Charging Headaches And Holiday Horsepower

The smell of fresh wax, the rumble of arrivals, and a table full of hot takes—our live remote at Gulf Coast Auto Shield pulls you straight into car culture. We kick off with a clear-eyed look at November’s sales story: Hyundai dips, Kia climbs, inventory loosens to a 64‑day supply, and hybrids keep humming while EV demand wobbles with changing incentives. That sets the stage for what drivers actually feel on the ground: access, reliability, and the difference between spec sheets and street reality.

Nothing gets more real than trying to charge an EV and finding every solution blocked. We walk through a week of charging drama—Tesla‑standard plugs, restricted dealership chargers, public stations reserved by policy or simply clogged by rental fleets—and what it reveals about infrastructure etiquette, operator rules, and the urgent need for better enforcement. Standardized connectors are a win, but adoption hinges on consistent access, uptime, and simple on‑site logic that respects drivers’ time.

We shift gears into community and performance. Tailpipes & Tacos returns with a toy drive, free breakfast tacos, and a kids’ pedal car show, proving that local meets might be the industry’s best ambassadors. The Houston Auto Show follows with a holiday BOGO ticket deal and a chance to explore new models without pressure. On the performance front, Stellantis reignites muscle with the gasoline‑powered Dodge Charger Six‑Pack, a straight‑six pumping 550 horsepower, while Cadillac’s looming F1 debut adds a fresh storyline to the racing calendar. We round out with Consumer Reports’ reliability rankings—Toyota retakes the crown, Subaru and Lexus close behind—and a tour through auto history from Studebaker to Corvair and Jeep’s global Compass, topped with shop‑floor memories of body‑by‑Fisher craft.

Join us for the mix that keeps enthusiasts hooked: market insight, hands‑on EV lessons, racing heat, reliability you can bank on, and events that welcome everyone. If you’re in Houston, bring an unwrapped toy, grab a taco, and say hi. Prefer to ride along from home? Subscribe, share the show with a friend, and drop a review telling us your most frustrating or most satisfying charging experience—what would you fix first?

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Transcript

Live From Gulf Coast Auto Shield

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to another In-Wheel Time podcast. This is your place for all things automotive, the award-winning In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Today coming to you from the Car Social at Gulf Coast Auto Shield. Just ahead of the guest from today's big event out here. Plus, Mars has this week in auto history. Jeff has the racing calendar, and I'll get you caught up on the stories making automotive news headlines. Howdy, along with Mike out of this world, Mars, who's looking for uh He's just stepped out for a guest, and I'm sure that we'll have one here very shortly. Um we always need more Jeff Zeken. Yep, always my partner in crime here, and over here we happen to have David Ainsley. Which is our main villain. He is. Um he's a little cramped up this morning. Yeah. Too many donuts or something, I don't know. Some sort of an infection with something. Life, I think. Isn't that right, David?

unknown 1:01

That's right.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

That's right. Well, what you can't put your headset on and put uh uh put a microphone up to your mouth? I know it's difficult for you. You gotta lean in because he's got you see, we he's he has so many radio stations that he deals with all the time. He never gets on the air. And he's a lovely human being. Well, yeah, well, I was gonna say, uh, you know, there has been some drinking. Water. Keep those infections down.

SPEAKER_02 1:33

That's because uh there was some something consumed last night, I'm assuming. No, no, no. No, no, you? No, no, really.

Market Update And Inventory Talk

SPEAKER_00 1:41

I did not. No, um uh we had to pass on our usual Friday night uh soiree. Oh and which is fine. Uh you know, it just it is what it is. I don't know what else to say about that. But um anyway. So uh Hyundai and Kia posted mixed U.S. sales in November. Um I don't I don't think I don't think we're I don't think we're gonna have him as a guest. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 2:11

Is a blown Camaro out there?

SPEAKER_00 2:13

Yeah. Do you have a blown Camaro out there?

unknown 2:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Okay. Uh Hyundai and Kia posted mixed U.S. sales in November with strong hybrid volume offset by another slump in electric vehicle demand following the end of federal tax credits in September. Sales fell 2.3% to 74,000 at Hyundai, but rose 2.7% to 72,000 uh at Kia, the companies reported. It was second uh it was second consecutive monthly decline at Hyundai and fifth straight monthly gain for Kia. Both companies remain on pace to set annual U.S. sales records in 2025. Hyundai's three core crossovers, the Tucson, Santa Fe, and Palisade, each rose by double digits last month. That's significant. It is. Yep. Um retail car and light truck inventory stood at 2.29 million at the close of November, a jump of 12 percent for a year earlier. JD Power and Global Data said, and the day's supply stood at 64 up in November, up five days from a year earlier.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

So the the inventory is holding at 64 days.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

Yeah, that's the used. New.

SPEAKER_01 3:26

Okay, well, you had used in there as well. The used is up 12 percent.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

I'm sorry. Uh among brands, stockpiles remain tightest at Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai, Honda, Infinity, Subaru, Chevy, BMW, and Porsche Cox Automotive said though Toyota supplies now stand at 45 days, the brand's highest level of the year. 45 days is the high mark. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 3:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:49

There's that.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Well, do they actually don't they discount them every month? Isn't it a 30-day run on their books and then they have to discount it or if they're if they're wanting to? I really don't understand all of that. They still gotta pay taxes on it on the original investment. Even though they mark it down, they're still gonna pay taxes on the high end. Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 4:12

Listen, there are some things in the automotive industry that I don't fully understand. And the whole tax thing and what's on the lot and what's due, what's coming in, all of that. I don't really I don't get it. Do you? No, well, it's somebody I'm not that deep into it when it comes to inventory. So somebody what?

SPEAKER_01 4:32

I said there's probably somebody on the probably the owner of the dealership. Yeah, and I'm sure there's probably folks that are involved in that particular part of the of the dealership. You've got your finance, you've got your sales, I'm sure they've got inventory as well. Parts. They're all segregated like that.

EV Sales Slump And Startup Struggles

SPEAKER_00 4:50

It's a complicated thing. Don't you agree? It's like life. It is. Um yeah, and you know, there are some manufacturers as well. Um Bollinger is one of them. That they are you know, it's a startup manufacturer for EVs, and EVs are on selling. So what do you do? Discount it. You know, if nobody knows the product, yeah. Um I remember when Rivian came out, John actually has had several of them here. Beautiful cars. Fit and finish is unbelievable. And you see it more and more of them on the road, too. You do, yes. And they're not cheap. No, they're very high-end. And um, but you know, where is the volume? You know, like Tesla when they first started up, I mean, my god, they were sky high. And not only that, but the problem with trying to find a charger, gee whiz. And speaking of which, I'm gonna kind of divert for just a minute. So I think the charger on the wall right there. Do you notice that? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. I think there's water back there too, isn't there? And the charger. Anyway, uh, I did want to mention that I had a I had an EV. A new EV uh a week before last. And you know, they have changed the plug and standardized it to this to the Tesla plug. Okay. So go to a charging station, which is there's one right by my work. Uh that particular one is a BP charging station. There's another one out in Sugarland that is a shell recharge station. They probably have 15 chargers out there, the big DC chargers. You know, there spend 30 minutes doing nothing, waiting for the car to charge, and then you get 80% to charge. But it's better than the alternative. I did not have a home charger sent with this car. Oh but so I couldn't plug it into my home. They gave me an adapter so I could take it to a regular 110 volt job, plug in the adapter, which at the other end of it has the Tesla plug to plug into the car. Yeah. Try to find that. Try to find 110. Nope, can't do that. That would be from home. Try to find a Tesla charger that's not available. I went to a Tesla dealership thinking, what would you think a Tesla dealership? Hey, there's gonna be a charging station there. There's several. Right. So there's one out there in Richmond, Texas. Yeah, down 59 there. Yep, right down there, just past uh 762. Yep, nice big Tesla dealership. Service center. They got probably a dozen chargers. Authorized personnel only. You can't charge it there. You have to go inside, you have to own a Tesla and then find a spot that's not using the charger. So when they service the car, they plug it in out there where everybody else. There's no charging for the public.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Let me tell you something. I went into that. Was I ticked? Yeah. I was ticked. I went into that service center and there's nobody around. You go, you get the doors are all locked on alleged showroom because you can't really buy it from there. Nice cars in there, but all the doors are locked. You gotta go around through the service department and they have to let you in through the back. Yeah. It's it's a goofy, goofy setup. Really, really is.

Real-World Charging Frustrations

SPEAKER_00 8:27

Well, I I don't know anything about it, but I've done it before. So the bottom line is that this Kia has a Tesla charging plug. Okay. So everything has been set up for this car to use the Tesla plug. Couldn't find it. Just so happened that at the airport they had one. Wow. And there was somebody parked there. I had to track down that person, right? The next day, there were two cars from Florida parked in both of the charging stations. Guess what? The rental car company, Avis Morons, parked their two cars there. This is what you've got to deal with, this whole EV thing. And Buzz Smith, good luck, Buzz. Ain't happening for me. You know, uh left. Why don't you put a headset on so we can all hear what you said?

SPEAKER_01 9:23

While he's doing that, you know, the hospital has chargers. They've got electric charging stations at the hospital.

SPEAKER_00 9:28

Well, that's what I need to do, is just get real sick and go up to the hospital.

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Oh, you just go there and have lunch.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Well, and well, there's that.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

You took out nice cabinet, get a little surgery and get your car charged. So the Avis, do they leave them there like overnight so they can assume these parking space? Yep, that's all they did.

SPEAKER_00 9:45

They delivered the car to the FBO, which is a flight-based operations center there at the airport, and just left them in those two slots because the slots were open. Who what? Okay, well, we're gonna charge you ten dollars an hour for that. They should. There should be some method for them to get in and get out. Exactly. There's plenty of parking spaces, they were just too lazy to do anything about it.

SPEAKER_04 10:08

Huh.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Unbelievable. Yes. Anyway. Alrighty. So that was my bitch session for this segment.

SPEAKER_01 10:16

Okay, that's all good.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Um what would you like to talk about? I know that we've got plenty here. Oh, I did want to mention, I did want to mention uh the fact that we have uh upcoming next weekend is tailpipes and tacos. Yes, it's gonna be at the lupi tortilla out in Katy. And um Toy Drive. With the toy drive and a kids' pedal car show. Yes, that's gonna be cool. Uh show with events that go along with it. So that's next weekend, and that's gonna be from 8 to 11 out there at the Lupi Tortilla in Katy, which is right south of I-10, right, off of 99 the Grand Parkway. Also, a little bit later on coming up, uh, we're gonna be doing the automotive show. Uh that's the new car show. And the January Houston Auto Show, yeah, January 28th through February 1st at NRG Center. And um you know, uh it's always a good show, and we always have some great guests, and um things are coming back for the Houston Automotive Show.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Yeah, and th thanks to Rochelle, because she's the one that's just an amazing, amazing event that she puts on. Yes. So if you got a truck, you got a trailer, and you got a boat, you could wrap it all up. Just do a package deal. But they don't sell boats and cars there. They the boats they do, the cars they don't.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

Right. It's a place to go and shop. Right. Um I did want to mention the fact that the um Houston Automotive Show, I think that that BOGO deal is still going on. Uh ticket buyers can benefit from a BOGO deal, buy one, get one, uh, saving them twenty dollars this holiday special uh for the fifth year in a row, the Houston Autoshow uh combined under one route. No, it it it leads all the way up to the actual automotive show itself. So uh keep that in mind if you're gonna do tickets, they make a great gift idea, stocking stuff or whatever. So it's two for one, really.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

And they're not that expensive, they're not expensive at all, but the the BOGO is a good idea. But you can still get online and buy them even if the BOGO's off. So they're still reasonably priced.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

Yeah, exactly. So that's all coming up, and uh we will be at both of those events. That would be the uh Lupi Tortilla, Telpipes and Tacos event.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

That's next next weekend. And it's gonna be good weather.

SPEAKER_00 12:43

Bring a toy, bring a toy, unwrap toys. Free tacos, uh, there's going to be booze uh to buy. Well, it's a restaurant, yeah. Yeah, but uh we they have specials with the margaritas, and let's not forget the bloody Marys.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Oh, yeah, we're gonna forget those. We're gonna forget. I'm forgetting those already. Yeah. So it's all of those.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

All right, well, why don't we take a break? And uh when we come back, we'll have uh this week in auto history, and we have the racing calendar and some more news headlines right here on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. The Tailpipes and Tacos Christmas Edition 2025 happens Saturday, December 13th, from 8 to 11 a.m. and you want to be a part of it. Tellpipes and Tacos is the cruise in everyone wants to attend. And the Christmas edition is extra special. Donate an unwrapped new toy and help yourself to a free Luffy Tortilla Breakfast Taco. Delphi Adult Beverage is available for purchase too. And don't forget you arrive. Just cruise in and you're automatically registered to compete for one of three famous chili pepper trophies. Best hot rod, best classic, and best modern classic. Tailpipes and tacos Christmas edition will be held Saturday, December 13th, 8 to 11 a.m. at the Lupi Tortilla Tex-Mex, located at 703 West Grand Parkway, just south of the Katy Freeway in Katy. Oh, and don't forget to bring the kids. There'll be special trophies and cookie bags for them too. It's the Talepipes and Tacos Christmas Edition 25, Saturday, December 13th, 8 to 11 a.m. at the Lupi Tortilla Tex-Mex at 703 West Grand Parkway in Katy. Bring a toy, get a free breakfast taco, and enjoy the camaraderie. In Wheel Time will be there too. Apple or Android NWL Time Podcast can be found everywhere, on the stream and through downloads. Whether you're on the road or at home and Jones in for a different kind of car talk show, 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 Sirius XM Podcasts, iHeartRadio, or while you're shopping on Amazon through Amazon Music. Mm-hmm. Inwheeltime.com has a list, and we know you love lists. Give In Wheel Time a try. Welcome back to the In Wheel Time Card Talk Show. Hey, we invite you to join our live broadcast every Saturday, 10 to noon, Central Time on InWheeltime.com, Facebook, and YouTube. We hope you'll check us out. If you miss us, you'll be able to connect with us through a podcast from your favorite podcast channel. Another remote special from Tailpipes and Tacos at Lupi Tortilla in Katy happens next Saturday at this point. So be sure and join us. Okay, time now for Jeff's Racing Calendar, sponsored by Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge. There you go.

Tailpipes & Tacos Toy Drive Details

SPEAKER_01 15:21

Thank you for that. Well, you've got the uh what do we got today? Well, you got Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Uh it is in Abu Dhabi. It's a 58 Lapper for Formula One, and they're gonna be crowning their champion here pretty soon. So there's three drivers that are in contention. Uh it's it's gonna be a free-for-all on the track. And uh a racing note is that Cadillac is debuting their F1 livery or their car uh at the Super Bowl. There's gonna be a Super Bowl commercial uh in February, and it's they're gonna introduce the new hot rod that Cadillac's putting out in the Formula One racing circuit. So there you go. Well that's that's that's your thing. It's big, yeah, it's big. Now I will follow F1 next year, so we're gonna be more involved in it. You know, you might see me in Germany at one of the races, probably not. Uh but we're gonna be more involved in that for 26 because of the Cadillac.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Did you have a did you have just a second thought, or did you were it some some goofy drugs that you took or something?

SPEAKER_01 16:23

Because we know your hatred for F1. Well, it's not a hatred, it's just a a dislike of the primadonna's and the uh a strong dislike of the primadonna's hatred arrogance. It's hatred. Just strong dislike, not hatred, strong dislike. But I will be following the Cadillac. The rest of them can go fly a kite. Yeah. So there you go. But check out your local tracks.

SPEAKER_00 16:43

You know, I have to I have to I have to rub you in the other.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Go ahead. It's okay. Yeah. Um Snowball, this the snowball derby is coming up in uh Tennessee, I believe. Nashville. Nashville, Tennessee. I believe they're doing a snowball derby up there. I may have the City Raw, but it's coming up.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

Isn't that a circle track race? Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:01

Well, there's there's a bunch of other events like in involved in it, but they call it the snowball derby.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

I'd like to go to one of those uh uh racetracks where where they have the uh the what what do you call them? The the ones that are on the ice? Yeah, the ice racing. Yeah. Ice racing.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

It's like going the races that we used to go with uh out in northeast Houston, but they do it on ice instead of that. They've got boats with skis with sails and and all that stuff. They race that. So it's very, very interesting.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Good.

SPEAKER_01 17:30

Sounds like fun.

SPEAKER_03 17:32

It would be interesting to see watch everybody slide, yes.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

I'd like to see you drive one of those, Mars.

SPEAKER_03 17:37

On ice?

SPEAKER_00 17:38

Follow him home tonight. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:41

Remind me to tell you about my experience in Arkansas on the ice one of these days. Okay. But not on the air. I'm not sure the lawsuits are done. The warrants are not.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Still gonna warrant out doesn't surprise me. All right. Time now for this week in auto history, Mr. Mars.

SPEAKER_03 17:57

Yes, sir. This week in auto history, we got two or three things here that we want to bring up and we want to talk about. First thing up is this week in 1917, Studebaker introduced a refreshed line of six-cylinder cars, and then this was designed to update their offerings in the booming post-war market. This is World War I, Don. I'm sure you remember that one.

SPEAKER_01 18:17

Oh, vividly. Are you kidding? I wrote the history there.

SPEAKER_03 18:20

Yes. Now these were all four-door touring cars, meaning they had no top. They were powered by a 354-cubic inch straight six with 60 horsepower. Now, the idea was to make a reliable and smooth engine so the consumers would think that they could buy these cars because Studebaker was transitioning from a wagon company, making wagons and wagon wheels, to a car company, and they needed to I remember that. Yeah. You move remember the showroom whenever they had them up pull all the wagons out?

SPEAKER_00 18:48

Yeah, and and then and then you go in the back and you find your horse to pull it.

SPEAKER_03 18:51

There you go.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Yeah, I got it.

Houston Auto Show Dates And Deals

SPEAKER_03 18:53

All right. Also, this week in 1945, civilian auto production officially resumes. Now, this is after World War II. This is the second Great War, Don. You know, I'm sure you don't get them confused.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

I know Actually, I I was thinking uh the Civil War, but whatever.

SPEAKER_01 19:07

I was thinking gladiators, but I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_03 19:09

So factories had to take in they've been building tanks and other war material, and they had to switch back to making automotives like trucks and cars. But what they did is they went back and picked up the 1942 designs where they stopped. So this allowed them to get back into production quicker and allowed them to create a lot of jobs over a million jobs whenever everybody was coming back from the war, and it really spiked the economy. So it was a really important time for the automotive industry. Now, this week in 1956, Volvo introduced the three point seat belt concept. It's what we know now, we pretty well take it standard. You know, we went through the development phase where it was just a lap belt, and then they went to the three point belt, and that's where we're at right now. And this week in 1960, Chevrolet introduces the rear engine Corvair Monza. Now, this is where they expanded the This is what they wanted to make it more of a sporty model, so they created the Monza with bucket seats, floor shifter, and a little more sporty trim on it. Now, the first generation engine was 164-cubic inch flat six. And then in 1962, when they rolled out the turbocharged spider version, which is what most people remember as far as the uh Corvair being a little more sporty. Then in 1970, AMC debuts the Gremlin X package. Now, a lot of people remember this, particularly with the lime green coloring on it. It was a small car at bold graphics, unique wheels, 304-cubic inch V8 in it, and so it was pretty quick, like it was, and it didn't take long for people to start really building them up like this Pro Stocker that we have there on the screen that's out of one. In 1979, unfortunately, the last ANC Pacer is produced. Oh, shuts. I know, Don, you you regret not getting one of those and keeping it in the garage in storage as the collector item.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

Anita Martini had one of those, and I made fun of her at the time when she was still alive, because that's what she had. The the fishbowl.

SPEAKER_03 21:05

Right. It had a real wide state.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

Ugliest, the ugliest car, one of the ugliest cars ever made in known to human race.

SPEAKER_03 21:12

And I did not know they made a station wagon version out of that. And it's even worse. Yeah, I can only imagine. Oh, excuse me, 2016, the Jeep Compass Global launch. Now, this Fiat Chrysler had got their new Jeep Compass and they had it on the market, but they went to a global launch. In other words, instead of building it in the United States and shipping it, they started building it where they were going to ship it to, where their markets were. And this became part of their uh widespread distribution for their worldwide presence. And it actually ended up being the renegade and Cherokee is where the compass fit in between, and it became one of their major volume models around the world, and that's how they did it this week in automotive history. Yay.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

Around the world. There's a different connotation with me, but as you can only imagine. And I'm not even going to go there. All right. Well, thank you, sir. Um some more headlines to tell you about. Stillantis began serial production December 2nd on the 2026 Dodge Charger Scat Pack, bringing back the gasoline-powered version of the muscle car while setting the stage for a return of the third shift at the Windsor Assembly Plant. That's in Canada.

SPEAKER_04 22:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:27

The two-door performance version of the Charger features a Hurricane Six-pack engine that generates 550 horsepower for you, Hemi people. The first models are scheduled to arrive at dealers later this month.

SPEAKER_01 22:43

Cool.

SPEAKER_00 22:43

So hopefully, keeping my fingers crossed, I have to talk to uh our supplier that will have one in the press fleet before too long. Can't wait to drive that. 550 horsepower, straight six.

Racing Calendar And F1 Notes

SPEAKER_03 22:58

Well that that's you get that much horsepower of a straight six that automatically well on automatic, they have a lot of low-end torque to begin with. Yes. So now you've got this amount of horsepower. It'd be interesting to see if they kind of got the low end and they put the horsepower on the top end, do about 500 miles an hour.

SPEAKER_00 23:14

It'll uh it'll defeat the not the SRT, but it will definitely defeat the regular Hemi by a lot.

SPEAKER_03 23:23

I would think so. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:25

Massachusetts dealership faces a personal injury lawsuit by a customer struck in the head by a descending high-speed roller service bay door. Eric Aberjailey is seeking damages from Wellesley Toyota in Wellesley and door manufacturer Ritech Corporation in the November 2022 incident. The Norfolk County Superior Court complaint alleges a dealership employee directed Aberjailey through the door to his vehicle, and the door suddenly and without warning came down and hit him in the head as he walked to his vehicle. It said he suffered permanent brain, head, and tooth injuries. Wow. The door comes down that hard.

SPEAKER_01 24:08

That fast?

SPEAKER_00 24:09

I know I've seen them come fast. Yeah, they're pretty fast. They do come down fast, yeah. Uh there were no notices or warnings posted for customers not to enter the service bay. The November 3rd complaint alleged at the time of the incidents. The safety systems were either not operating appropriately and or failed, the complaint said. The complaint accuses Wellesley Toyota of negligence and Ritech of negligence and breach of warranty. And what was the uh total value or the they didn't give a a number, but I guarantee you it's a bunch.

SPEAKER_01 24:40

Yeah, the doors do go up fast on some of these the high end, the Taj Mahal deals.

SPEAKER_00 24:44

As a matter of fact, I think your son works at one of those dealerships that has those doors. Exactly. Just to keep the air conditioned inside.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

Yeah, it'll go fast.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

Yeah, but they're gone. Yep. Yeah, somebody made a mistake on that deal. Well, plus the employee told me to go through that door. That's right. So and usually in service departments, can't go in. You can't go in. Well, big sign says don't go in.

SPEAKER_03 25:05

Yeah, but like I say, employee says, hey, go that way.

SPEAKER_00 25:08

Get your car. Not good.

SPEAKER_03 25:11

Ex-employee now, I'm sure. I am sure.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

Um Toyota regained the top spot on Consumer Report's annual ranking of the most reliable car brands for the first time since 2022, edging out Subaru. Consumer Report said the improved reliability of the Camry, Tacoma, and Tundra gave Toyota just enough momentum to pass Subaru, last year's most reliable brand. The Yonkers New York Testing Organization's annual automotive brand report card, published December 4th, contains rankings based on road tests, safety performance, owner satisfaction data, and other metrics. So here's the top ten. Just in case you wanted to know.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Ah, that'd be good.

SPEAKER_00 25:51

Ten is Kia, nine is Tesla, eight is Buick.

SPEAKER_01 25:55

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 25:57

Out of all the manufacturers, yeah, it's still in the top ten. Seven is Acura, six is Nissan, five BMW, which surprises me, four Honda, three Lexus, Subaru's at number two, and number one is Toyota. So Buick, we're gonna try harder.

SPEAKER_01 26:13

All you Buick owners, we're gonna try harder.

SPEAKER_00 26:16

I think for GM brand, that's pretty good. It is, yes. There's no other GM brands on there. And you know it's funny because you don't really hear that many Buick recalls. No.

unknown 26:24

Well, you know.

SPEAKER_00 26:25

Because they're awesome. According to Jeff. The world, according to Jeff. There you go.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

Jeff's research. Buy a Buick life will be better.

SPEAKER_00 26:34

Always.

SPEAKER_01 26:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:35

Yeah. You know, my dad was a big Buick guy. And uh we had several Buick's. One was the 1960 winged back end that we moved down here with. It was we moved here in 62, so it was a couple of years old. That thing, my God, it was huge. You could you could build cars in the trunk.

SPEAKER_01 26:58

It's our own factory. My dad had Chevrolets, he had Pontiacs, uh, Oldsmobile, of course, Cadillac, of course. Well he was a GM. He worked for GM. Yeah, he was a super. Well, you worked for GM for a while. Yeah, but I wasn't uh I wasn't what he did. I was just a factory worker. He was a superintendent for Fisher Body.

SPEAKER_00 27:15

Fisher Body? That was back in the day when they made the bodies over there and then took them across town to wherever.

This Week In Auto History

SPEAKER_01 27:20

One mile away, loaded up on uh I think it was seven of them, maybe five or seven on a train car and took them out. It was a train car? But it was just from the firewall back. That's all they built was the interior from the firewall back. To the back, to the trunk? To the trunk. Finish everything. Everything was finished, there was just no chassis. Send them over there, and they would marry them to the chassis Cadillac. But what about the front end? The front end was put on a Cadillac. The fenders and all that were put on a Cadillac. Fisher Body sent just from the firewall back, and all the interiors done, all that beautiful couch seats in it, and then they would ship it by the way.

SPEAKER_00 27:56

Let's not forget the uh the thing on the door jam that had body by Fisher, that's a couch.

SPEAKER_01 28:05

And that was Fisher Body. That was their first design of that. Uh and I did the striker covers for for installing those in the day. You did? Yeah. What do you mean you did them? I did well, I put them together. I put installed them on the doors. No, on the bottom of the trunk. The trunk, when you push the button in the in the glove box and the trunk popped open, well, there's a little cover on that device I would put the cover on.

SPEAKER_00 28:27

So it's all Jeff's fault.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

I have no recalls. To this day, there were no recalls on what my job was. Now, when I worked for Turbo Hydromatic, hey, if you got a Chevy citation and it ended up with a trans problem, I probably did it.

SPEAKER_00 28:41

Sure. Hey, we'd love to hear from you. Shoot us an email. The address is info at nwheeltime.com. We're back right after this. You own a car you love. Well, 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 tent, or new windshield protection called Exoshield, Gulf Coast Auto Shield is where Houston's car people go. Curb 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 GCAutoShield.com. 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 gcautoShield.com. The award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show downreaches 5.3 million folks each year. Check us out on Inwheel Time.com, YouTube, Facebook, and podcasts available from your favorite go-to source, 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 driving destinations, Jeff's car culture, latest car news, cruise-ins, and racing dates. It's all on Inwheeltime.com. Join us. 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, 8 to 11 AM Central on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and our InWheeltime.com website. Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, iHeartPodcast, Podcast Addict, TuneIn, Pandora, and Amazon Music. Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.