How beer fests, badge hype, and a sleeper sedan reveal what performance really means

Fall energy meets turbo torque as we jump from steins to stopwatches, mapping the most spirited Oktoberfests in the U.S. before tearing into “muscle cars” that talked big and drove small—then we strap into the 2025 Hyundai Sonata N Line to see what real-world performance feels like today. We start with pure festival joy: Denver turns six downtown blocks into keg bowling, stein hoists, and polka beats; Fredericksburg, Texas doubles down on Hill Country hospitality with 50 beers and a proud German thread; Helen, Georgia leans into storybook Bavarian architecture along the Chattahoochee; and Cincinnati’s Zinzinnati packs in hundreds of thousands for brats, bands, and a gleefully chaotic chicken dance plus those crowd-pleasing dachshund races. It’s a tour of local flavor, beer culture, and family-friendly spectacle that proves tradition thrives when a city makes it its own.

Then we flip the script and call out the pretenders. From the Camaro Z28 and Mustang II Cobra II to bloated nameplates wearing legendary badges, we break down how emissions-era limits, weight creep, and marketing overreach diluted true performance. The takeaway is clear: a stripe package can’t outrun physics. 

That honesty sets the stage for a modern surprise—Hyundai’s Sonata N Line. With a 2.5L turbo four, 290 hp, and 311 lb-ft, it delivers punchy acceleration, smooth shifts from an eight-speed, and a chassis tuned for comfort without feeling sleepy. We dig into the sleek lighting, fastback profile, clean interior with a wide digital display, and the clever column twist shifter that frees up the console. We also call our shots: ventilated seats would be great, the stock tires need more grip, and a selectable exhaust note would match the car’s hot-rod attitude.

If you care about festivals, car culture, and where everyday performance is heading, this ride is for you. Hit play, share it with a friend who loves Oktoberfest or horsepower debates, and tell us: which underperforming “muscle” car deserves a second chance—and would you daily the N Line? Subscribe, leave a quick review, and email us your thoughts at info@inwheeltime.com so we can feature your take next time.

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Transcript

Oktoberfest Tours Across America

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Oh, it's the balls. I think somebody slipped a word in there that should not play on a broadcast.

Denver’s Street Fest and Keg Bowling

SPEAKER_03 1:05

But what if you wear leader hoses and your dolzers are exposed? No, derndles. I think the way you say it. Anyway. So it's kind of a big carnival rides and contests for all the family. So then you go to Denver, of all places, where the Mile House City has become a tradition where they bring in this German cheer with Denver's energetic beer culture. They have a lot of beer there, among other things. So they turn six blocks the downtown area into this festival area with uh they have keg bowling, they have Stein hosting contests, and they have live polka bands. Lots of breweries, you know, of course it's Colorado, and they have lots of things to go along there. Then moving on to something a little closer to home, Fredericksburg Oktoberfest. Now, this is the, as they've designated it, the polka capital of Texas. And it sits at the heart of the hill country, and it's kind of replaced some of the other areas that seem to have like lots of polka stuff, but it really doesn't. They've this has grown bigger and better. They get together at Kinder Park and they have lots of wine here, as well as 50 varieties of beer, arts, crafts, exhibits, all this stuff goes around into the area's proud German heritage. Again, with a leader hosed for travelers and parades and contests, sing-alongs. It's um Fredericksburg Oktoberfest offers a family-friendly celebration with Texas hospitality. Now, this is one that I thought was very interesting. Helen, Georgia. Now, this is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and it's a story brook book, Bavarian. I cannot talk today. The town's built much, very, very much the architecture along the Bavarian mountains, houses and homes, and they have a lot of brass bands playing polk. They have uh traditional German attire because this is kind of what the town looks like. A big uh German festival. Yeah, yeah. And it's on the Chattahoochee River, so that makes it even better. Oh, yeah, Hoochie. Now, this one is the big one. Oktoberfest Cincinnati. Cincinnati with Z's is the way it's pronounced. Happens and uh becomes the largest Oktoberfest celebration in the country. They got a lot of polka, uh Bratwurst, and eight hundred thousand.

SPEAKER_02 3:26

Uncontrollable brats is the brat.

SPEAKER_03 3:30

800,000 people show up for this event. They have uh, you know, of course, they've got all the I guess not. So they have lots of live bands, costume uh people, and they had the world's largest chicken dance. Don, I looked for you in this picture, but I could not find you in that crowd. But I looked. Where's Waldo? Yes, where's Waldo? And uh they have dash hound races, which I thought several of the places have dash hound races.

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Dash hounds, yeah. I believe it would be called dochshunds. I think it's a dash hound, it's a dochin, but yeah, but then far be it from me to uh correct anybody on the air. That's right.

SPEAKER_03 4:09

And or you some of them actually they have it called the running of the wieners instead of the for dash hound races.

Fredericksburg’s Polka Capital Vibe

SPEAKER_00 4:18

So for me, they're not dash hounds. I think that they're called dochshans, but again, um dash docs, whatever.

SPEAKER_03 4:25

Yeah, I guess it's like sauerkraut balls, you know, and strudel and network, it's all kind of sauerkraut balls. That's what it said. They serve plates of sauerkraut balls.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

You know what? I think we're gonna leave this segment right here.

SPEAKER_03 4:39

How do I get off the screen, Michael? Oh, yeah. We uh picture or something.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

Okay. I don't know what else to tell you, but all I can tell you is that the in-wheel time car talk show will continue after this break in our recovery. Time now for Jeff's car culture. You ready, Michael? Muscle cars that didn't deliver. I had one of those. You bet.

Bavarian Helen, GA on the Hooch

Cincinnati’s Giant Chicken Dance

SPEAKER_02 5:08

Muscle car badges uh implies that asphalt melting torques, stoplight showdowns, and even engine roar that rattles windows, but not every muscle car lived up to the hype. Emission stragulations, heavy bodies, marketing misfires meant these machines take a big uh game, but don't walk the walk. So our first one, Mike, is the 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Z28. Excuse me. The Z28 struck fear into the hearts of other other cars at red lights, and by 1980, it's 190 horsepower V8 was all bark and no bite, weighing nearly 3,500 pounds. It had the looks, but couldn't outrun a well-fed minivan. Turned into a disco era disappointment wrapped in racing stripes. So there you go. The next one we have is a Ford Mustang 2 Cobra 2. That nameplate promised venom, yet in 1976 it was defanged. All it delivered was a wheezy 140 horsepower 302 V8 with the Cal Glores. Uh, it looked like a race car but performed like a budget commuter. Carol Shelby probably winced with emotional pain every time one drove by. The next one, Mike, is a Dodge Charger Daytona, borrowing the iconic Daytona name, could have come with uh horsepower. Instead, this bloated B-body weighed weighed down, it's obviously a 400 cubic V8 engine. It handled like a yacht in a parking lot. It looks like a Chrysler Cordoba with rich Corinthian leather. It was uh more of a showboat than a muscle car. The next one, Mike, is a Plymouth Valari Roadrunner. This Roadrunner name once meant speed and simplicity. By 1980, it was a sticker packaged on a Valari. Powered by an asthmatic 318 V8, it beeped and probably wheezed right after. A sad final lap, once a great nameplate. Next one, Michael, is a Ford Thunderbird. 1980? The Thunderbird had evolved into a personal luxury coupe rather than a performance machine. The base 255 cubic inch V8 struggled to produce 115 horsepower. There's your answer. Leaving this heavy cruiser with all the thunder of a polite cough. Despite his name, it was flying, it wasn't flying past anything. Buick Century, free spirit. This bicentennial edition, look the part with his red, white, and blue paint and gold graphics. Yet the 455 V8 couldn't overcome its age, the emissions, the constraints of that, and the extra weight. It was a patriotic parade float with a drag strip demon. Nasty. Had a sporty uh aesthetics, stripes, and badging. Unfortunately, the performance it gave was lukewarm. Even with an optional V8, it drove more like a parts hauler than a powerhouse. Sure, it was cool and it had street cred. It wasn't really quick enough to justify the muscle car name. That's sad. One more here is the Javelin AMX 1974. Once battled on equal ground with the big three, Ford GM and Chrysler. But in his final year, his performance was stifled by emission rules and weight gain. The styling was aggressive, but it was like a washed-up bodybuilder with muscles fading down. Don Armstrong, rebadge. And the last one, my favorite, is the Ford LTD 2 Sport. This sporty trim was a lumbering LTD 2, had a blackout trim and a big bravado, but its performance numbers were anything but athletic. The 302 350 351 V8 moved it all with the urgency of a jogger in sand. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 8:41

You know, I am proud to say that I completely forgot about those cars. And they were very forgettable. I had one. It was the Chevy Monza. Do you remember that? Yeah, I had a Monza. From 1975. I traded in my 74 Vega GT. I had a 77 V8.

SPEAKER_02 9:02

I had a V6, 77, Chevy Monza, Spider, and I told him if it came with any spider stuff on it, I wasn't buying it.

SPEAKER_00 9:08

Mine had a V8 in it. Yeah, but it probably your V6 probably had more horsepower than my V8. Could have been. I remember having my very first trip in it, the road trip to Dallas in a bowling tournament I was in. And the heater didn't work, and it was ice cold. Oh, yeah, you told me that story. Yeah.

unknown 9:30

Always.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

All right, time now for this hour's car review. I had a chance to drive the 2025 Hyundai Sonata. And we have a picture of that, I believe.

SPEAKER_02 9:44

Is that my car?

Segment Reset and Break

SPEAKER_00 9:45

Um the final assembly location of this vehicle is Ulsan, Korea. So, you know, I'm sure that uh tariffs will have something to do with the price of this car. Available trim levels, there's gasoline, there's a hybrid, and the Nline. I had the N line front-wheel drive. This is considered a large car, or many people call it a full-size car. I don't even consider it a full size. I'm thinking more along the lines of a mid.

SPEAKER_03 10:17

Right, yeah, yeah.

Muscle Cars That Didn’t Deliver

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Uh it uh seats five people, including the driver. It was all new in 2020. They've recently had a bump uh in the uh update on this car. Sleek wind cheating front fascia with fender-to-fender lighting, uh, halo light that goes up there. You can see it right there in that picture. This particular car that I had, like this one in the video, has a matte silver finish. It's an extra thousand bucks. Wow. Has black wheels. It looks it looks hot. Uh, really did kind of like the look of it. Uh creased fender well openings uh highlight the big wheels on this car. Fast back roof with trunk lid spoiler um has the boy hot rodders giggly over this car. What I liked about it, the overall design gets high marks in my opinion. What could use improvement? Nothing. I think that they they really hit it. If you're looking for a hot rod type sedan, uh this is something to look at, that's for sure. Interior highlights include a gray interior that has a red stripe throughout the interior that um is actually tastefully done. One big screen atop the dash contains instruments and the infotainment information. Comfortable seating with N embroidered on the seat backs, a handy center console with multiple functionality. I like that a lot. Uh trunk room is adequate, it's got that fast back on it, so um, you got a little bit more trunk room on it than you normally would on a standard sedan. But I liked the unique shifter stock. Now, you Jeff would probably hate it because you're more of a traditionalist. I get to drive all these different cars. This is a stalk that comes out of the right side of the steering column and on the end of it has a silver knob. And if you want to put it in drive, you twist it forward. If you want to put it in neutral, you bring it back and press it in. And if you want to put it in reverse, you twist it back towards you. It works really well, it's out of the way, it's not on the center console, taking up space that I just feel is really it's a waste of space, is what it is. Wow. So unique uh shifter stick uh that I liked on it. What could use improvement? It could use a ventilated seat option that it currently doesn't offer. I think that's something they should probably look at. Two and a half liter turbo four cylinder that turns out ready 290 horsepower for the turbo four, 311 pound feet of torque eight-speed automatic transmission. Mileage 23 in the city is what it's rated, 32 on the highway for combined at 27. I got 28.9 miles per gallon over 467.4 miles. What I like uh the powerful engine in it. This thing rocked. What could use improvement? Sure would like to have some exhaust sound at full throttle. Maybe they could put a button on it, some so something because when you step on it, it's you can't tell that you've stepped on it. It just goes without any sound. And this is a hot rod. So let's make it sound like a hot rod. Riding handling, underscore comfortable. This thing rode like butter. But what could use improvement? The tires, the tires meet need more grip. Oh wow. This thing will they're not sticky. No, this thing will light them up and use it.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

They're all season tires, probably.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Yeah, they are, and you know, that that's fine, but this is a hot rod, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_03 13:59

A new it is a performance vehicle. And did you ever have one, Mars? No, but I mean it's their inline, that's what it's tab it at.

Icons with Hype, Not Bite

SPEAKER_00 14:07

That's what it's all about. So they need to do something with the tires, unless, of course, you know, you just light them up all the time and go through them like wada, and then go get you some stickies on there. Yeah, riding handling, comfortable, tires need more grip. Base trim price,$35,250. Price is tested,$37.610. That's with that$1,000 pop for the matte finish. Uh, competitors to this vehicle, there really isn't any. Honda Accord starts at$28,295, but it doesn't have the horsepower. Same thing at the Toyota camera. It's at$28.7. And the VW Jetta threw that one in there just for the heck of it for$22,995. Like the car overall. I mean, it really is. It really is nice. Cool. The Honda, I'm sorry, the Hyundai Sonata N-line front-wheel drive. With niacin. With niacin. Turbo power, fun, agile, and elegant is it says on the sticker here. All right. That's that.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

That is that.

SPEAKER_00 15:14

Just moving right along. Okay, well, let's move right along, shall we? Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, shoot us an email. The address is info at inwheeltime.com. We'll be right back.