Should Your Workplace Police What You Drive

Stellantis ticketing employees for parking a rival-brand car at headquarters is the kind of story that sounds petty until you realize what it reveals about modern car culture and workplace control. We react to the reported policy, the fines, and the “wrong spot” rules, then connect it to other brand-loyalty pressure we’ve seen at manufacturers and even at dealerships where driving anything else meant a long walk from the back of the lot. It’s a real question for any auto worker: should your employer get a vote in what you drive? 

Then we jump into a hands-on 2026 Chevy Equinox EV review, focusing on what matters to electric SUV shoppers. We talk trims, the RS styling, the sharp exterior design, and the interior tech that’s actually easy to use. We also cover the details people search for when comparing EVs: horsepower and torque, towing limits, ride and handling, MPGe versus kWh, and the EPA-rated 319-mile range. If you’re cross-shopping the Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, or Tesla Model Y, we put the Equinox EV pricing and real-world livability in context. 

We close with a small moment that every driver can relate to: discovering a steering wheel button you never knew existed, and why so many modern controls feel like guesswork. Subscribe for more car news, honest reviews, and weekly laughs, then share this with a friend and leave a quick review. What’s the strangest rule your workplace has ever enforced around cars?

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Transcript

Welcome To In Wheel Time

Don Armstrong 0:00

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast.

Stellantis Tickets Rival Cars

When Employers Shame Your Ride

Jeff Dziekan 0:02

And rival manufacturers vehicles. Here we go. A Michigan automaker is issuing parking tickets to employees who are to work in vehicles by rival manufacturers. Jeep's parent company, who? Still antes is handing out fines to employees at their headquarters parking lot in Detroit for parking in the wrong spots when their cars aren't made by the firm they work for, according to employees. The company parking lot is reserved for employees driving Stellantis made vehicles with rival cars barred from the premises. Well, for where do you park your non-stilantis vehicles? Employees say it's insulting to tell workers that uh despite having a huge parking lot, decks well under capacity, that they still don't have the right to park in them or cover parking at all. They must go to a roof parking or avoid parking altogether on property. Check that out. Both Ford, uh one more thing. Uh uh I'm sorry, go on, I just lost my place. But both Ford Motor Company and General Motors have changed their policies uh at certain headquarters using uh saying that uh they're they're not really doing that for the employees, but Ford Dearborn Factory reported banned employees from the parking lot without a Ford vehicle. Now this happened uh when I worked for Turbo Hydromatic, Fisher Body. They frowned on it. They didn't ticket you, but they frowned on you buying or driving another vehicle. So one employer reported being ticketed for an Eagle Talon uh sports car in a Stellanus parking lot, despite Eagle being a name plate of the Chrysler brand, which is now owned by the company. Seems like security needs a little history lesson on what brands are what. So the debate isn't over, they're still doing it. You park your car by not you know having the right one in the vehicle, you'll get a ticket.

Don Armstrong 1:40

Richardson Chevrolet used to do that, and they made all the employees. If you didn't buy a Chevrolet from Richardson Chevrolet, then you had to park at the very back of the lot. They still give you some opportunities, but you had to walk like a quarter mile in the rain, sleet, snow, all that stuff.

Jeff Dziekan 1:57

Shame on you.

2026 Equinox EV Design Impressions

Power Range And Real Efficiency

Pricing Trims And EV Competitors

Don Armstrong 1:58

Yeah. All right. Uh time now for this hour's car review. I had a chance to drive the 2026 Chevy Equinox E V. Available trim levels, the LT1, the LT2, and the RS. I had the RS. This is considered a small SUV, but boy, I'll tell you what, that's pressing it to say small. Anyway, five seats in this, including the driver. All new in 2024. So uh all new design. It really does look sharp. Sharp looking exterior design with slit lighting up front. Uh RS had a blacked-out faux grille. Well, it doesn't need a grill because it's electric, remember? Big 21-inch wheels, sharp rear hatch with sunshade over the back glass. What I liked about it, it gets high marks for styling, I think. What could use improvement? Not a fan of two-tone paint. That's an option that you can get. When do we go back to two-tone paint? Let's go back to wood panel. Well, yeah. Real wood. Yeah. Um, ours did not have the two-tone, I'm glad to report. Um, I've seen, especially the blue one with the white top. All I can think of is the old Houston Police Department paint scheme. Oh. Uh, interior highlights, color options, enhance the interior bling on this RS. Um layered two screens are unique and are good. Um, column shift is great. I loved it, and it opens up the center console for other stuff. Infotainment controls work great and are easy to understand. Cargo trunk room, well, adequate for most, I would say, for a small SUV. What I liked. The Evotex seating surfaces. It seem they seem industrial in black, but you can get some highlights in different colors that really makes it pop. Evotex. That's one of those kind of like uh name one of those old school plastic things that they came up with. Plastic seats. Oh, yeah. But they came up with names for them. Oh, it was always very interesting, the names that they like pleather. Yeah, this is Evotex. We could use improvement, nothing. Uh drivetrain. Uh, electric motor works great. Two motor options give 300 horsepower and 355 pound feet of torque. Horsepower, 0 to 67.8 seconds, adequate for most. Not a rocket ship by any means. Direct drive transmission, obviously, the electric motors connected to the wheels. Uh tow rating, 1500 pounds. Not a lot, but what do you need? This is an electric EV SUV. So 117 miles per gallon city is what it's rated. And it's called MPG E. Uh, highway is 100 miles combined, 31 kilowatts per 100 miles. You do the math. I've tried, I failed. Thanks. I got 2.9 kilowatt hours over 387.6 miles. Do you get that? Um, EPA rated at 319 mile range. What I liked, front or all-wheel drive is available. It's nice to have the option. Long range version would be a nice improvement, I think. Bigger battery. Um, what I liked about it, the riding handling, nice, smooth. What could use improvement? Steering wheel mounted controls were a little confusing. They seem to have uh uh all of the manufacturers have a penchant for putting things on the steering wheel that you're not quite sure what they are until you hit the button. I yeah. And your Buick has probably got the same thing. I'll tell you a story when you're done with your review. Okay. Um so there's that. A base trim price, 44.2. Price is tested 52,945. You can get in this thing for as little as$35,100. Good luck in trying to find one of those. Competitors, the Mustang Mach-E for$37,795. Hyundai Ionic 5 starts at$35,000, and the Tesla Model Y starts at$39,990 miles. Wow. Dollars. Dollars, thank you. I'm looking at uh other things. I know, I know, I was doing that earlier. Uh next week I'll review the Kia Carnival. Don't laugh, don't make fun. It's a nice vehicle. Isn't it Carnival? Okay, you can you can pronounce it that way. Oh, I would like to. Yeah, yeah. And put on your beret and whatever else.

The Mystery Steering Wheel Button

Jeff Dziekan 6:36

I feel like I'm bilingual when I talk like that. Yeah. Yeah. The story is I found a button on my steering wheel. I didn't even know, I've never knew I had it. And just the other day, uh, I was telling Kathy last night, look at this. And it changes the channel up and down rather than going through it. Look at this. It's on the steering wheel. How about that?

Email Us And Quick Break

Gulf Coast Auto Shield Spotlight

Where To Watch And Listen

Don Armstrong 6:51

There is that. Along with that. Hey, if you'd like to get in touch with us, send us an email. The address here is info at inrealtime.com. We're back after this quick break. 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 tint, 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 now reaches millions of folks around the globe each year. Check us out on InWheeltime.com, YouTube, Facebook, and don't forget our podcasts. Catch our live show every Saturday, 10 to 9 Central Time. The In Wheel Time Car Talk Show has informative automotive guests, new car reviews, along with popular features including driving destinations, Jeff's car culture, the latest car news, cruise-ins, and racing days. 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 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.