, this is for you, jeff.

Speaker 4 23:02

Oh my so they brought this futuristic comfort. It's an.

Speaker 1 23:06

Eldo.

Speaker 4 23:06

Yeah, they launched it with air suspension on the Cadillac El Dorado Brom and what it did? It replaced the coil springs with airbags for a smoother ride. Now that kind of goes into Cadillac one of Cadillac's historic things about how well they ride and how well they can adjust the suspension on it. Then, well, tell me more. Oh, tell you more. This innovation exemplified the 1950s era of luxurious technology. That's enough, okay.

Speaker 4 23:31

1965 Ford debuts the first production 428 cubic inch V8 engine and initially launched in the full-size cars like the Galaxy, and it soon became a high-performance legend and got refined. It ended up in the Shelby GT500 and the Cobra Jet Mustangs and it was really part of the muscle car horsepower wars of the 1960s and helped Ford in some of their racing efforts along the way. Then, in 1969, apollo 11 lunar rover design was completed. Now, this really isn't car related specifically, but a lot of the things they developed that were developed by Boeing and GM, because this was on the moon, it was electric power. So it's a lot of the things that they did with the electric motors and lightweight construction. That thing is still there, by the way.

Speaker 1 24:23

Yeah, it hasn't moved.

Speaker 4 24:24

Yeah, it does a lot better than the electric cars we have here, but a lot of the things that they did there kind of led to some of the things that you're going to find on your EVs today. Now, in 1997, the first production Toyota Prius was built. Again, this is another thing. It was the world's first mass-produced hybrid car and it's really stuck around for a long time. It's really been popular. It sparked the modern hybrid movement, which led to some of the electrified fleets Electrified fleets.

Speaker 4 24:55

I don't know why I wrote that. I can't even say it. Anyway. Did you read it before you? In my mind it read great. The energy and efficiency influenced nearly every automaker for decades. That's a liar. Then, in 2011, the final Mercury vehicle rolls off the line. Now, this was a 2011 Grand Marquee. I wish I had one of those. It was a nice car. 72 years, the brand was producing cars. It was introduced in 1939. Not that car, no, but the brand was introduced in 1939 to fill the gap between the Ford and Lincoln, because they were trying to differentiate things, and it's where you found your Cougar marauder, your monterey and um. But as things finally shifted in, brand identity got blurred between the fords, you know, before they really got into the world of recalls. They kind of phased out the mercury and to focus on its core how good a job did they do.

Speaker 4 25:48

Yeah, that's to simplify the recalls that you have to deal with. That's it. That was this week in automotive history. Well, don't stop now.

Speaker 3 25:55

I'm just now getting into it oh well we could make some more stuff the Moon Rover and Boeing. If that was done by Ford it probably would have been recalled.

Speaker 4 26:03

They would have had to bring it back.

Speaker 1 26:04

Yeah, I was just going to say how would you get it back there?

Speaker 3 26:06

They'd have to call Elon, send a tech up Back up there.

Speaker 4 26:11

Mobile tech support Walking around the room. They've got it now you know when am I at what?

Speaker 3 26:20

are we doing? Okay, I got it Ready. You got something else. No, no, I was looking to see if you did. Well, I got a couple of more stories. I could do.

Speaker 1 26:26

Crane Automotive team owner. Crane Automotive team owner. Did you read that before you?

Speaker 3 26:35

Yes, I did.

Racing Calendar Updates

Speaker 1 26:36

I wanted to emphasize that because I don't want you to confuse this with Crane Automotive or Auto News, because that's a separate company and they're not owned by the same people. Gotcha Crane Automotive team owner Crane Kia in Bentonville, arkansas, will pay $47,500 to settle a 2023 US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit that alleged an employee was fired after reporting racial discrimination. This still goes on. Yeah, terrible. Galen Taylor started as a car salesman at Crane Kia of Bentonville in October 21 and returned to the dealership in June 2022 after working briefly at another crane store.

Speaker 1 27:19

At a sales meeting on his first day back, a sales manager referred to Taylor's return, allegedly saying he wanted to address the monkey in the room. According to the lawsuit and the commission filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, taylor was allegedly the only black employee in the meeting. According to the lawsuit, sales manager had complained about getting the monkey off his back earlier in the meeting and claims to have meant to say elephant in the room. According to the lawsuit, sales manager corrected himself, apologized during the meeting and apologized directly to Taylor after the meeting, according to the lawsuit, after reporting the incident to the dealership's office.

Speaker 1 27:57

What is that? What? After reporting the incident to the dealership's office administrator and being referred to human resources. Taylor allegedly was told he needed to sign a statement saying he felt safe working at Crane Kia of Bentonville or moved to nearby Crane Hyundai in Bentonville. Taylor, who originally provided a statement about the incident to the group's human resources director in 22, allegedly was expected to come to work June 16, 22,. With his decision, taylor said he didn't want to relocate and didn't sign a safety statement, and he allegedly was terminated according to the lawsuit. Wow, what a bunch of morons.

Speaker 3 28:41

I know, just a little nitpicking.

Speaker 1 28:44

So, in addition to paying $47,500 to the former employee, the retailer, as part of a two-year consent decree, will be required to post a notice in the workplace. Okay, Morons, I think on several different levels. Yeah, many different levels. Okay, it's time for a break. We'd love to hear from you. Shoot us an email. The address is info at nwheeltimecom. We'll wrap up today's show after this.

This Week in Auto History

Speaker 1 29:07

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Speaker 1 30:06

Well, that's all for this week's In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Be sure to check us out online at inwheeltimecom. Hey, we're always looking for new, informative and fun automotive things to bring to our global audience. If you've got an idea, event or a road trip destination you'd like us to feature, let us know. Our email address is info at inwheeltimecom.

Speaker 1 30:30

In addition to our live stream, we also have podcasts. When you're looking for award-winning car talk, you can find the In Real Time Car Talk Show 24-7 on the In Real Time app. When you're on the road this summer, grab a podcast from your favorite podcast provider, including the new SiriusXM podcast channel and 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 is guess who? Not Woody Woodpecker. We need more. Jeff Zekin For booking agent, video editor, people finder and do-all Mike out of this world bars chief engineer David Ainsley I'm Don Armstrong. Chief Engineer David Ainsley I'm Don Armstrong. Shout out to our new global fans that have joined our show from Sri.

Speaker 1 31:23

Lanka From all of us at the In Real Time Car Talk Show. Have a great week. We'll see you next week. 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.