In Wheel Time Podcast: Your Go-To Automotive Talk Show

How A Community College Dyno Day Teaches Real Horsepower

• In Wheel Time Podcast | Automotive talk with Don Armstrong, Michael Marrs, and Jeff Dziekan • Season 2026 • Episode 79

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Watching a car run on a dyno is pure theater, but the numbers can also save you money, guide smarter tuning, and even keep you safer. We head to Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant, Texas, to talk with Austin Maness from the Carol Shelby Auto Institute about their Dyno Day event and what really happens before a vehicle ever makes a pull. We get clear on what a dynamometer measures, why rear-wheel drive matters for their setup, and what participants actually learn from horsepower and torque data.

We also get honest about the not-so-fun side of performance testing: liability, safety inspections, and the kind of mechanical problems that can shut the whole day down. Austin explains how risk mitigation works in practice, from tech checks to turning cars away when something looks off. Then we dig into a situation a lot of owners face, a tune that doesn’t feel right, and how flashing back to factory settings can be the cleanest way to rebuild confidence in a car’s drivability.

To round it out, we share our 2026 Kia Sportage Plug-In Hybrid review with real-world impressions and real-world fuel economy. The Sportage PHEV X-Line Prestige AWD brings strong combined power, a sharp redesign, and impressive efficiency when you actually plug it in, plus a few driving quirks worth knowing before you buy. If you’re into car culture, dyno testing, automotive education, or plug-in hybrid SUVs, this one is built for you. Subscribe, share the show, and leave a review, what would you put on the dyno first?

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Cold Open And Show Setup

Don Armstrong

Yeah, there's that. Old Fumblefingers don't fumble fingers. Hey, it's the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show today coming to you from our Dual City Studios in Texas, USA, just ahead. Dino Day at the community college. All right. Learn about all that. Later, our story of the week. Jeff's Motor Minute. And I'll review the all-new 2026 Kia Sportage plug-in review just ahead on the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Howdy, along with Mike out of this world Mars, way over there in the other studio. We need more Jeff Zeke, Chief Engineer David Ainsley. He's hanging in there with us. Hanging. And I'm Don Armstrong. Glad you could join us for our Saturday matinee. Can I call it that?

Jeff Dziekan

You can.

Don Armstrong

What is the definition of a matinee?

Jeff Dziekan

Uh daytime.

Mike Marrs

I thought it was the afternoon show.

Jeff Dziekan

Yeah, afternoon would be a matinee. Well, uh, you know, it's funny because we always used to call the You know who would know? George would know. Yes, he would. George was has been in theater, as f uh was born and raised in that.

Don Armstrong

My dad was the general manager of the Metropolitan Theater in downtown Houston years ago. Hollywood and all that. That's the definition of uh matinee.

Jeff Dziekan

I just told you.

Don Armstrong

I know you did. It's a musical, dramatic, or cinematic performance held during the daytime, typically in the early to mid-afternoon.

Jeff Dziekan

Oh, there you go.

Don Armstrong

Kind of like not this show.

Jeff Dziekan

Yeah.

Don Armstrong

We're not a matinee show. We're pre-match.

Jeff Dziekan

We are. We're always pre-something. Pre-something, yeah. Premature matinee. Okay. Do we have our guest, Mr.

Don Armstrong

Mars?

Mike Marrs

No, I just texted. He was supposed to have been here five minutes ago.

Don Armstrong

Yeah.

Mike Marrs

Oh boy.

Don Armstrong

Well, that seems to be the theme of the day, doesn't it?

Mike Marrs

Well, he was here. Oh, here he comes. All right.

Don Armstrong

Well, for non-broadcasting people, it really doesn't make that big of a deal. But for broadcasting people, when you say eleven o'clock, then you know, that's eleven zero zero zero zero. Austin Manis, we're giving you a bad time.

SPEAKER_01

Hey, uh, okay, Mr.

Don Armstrong

Morris. We're gonna let you deal with that. And uh comes from somewhere in that place too, you gotta do it. Well, uh, you need to go outside where you can get a signal on your cell phone because you're breaking up really bad here. If you don't mind.

Mike Marrs

I'm gonna I'm gonna text him. I'll be right back. Well, there he is.

Don Armstrong

Austin, can you hear it? No, he's gone. He's gone.

Mike Marrs

No, no, there he is.

The Messiest Foods To Drive With

Don Armstrong

Try Austin, are you there? No. All right. So um let's do uh let's do Jeff's motor a minute, shall we? Okay.

Jeff Dziekan

Well here the motor minute. Did you eat in your car? Do you have snacks? We always do. French fries or anything like that. Yeah, always. I hate it. I'm not a I'm not an eating in the car kind of person. Kathy does.

Don Armstrong

She eats you know, she'll say, I know, because you're well, my mother used to call a clean finger.

Jeff Dziekan

Well, all ten fingers are clean.

Don Armstrong

I know. Excuse me.

Jeff Dziekan

Do you know what some of the worst ones are? They're kind of mixed up. But please one of them is a sandwich. It's a classic road trip lunch. Endlessly customized, you know, you're prepared in advance, won't spoil in some cases. A few hours in the trunk and it's wrapped properly. However, when you're eating it, the choice is filling crucial parts of the seat. It's messy, you're getting it on yourself. You got stuff on your hands. I've occasionally done that. You know, you're at you're at uh Bucky's and you get one of the sandwiches and you're eating. Yeah.

Don Armstrong

And you got that cranberry turkey dripping all over your pants. That's exactly right.

Jeff Dziekan

They mentioned cranberry turkey in this. Uh hard candy, that's usually popular. Do you know that there's a choking element in that while you're driving? Of course, yeah. So that's one of them that you really shouldn't do. Cups of yogurt, family favorite. You get some you know nutrition and protein and calcium and all that stuff, but you need cutlery, you need a spoon, you need chance a chance of dripping on your yourself and on the seeds.

Don Armstrong

And not only that, but if it gets down between the seed and the center contour, it goes up.

Jeff Dziekan

And it's it's one of the one of the uh foods that does uh smell. It smells funny in here.

Don Armstrong

What is that? Oh, that's the yogurt that I had two years ago.

Jeff Dziekan

Yep, yep. Uh watermelon. Don't eat watermelon while you're driving because it's liquidy, moist, wet seeds. You get it all over yourself. It drops in the seat and everything. And my favorite, we're all gonna see this hard-boiled eggs. Okay, very tempting. Oh, little road trip.

Don Armstrong

And you know what? In about 10 minutes after you eat it, you get another treat inside the car.

Jeff Dziekan

They're high in protein, take a little preparation and in general keep the whole family happy even when eating cold. However, you might be left regretting the decision to fill the lunch bag with eggs once they're a few hours out into the journey.

Don Armstrong

Can I can I just uh can I confess something? Go ahead. You know, I had two daughters uh in the car most of the time. And um I had a button in the suburban that you could lock the roll-down window.

Jeff Dziekan

I could still do that.

Don Armstrong

Yeah. And uh I used to have lots of fun in the car.

Jeff Dziekan

Eating hard-boiled eggs. Yeah, eating eating hard-boiled eggs and then not and not allowing them to roll down over. Dad. Oh my god, dad. Oh my god. In the backseat. So don't uh canned fish, you know, especially to it. Yeah, don't do that.

Don Armstrong

I've got a guy that I work with at work. He brings sardines in. Yeah, I think it permeates the entire office. No, you eat them outside.

Jeff Dziekan

Because the smell puts people off, heat out in the you put the heat in the equation and all that stuff, and they start stinking in a food bag. Uh so if you're eating fish in the car, be aware that it's it's not a good idea. What a great idea! Sardine drive-thru. Sardine and hard-boiled eggs.

Mike Marrs

You got anything for the trip yet, sardine? Might as well have some broccoli in there too. Listen, I think we got Austin ironed out.

Don Armstrong

Okay. Uh we didn't. He did. So there you go. Austin, did you go outside?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I did a little uh technical switching up on the phone, so hopefully that works out a little bit better.

What Dyno Day Actually Is

Don Armstrong

Sounds good. Sounds good. So um Austin is uh our guy for our interview here, is the director of the Carol Shelby Auto Institute and Northeast Texas Community College Dino Day event. Right. So um is this uh uh an annual event, a monthly event?

SPEAKER_01

Well, in the past, they've had it uh kind of yeah, one per semester, spring and fall. Um, we typically had done it around the anniversary of Carol's passing in in May. We found out that was a little tough with uh finals and everything and graduation. So we bumped it up a little early in the spring to give uh you know a lot of our supporters and our students a chance to enjoy the day uh and get out here. Obviously, it was a little a little wet out here on this beautiful spring Mount Pleasant Day, but uh um yeah, so we typically do it uh one in the spring and one in the fall. And we're hoping to kind of you know reinvigorate that to keep that frequency going.

Don Armstrong

So something tells me that Northeast Texas Community College has some sort of an automotive program.

SPEAKER_01

That's true. Uh yeah, had an automotive program, and then obviously Carol Shelby, the late great uh that's from this area, um, told the college that hey, he'd really like to support this trade and this skill set uh in the auto industry, especially in the performance industry. And so he he let the college use his name to gain uh notoriety and help with recruiting and such to uh to get students to to be interested in this kind of stuff. And so among several programs, EMS, funeral services, cosmetology, welding, uh police, uh there's just so many programs here and auto autotech is definitely um a very robust one as well.

Don Armstrong

Could you put him full screen, Mike?

Mike Marrs

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Don Armstrong

Um one of the things that uh I I see here that you're up in Mount Pleasant, Texas. Tell everybody where Mount Pleasant is.

SPEAKER_01

So we are uh I'd say it's I-30 between that runs between Dallas and Texarkana, and Mount Pleasant is just a hair closer to Texarkana. And so if you're coming to the college, you would basically come to Mount Pleasant, head south about uh 10 minutes out into the country a little bit, and then you're uh then you're here at the campus, beautiful campus.

Don Armstrong

Well, I will tell you that uh I've always uh uh considered that part of the state of Texas, that'd be the piney woods of East Texas. Am I correct?

SPEAKER_01

Yes, sir. There's definitely uh some beautiful pines here, and then in the farther west you go, they tend to thin out by the time you get to Dallas Fort Worth, you just see a few left.

Don Armstrong

That's why all the good people live over there in Mount Pleasant. Logging country. Exactly. Yeah. So we've got uh viewers, listeners of our program that have no clue what a dyno day is. And um dyno is short for a an object that is a dynamometer that uh put cars on, and you run up the motor and spin the great big wheel behind it, and it measures all sorts of things like the output of the engine and horsepower and tuning and that sort of thing. And um and what what is it that you guys are doing up there? So you get two runs for$35. So that means that you get your car onto the dyno and uh you make a uh I guess a baseline pole, if you will. And then on the second run, you've done some tuning or some sort of fine wonderfulness to the car that bumps it up a little bit. Fuel air mixture.

Jeff Dziekan

Hey Mike, do we have a shot of his? Do we have a video, Mike?

Mike Marrs

Well, I've got a a shot of the flyer, but I don't think we can add it without overlaying it.

Don Armstrong

Let's not do all that. Okay so um so tell me, uh am I far from the truth here?

SPEAKER_01

No, you're spot on. Uh basically we've got customers, these these participants, they could be students themselves from the college. They could be, we've got a wonderful Shelby Club out of Dallas, uh, Shelby Cobra Association of Texas that supports us. And so they they'll bring some cars out. And what they're you know, every customer has their reasons for what they're doing. One will exactly like you mentioned, they're gonna do a pull on the dyno, they're gonna get a horsepower and a torque reading, they're gonna go into their tune and they're gonna adjust to some settings, and they're gonna get that second pull to make sure that those settings are what they wanted to do. Then you've got the folks that are just, hey, I just like to know what my car does. I never really understood the horsepower and torque, you know, uh outputs of this, and I just want to see what it does. And then some people just want a picture of their car and hear it rev up really loud, and and uh so it's that uh the audience loves to see that. And so you know we we have it set up, and but the main purpose of the whole thing is to highlight what the students are doing here, absolutely what they're learning, how they hook up the cars, what they're testing for, what they're they do a tech inspection of every car before it gets on the dyno. And so the the the purpose of the dino day is to is to showcase what they've been learning and to show donors and and community members, hey, this is what's out here in the piney woods, and you need to be a part of this.

Don Armstrong

Okay, well, it just is I've got to I've got to say this because I watch the videos on uh reels and on YouTube, and uh every once in a while I run across one that that mesmerizes me. So somebody and most of them are diesels, and they'll put a diesel on a dyno and they'll rev it up, and uh it'll either be a runaway or something goes haywire, and they wind up blowing it up right there in front of God and everybody, and you're going, holy delito!

Jeff Dziekan

And that was the question I had. Is this open to any vehicle or just Mustangs?

SPEAKER_01

So, specifically for our dyno, uh, it has to be a rear-wheel drive vehicle. There are that exist for all-wheel drive or front-wheel drive vehicles, but ours specifically is meant for a rear-wheel drive vehicle, which is what most people have, uh, you know, they're driving around in a garage. Um, it would I would love to have the all-wheel drive, uh, but that's uh that's a few more tuition payments before I can order one of those.

Safety Checks And Liability Basics

Jeff Dziekan

Yeah, and to Don's point, what's the liability if something like that does happen to a vehicle?

SPEAKER_01

So you know, there's clear instructions for the participants on on you know who owns what. You know, obviously if if the dyno has an issue, that's you know, that's that's on us, and that's why we take very good care to make sure that all the equipment's functional before our day starts. If the driver does something like drives in a car, that's you know, we we don't let it on the dyno, obviously, if we've had uh seen some technical problems during the tech inspection. And so unfortunately we've had to we'll we'll turn people away and say, hey man, I'm not gonna take your money, but you know, you definitely want to go get this checked out. I can't put you on the dyno if you've got a large bubble on your rear tire or if your drive shaft's gonna act in brief. So this seems like though that we take care to basically it's risk mitigation just to make sure that we're here to have a good day, we're here to you know help the customer out, but at the same time, it's safety is always paramount to anything you do. Risk mitigation. Risk mitigation.

Don Armstrong

So um, have you ever had any that the you thought that was the risk was mitigated? But as it turns out, it wasn't so much mitigated, and the car blew up on the dyno.

Resetting Tunes Back To Stock

SPEAKER_01

That that has absolutely happened at and I've seen it at dynos just at at regular mod shops where maybe the customer wasn't forthright with what maybe they had under the hood or some maybe they got some bad fuel, and when that engine pops and then uh everybody's like, oh no, or they or they blow uh uh a coolant uh coolant hose and leaks all over the floor, and then of course that stops everything, and we got to clean it up. And so that's a bit embarrassing for the for the vehicle owner. Um, but but uh yeah, like I said, we we minimize those by uh making sure we're checking them out before they get on the dyno.

Don Armstrong

Okay, so um I've got a 2001 stock Corvette C5 with a six-speed manual transmission, nothing fancy. We don't blow the tires off of it, it's only got 36,000 miles on it. It's a nice sweet car. I want to bring it up there, but I don't know anything about getting into the computer of that car and diddling with the engine settings in it. And what I'd really like to do is I'd like to get the engine settings as they were from the factory. How do I go about that?

SPEAKER_01

So you're trying to return the settings to the factory settings? Yes. Reloaded. Yeah, and that's that's easily doable. Um, you know, especially at a dealership can absolutely do that for you. Um, because they'll have the what they call the base tune that that the manufacturer can put into those motors. And so they can absolutely flash what they call flasher tune and uh reload the factory settings. If somebody's you know gone in there and adjusted things and now you're the owner of the vehicle, um, you may want to know that that they've they've altered some of those things because it could affect things like warranty and and uh performance. And so you could definitely come up here and test on the dyno and get an ice an idea of what the horsepower is, and then go to your dealership and say, Hey, I think something's up here. I think somebody made a mistake, or I just like to make this my Sunday driver, and I want it factory setting.

Don Armstrong

Well, I made the mistake. I made the mistake of allowing somebody, and I spent a lot of money, uh allowing them to mess with it, and so now it and it it's it varies, but I will tell you, generally speaking, you're in fifth gear, sixth gear, and running down the road, and you just kind of barely mash on that accelerator pedal just a little bit, and all of a sudden, it's got a knock. In other words, it's been advanced too much, in my estimation. And um, and it really has not done anything to make the performance of the vehicle any more than it really was to begin with. So I'd just like to get it back to where it was.

SPEAKER_01

And that and I'd say start start at uh, you know, scientifically speaking, start at zero and uh and work your way back to where you want to be.

Don Armstrong

Yeah. Well, like I like you said, uh go to Chevrolet. Well, I'm not gonna go to Chevrolet, but I'll go to somebody that has that flash program that they can stick back in there. And I'm sure that there's an aftermarket for that, is there not?

SPEAKER_01

I yeah, I'm sure most of the tuners that you can buy, SCT, um uh end gauge, HV tuners, like a lot of those uh you'll be able to kind of and most most reputable tuners probably you know work on a car like that and they have that flash tunes uh that that manufacturers tunes saved on their on their device.

Mike Marrs

Particularly a 2001. I mean, that's old enough I would think any proprietary was is gone off of it.

Cars Showing Up And Student Pathways

Don Armstrong

Well, that and the fact that I don't want to tout the fact that it's a 2001 ancient old beast, but I love it. And so Oh, don't put yourself down. Well, there is that. So today's event, which is going on right now, nine to three. Do you have cars lined up out there to get on the on the dyno?

SPEAKER_01

You know, I at first I thought, well, this rain's gonna keep the damn, but I tell you what, we got a parking lot full of cars. Uh we've had uh we've got actually a Shelby GD500 just got loaded on the dyno. Um we've had a beamer, like an M3 uh BMWs up there. We had a Miata that pulled about 170 horsepower. Pretty impressive. Um yeah, we've got some less things out here once this starts up. How big is your shop?

Mike Marrs

Austin, can you you're using your phone? Can you turn it around, turn to the other camera and kind of point it at that way we can see it a little bit better?

Don Armstrong

Yeah. Well, um, how many students do you have in the automotive department up there?

SPEAKER_01

It sounds like it's how many students. Um, we have around 70 students, and that's uh a combination of folks that are um uh just they walk up here and they say, Hey, I want to go to this school and I want this program, and then uh which is like certification and and an associate's degrees. And then we've got I'd say 50% of our population is uh dual credit students. So they're high school students and they're juniors and seniors, and they come up here and do some automotive classes and they get credit for both their high school and their college. And uh, we really love those kids because they uh they come in here and they're they're obviously looking forward to advancing their education after high school.

Don Armstrong

Man, this sounds something that was right up my alley back when I was in high school. So uh maybe perhaps uh you've got some sort of uh uh line on places to stay, weekends, you know, whatever the case may be. I mean, uh I I'd I'd given anything to do something like that when I was in high school.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. And I remember when I showed up to Texas AM about a million years ago, and I had zero credit hours walking into it, and I had all these peers and classmates that are like, oh yeah, I've already got 30, 40 hours. Like, how is that possible? And they said, do credit, man. And I thought, man, what an opportunity.

Don Armstrong

Well, so there is a way, and I and I guess that you uh or a professor up there that knows the ins and outs of this, uh, they would be able to guide you into something like that.

SPEAKER_01

Absolutely. And for a high school person, their their their favorite, or I'd say their most useful that they can talk to is their local kind of uh they they've called them different things over the years. I I call them, you know, high school guidance counselors, um, but there's a career counselor um that will basically sit down with a student and say, Hey man, what are you looking to do? And that is the person a student would want to leverage to say, Hey, how do I get into this? I'm really interested. Um, you know, what do I program it? So they would say, Well, let me call Austin Manson and I think he's got a slot for you. And so we would work with them uh and just walk them through, like, hey, here's the plan, here's the classes you need to take to get your certification. And those high school guys counselors really appreciate it when a graduating high school senior walks away with a with a certification or a degree because it really helps their educational funding they get from the state and the federal government. So it's to their benefit.

Mike Marrs

Austin, let me ask you so does the high school itself have to have a program?

SPEAKER_01

No. Um, it's basically uh whatever the state regulates is what is necessary for a high school diploma. Um and then our curriculum, of course, is set by you know higher levels like state and federal. And so as long as that matches up, um, and and we we are flexible, and and if it's something that needs to be worded properly or a specific course, we we have the ability to kind of set up a class specifically for that high school. Our community college services for counties and those high schools that are inside that. And so uh those high schools basically they already are getting the funding specifically to send students to us.

Don Armstrong

But we can take Austin, listen, I really really really appreciate you taking the time uh to visit with us today during your open house and dyno day. Uh that's up there at the Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant, Texas. Look them up. It's great stuff. Uh Austin Manis, we sure appreciate you taking the time this morning.

SPEAKER_01

Appreciate you guys so much.

Sponsor Break And Where To Listen

2026 Kia Sportage PHEV Review

Don Armstrong

Thank you, sir. Austin just ahead, Jeff's Motor Minute, and I review the new Kia Sportage plug-in when the in-wheel time car talk show continues right after this. The Tex Max dining experience is defined by Lupi Tortilla, your destination for Texas's best beef fajitas and frozen margaritas. Since 1983, Lupi Tortilla has served authentic and time-tested recipes made with the freshest ingredients. Atmosphere is part of the award-winning experience of Lupi Tortilla, all developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in Houston. Visit any of the Luffy tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail at each and every location. Start your loopy experience with queso flammiato and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margarita. Dine on famous loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp brochette, or a French or vegetarian entree. 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 is pretty good. Apple or Android In Wheel Time Podcasts can be found everywhere, on the stream and through downloads. Whether you're on the road or at home and searching for a fun 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, 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. InWheeltime.com has a list, so check us out. Our live In Wheel Time Car Talk Show every Saturday at our regular time, 10 to noon Central Time, on Inwheeltime.com, YouTube, and Facebook. And don't forget, 30-minute podcasts of our shows can be found at your favorite podcast store. We hope that you will join us. Time now for this hour's car review. I had a chance to drive the 2026 Kia Sportage. Available trim levels include the X-Line and the X-Line Prestige. Our reviewed trim level was the PHEV, plug-in hybrid electric, X-Line Prestige all-wheel drive. Try to get that on the back of the car. This is considered a compact SUV. You and I think would most likely classify it as a mid-size. It's 95% Korean. Korean parts, Korean built, the whole nine yards. Five seats in this thing, two rows. Exterior changes. This is the fifth generation that was introduced in 2023, but it does have a makeover for 2026, and it's pretty cool. Distinct front grille and lighting look great. Bulging fenders at the wheel wells, like that. Sharp looking rear glass with a nice sunshade over the window. Wide opening rear hatch as well. So if you want to try to get uh you know your other little car in there, you probably could. What I liked overall, the design gets high marks in my estimation. What could use improvement? Uh wheel design. I wasn't a big fan of the wheels. Um and that was the charge port that you just saw there. The gasoline port is in a different part of the car, so you don't get the two mixed up. Yeah. And I'm sure that some people Well, what is this for? Uh Interior Highlights, clean center console, not cluttered with too many buttons and knobs. Same for the dash. It's uh the minimalist kind of design. Uh knobs and controls are just few and far between. Changeable instrument cluster, huge infotainment screen. Uh steering wheel controls are just right. Cargo room, adequate and competitive for its size and class. What I liked? The color options and seating material design. Very cool. What could use improvement? I don't know. Um I will tell you that I plugged this in here at the house and I also plugged it in at the office. Only on 110 now. Just a regular standard thing. And uh I think that you'll be interested in this 1.6 liter turbo with the plug-in hybrid, so it's got electricity as well. That combined makes up 268 horsepower and 271 pound feet of torque. That's a lot, my friends. But with a combined gas and electric, six-speed automatic transmission, standard all-wheel drive on this one. Now, the electric and gas mileage that is advertised is 83 miles per gallon.

unknown

Wow.

Don Armstrong

Gas only is 36. Now, this is the first time that I've ever done this where I plugged the car in so it had electricity, so I did both. It the car did it for me. The both gasoline and electric. I got 61.3 miles per gallon. Wow. Over 468.83 miles. Pretty impressive. Yeah. Yeah. Uh what I liked, hello. Mileage. What could use improvement? The downshift needs improvement and delayed acceleration. There's a little bit of a disconnect there, but you know, I'm a two-foot automatic kind of guy. Left foot for the brake, right foot for the, and I may have been too fast for it. Whatever. Ride and handling, smooth ride, easy, easy handling. This is not a car that's meant for road courses. What could use improvement? Um Kia did not make the battery weighed down the handling. So it doesn't need improvements, just another thing that I think attributes to look at. Yeah, when you drive the car. Base trim price, 47,190. Price is tested 49,730. But the base model price,$40,490. Competitors, uh Hyundai Tucson, its cousin, starts at$40,325. Uh Toyota Rav 4, PHEV,$41.5. And the Ford Escape PHEV. First, I didn't even know that they made one. And second, the price was kind of astounding to me. It went for$31,495 as a base price. Wow. So that would be something that I definitely look into. Next week I'm going to review the Chevy Blazer EV.

Jeff Dziekan

Especially for uh, you know, the the hybrid gas. 31. That's that's a plug-in hybrid, yeah.

Don Armstrong

A plug-in hybrid. Yeah, I've really never toyed with that. I just thought, I'm not gonna plug it in. Why that don't have to? Well, I did. I was disciplined enough to plug the thing in, and I was surprised at the mileage that it got.

Jeff Dziekan

And you say it's how much percentage is is where? Uh Korea?

Don Armstrong

95% Korean.

unknown

Oh.

Don Armstrong

It's Korean made, it's Korean assembled.

Jeff Dziekan

So if you drive it and you get out of it 30 minutes later, you want to drive it again.

Don Armstrong

Did I is that Mars giggling over there?

Jeff Dziekan

Just asking. Why is he even on? Why is he even on?

What’s Next And How To Reach Us

Don Armstrong

Why is he even on? This was my review, and you have nothing to do with this. You just stay over there and giggle all you want. Giggy. Just kidding. All right. So uh Mr. Morris? Yes, sir. What uh what have you got coming up this next half hour?

Mike Marrs

Uh looks like we still have auto history to do. Yep.

Don Armstrong

Yes, we do. I've been holding back and trying to put it in its right slot today. We got racing. Yeah, we got racing calendar, we got all sorts of stuff coming.

Mike Marrs

Got some headlines left.

Don Armstrong

Yeah, got that too. Yeah. We got all that and more here on the In Wheel Time Card Talk Show. If you'd like to get in touch with us, the email is info at inwheel time.com. And guess who opens it?

unknown

It's Mars.

Live Show Invite And Sign Off

Don Armstrong

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Head Shot

Don Armstrong

Host
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Jeff Dziekan

Co-host
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Michael Marrs

Co-host