Balloons To Backorders - How Helium Messes With Cars

Helium is the last thing most drivers think about until a car can’t ship because a chip can’t ship. We follow a surprising thread from helium balloons to the clean rooms where semiconductors are made, and why a strained global helium supply can raise fresh questions about automotive chip availability. If you remember the pandemic-era semiconductor shortage, this conversation makes one thing clear: the next bottleneck might come from a material most of us never associate with cars.

We break down what helium actually does inside a semiconductor fab, including how it helps purge contamination during wafer processing and supports precision steps like extreme ultraviolet lithography. Then we connect the dots to the vehicles you see on the road, from advanced driver assistance systems to EV hardware and infotainment. Because liquid helium boils off so easily, stockpiling is not simple, so logistics and semiconductor grade supply matter as much as the raw production numbers.

From there we shift into the fun stuff that keeps car people glued to the weekend: Jeff’s racing calendar with NASCAR and IndyCar, plus a few schedule notes influenced by world events. Mike brings This Week in Auto History, touching Pontiac milestones, the Oakland name that helped shape GM history, the polarizing Honda Element, and the Mustang’s legendary launch day. We also hit current headlines, including EV registration trends after tax credit changes and the update on Carroil Shelby Way at Ford.

If you like smart car talk with real-world supply chain context, listen now, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more drivers can find us. After you hear it, what surprised you most: helium in chips or how fragile “small” supplies can be?

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Transcript

Welcome And Show Rundown

Don Armstrong 0:06

It's the award-winning in-wheel time car talk show just ahead. Our story of the week. Later, Jeff has the racing calendar, Mars has this week in auto history, and I'll have the stories making automotive news headlines. Howdy, along with Mike out of this world, Mars. There he is over there in front of the yellow car. Uh my good friend Jeff Zeken, David Ainsley is with us as well. I'm Don Armstrong. Glad that you could join us here. So Mars doesn't know about this. I I came up with this this morning, Mike, because you know it just drew my attention. Do you did did you ever have a place over there called Party City?

Mike Marrs 0:47

Yes.

Don Armstrong 0:48

Okay. I think they're all gone now. I think they went out of business. You do have an HEB over there.

Mike Marrs 0:53

Yes.

Don Armstrong 0:54

And over in the floral department, do they do they do helium balloons?

Mike Marrs 0:59

Yes, sir, they do.

Helium Shortage Threatens Auto Chips

Don Armstrong 1:00

Okay. Well, helium is the subject of our story of the week today. And I had no clue. And it drew my attention because helium, are you kidding? We used to, you know, suck the helium out of the balloon and that. And had fun with it. Well, as it turns out, the global supply of helium is facing threats from the conflict in Iran, a warning sign for semiconductor manufacturers making chips for vehicles.

Jeff Dziekan 1:34

Uh oh.

Don Armstrong 1:34

I had no clue that it was involved in making chips. So here's the story: some of the largest chipmakers have only six months' worth of helium in the pipeline, raising concerns about another global semiconductor shortage a few years after the industry recovered from the pandemic era constraints. And you we all remember that. Helium is a byproduct of natural gas production and is used to manufacture semiconductors that are key for advanced driver assistance systems and hardware for electric vehicles. Did you know that?

Jeff Dziekan 2:10

Did not.

Don Armstrong 2:11

Okay. Analysts caution that a manufacturing meltdown is unlikely at this point, potentially skirting the worst of the semiconductor shortage that curtailed vehicle production starting in 2021. But as with other automotive industry component supply chains, the Iran war threatens to throw off a delicate balance if the conflict continues. About 30% of the global helium supply comes from Qatar, or some people call it Qatar, which is wrong, which is home to the world's largest liquefied natural gas plant. No clue, did you?

unknown 2:49

No.

Why Fabs Cannot Stockpile Helium

Helium Vs Hydrogen And Nitrogen

Don Armstrong 2:49

You could think that that would be here. Iranian missile attacks struck that facility in March, causing significant damage, according to Cutter's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The constriction in the global helium supply is the latest challenge for semiconductor manufacturers already dealing with a significant hit from the Trump administration's tariffs and a shortage in dynamic random access memory, a chip ingredient that is in high demand from the artificial intelligence boom. Suppliers also have felt the squeeze from automakers consolidating vehicle architecture, which is shrinking the amount of hardware needed throughout the vehicle. Chips that are used for ATIS, infotainment, and EVs are manufactured in semiconductor fabrication plants or fabs that depend on helium for manufacturing. Part of the procedure involves machines that print circuit patterns on silicon wafers. The machines use extreme ultraviolet light to draw tiny details on the wafer. If anything unwanted is caught in this process, such as dust or water vapor, the light does not reach the silicon. Semiconductor manufacturers use helium to purge contaminants and allow fine detailed printing onto the silicon wafer. Helium also is used to cool the backside of the wafer. In general, companies cannot stockpile helium. Helium is shipped as a liquid and then vaporized and used as a gas. Liquid helium boils at about minus 452 degrees Fahrenheit, the coldest boiling point on earth. Even the best containers accidentally boil off helium. I didn't know anything about this. Using typical insulation technology, a tanker filled with liquid helium that sits in a warehouse for six months will end up empty. Most commercial containers can store for 40 to 48 days before the volume of helium that boils off becomes unacceptable. Reuters reported March 31st that Samsung Electronics and S.K. Heinox, which supply roughly two-thirds of the world's chips, can access four to six months of helium inventory through their supply. The U.S. is the largest helium producer in the world, but not all of that product is semiconductor grade. Exxon's mobile, ExxonMobil's Shoot Creek facility in Wyoming produces semiconductor grade helium, but its capacity is constrained by container and longistics infrastructure. Helium market has seen shortages before. Most recently, uh Russian, uh American, Qatari, and Algerian facilities hiked prices in 2022 to 23. Analysts at T.D. Cowan said in April 5th research note that those past shortages may have lowered the industry's resilience on helium. I'm sorry, reliance on helium. Some fabs have developed recycling systems and scrapped unnecessary helium usage. So they're trying to save it. But uh anyway, I just thought it was a fascinating story. I had no clue that helium was used to cleanse basically the air when they're making semiconductors. Yeah, Mike's got a question, I think.

Mike Marrs 6:20

Well, that uh and and my question is uh I find that fascinating because I always wondered why the phone company used hydrogen to pressurize the lines under the ground to keep the water out, basically is what it amounted to, why we didn't use helium. And now I'm wondering why they don't use hydrogen since it's a dry air and it doesn't have that that displacement issue. You know, we would buy tanks of hydrogen to use.

Jeff Dziekan 6:46

Well, nitrogen is the same same dry air. Nitrogen's a bigger molecule than than oxygen, because that's why they put it in tires, so it doesn't get moisture. And so helium is not a ret not a recoverable gas. Once you use it, it's gone. It's gone. Yeah, yeah.

Mike Marrs 7:01

Yeah, apparently, apparently you can't wait too long to use it. Yeah.

Don Armstrong 7:05

Right. It boils off. It boils off. Itself, yeah. Hey, what a business to get into. Hey, let's get into the helium business. And you're fighting the clock.

Jeff Dziekan 7:15

Oh, it's empty, you gotta buy some more.

Don Armstrong 7:17

Yeah. Or make some more. Yeah. Well, I didn't know that you're I did not know that it was a byproduct of natural gas. Petroleum gas. Yeah. So I just thought that it was interesting. Uh yeah. Um, that uh it's used in manufacturing silicone chips, which in turn, with all of this whole upswell of using these chips for artificial intelligence, it's competitive now with auto industry because they're all trying to get that into cars. And uh anyway, it's a component that I had no clue about.

Mike Marrs 7:56

Not it doesn't help that I ran shooting rockets at it either.

Oil Byproducts And Gas Price Talk

Don Armstrong 7:59

Well, there's that, yeah. And but that that's only a portion of the supply chain, but still it's an important one because they don't make a whole lot of it. And what they do make is uh for us up there at the Exxon facility in Wyoming. I was uh I was amazed. You know, it you start to think about the petroleum industry, and somebody asked me or asked the question in general terms about well, why are we so worried and concerned about the oil supply? Oil is involved in almost everything that we have, this pair of glasses made it's plastic, made from oil ultimately. Um makeup, oil. It is truly amazing. All of the things that come from the oil producers.

Jeff Dziekan 8:55

You got pretty lubed last night.

Don Armstrong 8:57

We did. I think I think there's that too. That was courtesy of Mexico.

Mike Marrs 9:02

Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, everybody contributes in their own way.

Don Armstrong 9:06

That's right. And I have nothing against Mexico at all.

Jeff Dziekan 9:10

Not at all.

Don Armstrong 9:10

Uh, it's a shame that they don't have more of that agave uh further north, up here in Texas. 12-ounce allotments. There you go. 12 ounce. There's that. And Mr. Mars is quite familiar with the oil industry. Uh there's wherever there where he is, yeah. Uh in the Golden Triangle, um, it's a huge employer for a lot of people over there.

Mike Marrs 9:35

Yeah, and I think at one time the Golden Triangle, this area around here, pumped out like 24% of the nation's gasoline from oil, plus all the other byproducts that come with it. And now we've got two large LNG places that are just cranking up and starting to service the ships that are coming in to load. So I'm gonna ask about that helium aspect since if it comes from LNG, then maybe they're I would like to know if they're doing that out there.

Don Armstrong 10:02

Yeah. Yeah, no, uh, there's there's there's no telling. You know, we really haven't heard about West Texas crude, although it is one of those uh price tags. There's two different price tags, and one of them is West Texas uh the sweet oil, as it were. Um and uh it it is a very for me convoluted and complicated industry that I really don't know anything about. I all I know is is that uh the price that I pay at the pump is about three dollars and sixty cents these days per gallon.

Jeff Dziekan 10:34

Yeah, I got uh a good five cents off a gallon this past week when I used my Kruger points. Yeah, I paid$3.48 or something like that.

Mike Marrs 10:41

Filled up the truck the other day, got to$92.

unknown 10:44

Wow.

Mike Marrs 10:45

I haven't quite busted a hundred yet for a tank, but did it get close?

Don Armstrong 10:49

Did it shut off at the No, no, it had more you could have put more in it.

Mike Marrs 10:55

Yes, yes. Well, I say that. No, the tank shut it off. You know, the pump wasn't restricted.

Don Armstrong 11:01

I got you. Yeah. Um well thank goodness we don't have that. All I can flash back on is the OPEC oil embargo, that nightmare, that happened in about 1975, I think.

Jeff Dziekan 11:16

Yep, 74, 75. And that's how carpools were invented too. Yeah, back then.

Don Armstrong 11:20

That was uh that was that was pretty awful. Remember you can't.

Mike Marrs 11:23

And not to get not to get too far off base, but you know, that was a little bit more understandable. They quit selling oil to us, so it cut the supply. We had no thing that's going on now. It's just people market it, they're saying, Oh, you know, you still got 100% of your oil, but we're gonna run the price up because somebody else doesn't.

unknown 11:43

Yeah.

Don Armstrong 11:44

Yeah, I don't I don't quite fully understand all of that. Maybe uh maybe soon we can get us an oil guy on here that can explain it in simple terms because I'm a simple kind of guy.

Jeff Dziekan 11:55

There you go.

Don Armstrong 11:56

There you go. Just pick up the phone and make a local phone call, Mr. Bars. Call Sarah. Sarah? Sarah, give me give me the diner.

Mike Marrs 12:05

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I need to talk to the judge.

Don Armstrong 12:08

Yeah, whatever.

Mike Marrs 12:10

All right.

Don Armstrong 12:11

Well, uh, we've got other things coming up. Um Mr. Mars is going to have this week in auto history, and I'm gonna have some headlines. And Jeff may have a surprise or two.

Jeff Dziekan 12:20

I got a racing counter.

Sponsor Break And Where To Listen

Don Armstrong 12:21

Yeah, yeah. Okay. So it's all coming up. Hey, uh, just ahead, uh, we've got all of that and more here on the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show. We're back after these commercial breaks. 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 Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail at each and every location. Start your loopy experience with queso flamillato and guacamole, along with a classic frozen margarita. Dine on famous loopy beef and chicken fajitas or pepper shrimp brochette, or a fish or vegetarian entree, and finish with a scrumptious flan for dessert. Find loopy tortilla in Houston, College Station, Beaumont, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, Fort Worth. There's a Texas location near you. The recipes are authentic and time-tested. The ingredients always fresh. Loopy tortilla 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, mic'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. Back at the same place for our live show, 10 to noon Central Time. Listen, watch on InWheeltime.com, Facebook, and YouTube. If you miss that, you'll be able to connect through a podcast from your favorite podcast channel anytime.

Racing Calendar NASCAR IndyCar F1

unknown 14:16

Yep.

Don Armstrong 14:17

Any time. Time now for the racing calendar, sponsored by the Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge.

Jeff Dziekan 14:23

Thank you for that. Hey, listen, uh, we got NASCAR coming up in Kansas. Both the uh uh Big Cup Boys, the the trucks are off, so you got just the cars running this weekend in Kansas. Uh they're gonna be running tomorrow and today. Then Talladega's the next week for them. But uh John was saying that their uh practice was rained out or qualifying was rained out up in Kansas, so we'll see what happens there. Then you got Indy. Indy is at Long Beach this weekend. I did watch a little bit of the qualifying. That's pretty cool. Uh very excited about the Indy coming up. And of course, they're prepping for what the uh Indy 500. Okay, so we've got uh the Formula One Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is postponed because of the conflict over in the conflict area. Uh the conflicted area. And it's very conflicting. Uh NHRA, they're off. They're gonna be uh April 24th through the 26th. They're gonna be at the four wide, which is really you know okay, I guess. I'm not really a big fan of the four wide, but they're gonna be at Z Max Drive. Not either. Who is Concord, North Carolina? Um, I don't think the drivers like it either. Like uh hard staging and and all that other good stuff. So and then, of course, the last one we've got, you got your favorite, the lawnmower racing event. You're it's going to be at the lawn Lone Star Mower Racing Association regular racing season is in Madisonville, Texas. That is today. Yeah, it's today. And then you got a let's race up there. Norco Horse Week Lawn Mower Racing in Norwick, Norco, California. Maybe that's over by uh Jack, it could be over there. And then you got OK Mower Racing at the WRD uh M-O-W-T-O-MOTOR Speedway. Aye, they're in uh Claremore, Oklahoma, and then we got some stuff coming up at the end of the month in your lawnmower guide. So tune in, don't be late. Lawnmower racing. I did my lawn this past week and it looks awesome. Did you race through it? Uh I'm kind of a slow, slow cutter.

Don Armstrong 16:22

Mars, um, I I I might have uh messed you up over there. Did I mess it up? Mess me up. Okay, well, uh you were just sitting there doing nothing, and I thought since Jeff was talking, I'd be waiting. You were listening.

Mike Marrs 16:36

Yes.

Don Armstrong 16:37

Okay. Well, can you can you put yourself back up there?

Mike Marrs 16:42

I'm sure I can.

Don Armstrong 16:44

I'm sure you can too.

Mike Marrs 16:45

All right.

This Week In Auto History

Don Armstrong 16:46

Because while you're doing that, I thought, there you go, see. Uh I thought that, you know, maybe now we could do the Mike Mars This Week in Auto History.

Mike Marrs 16:55

Sure, sure, sure. I got it. Very good. So we're gonna start with there were a few things I found really interesting this week in auto history, but we're gonna start with April the 13th, beginning of the week. Now, in 1865, a major milestone was reached by Pontiac. Now, they did start, Pontiac Create was created in 1926, so by this time they had 10 millionth vehicle rolled off the assembly line. Now, this vehicle happened to be a 1965 Catalina. Now, Pontiac was very popular uh because of their their performance, their styling. The American buyers just liked it. That's a good looking car, they is yeah, very nice. Yeah, absolutely. So, of course, GM decided in their infinite influence, decided to kill Pontiac off, and the last one rolled off in 2010. Now moving up in the week, April the 16th, back in 1908. The very first car that was sold by the Oakland Motor Car Company. Never even heard of the Oakland Motor Car Company. Took place April 16th, 1908. And this was a brand that became very recognizable very quick. It was started by Edward Murphy, and uh they were considered very solid, reliable cars, and of course, that meant General Motors needed to buy them up. And by 1920s, GM introduced Pontiac, and it was so popular that they did away with the Oakland Motor Car Company by 1931. Now, moving up to April 16th, 2003, to get away from the conventional SUV designs, which many people are concerned why. The Honda Element went on sale. Now, this was considered a fresh take on practicality, and it was the lifestyle-focused vehicle, you know, because of the engineering and the accessories that came along with it.

Don Armstrong 18:45

And the ugly unpainted fenders. That was all part of it.

Mike Marrs 18:49

It was built on a Honda CR platform. It was boxy, modular design that was supposed to appeal to the new generation that was adventurous and more outdoorsy. At the suicide doors, a washable interior, and it was aimed at the active young buyers. And uh over time, some people still like it.

Jeff Dziekan 19:10

They all got older and they'd stop buying them. They make a few.

Don Armstrong 19:31

Yeah, two 10,000 uh CFM carburetors sitting on top of it. And why and while you're at it, put some zoomy headers out the fenders.

Jeff Dziekan 19:38

And uh and a fake nitrous tank in the back.

Mike Marrs 19:40

Yeah, put them through the fenders like they do on the moving up to April the 17th. Now, we've talked about this before. Mustang made its debut at the New York World's Fair. Now, this was really cool. It was a big deal, but I did not realize that the same day they were doing this at the World's Fair, that they had all their dealers throw them up for sale the same day. They literally reportedly took 22,000 orders on that very same day that that vehicle was rolled out at the World's Fair. They reportedly sold 400,000 of these cars in the very first year it was out there. Wow. And it it really made a big change in the way people looked at how to do uh the mass market for these vehicles, particularly the pony cars, which led to a lot more cars coming into that segment. And then they recalled every one of them. So April the 17th, 1970, Apollo 13 astronauts actually returned safely from uh their little trip. But and the reason this comes in is because of the mass amount of engineering and materials that they used to make this uh mission happen. A lot of it flowed very quickly into the automotive segment in in the way it was lightweight construction, the electronics, and how the system redundancies found their ways into the cars because it demonstrated that all this technology could work. So uh it was really applicable to a lot of things, but it definitely impacted the automotive industry. And that was just a few of the things we found this week interesting in automotive history.

Don Armstrong 21:16

I love the Pontiac stories. Yeah, yeah, and I remember when those Pontiacs came out, my dad was a Buick guy, but uh there was a guy that he worked with, and he uh managed to have a new Pontiac all the time. And he had the Pontiac Grand Prix, that that car that you showed there earlier, and I just thought that was the cat's meow. Good looking body, had lots of power, a luxurious interior, but it wasn't up there at the Cadillac level, it was in the sportier, cool level.

Jeff Dziekan 21:50

I saw one uh recently that was restored, and there are very, very few around to actually get parts for, and there's not a part a lot of parts left, not even the the new in stock. Box type stuff. Um eight lug wheel. That was cool. Yes.

Don Armstrong 22:06

That was very uh unique. Very good stuff. Yeah. Good stuff. Well, thank you for that, Mr. Morris. Are you still with us?

Mike Marrs 22:16

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I was just thinking, I remember when my dad bought one. This is years ago, of course. He was haggling, haggling, haggling with a used car lot to buy this bright white Pontiac. I don't remember exactly which one it was, but it had the fins and stuff on it. And he was so proud. And you know, we got it all loaded up. He had to get home, so he had to go to work the next day. And we ran out of gas on the way home in the new car. I remember that forever. He was so mad that he didn't think he was still.

Don Armstrong 22:45

Do you remember back in the day? Um, the dealer gave you like a quarter of a tank of gas, and you oh, thank you so much. And then somebody got the bright idea, we'll give you a full tank of gas. You buy today. Yeah. And that then uh the quarter tank ended abruptly.

Jeff Dziekan 23:03

Yeah, but a full tank of gas back then was like six bucks. At the most. Yeah.

Don Armstrong 23:09

I remember gas wars where it was uh like you know twenty-five cents a gallon. You go through your couch to get gas money.

Mike Marrs 23:16

Yeah, we actually got down to 19 cents for about two weeks one time.

Don Armstrong 23:20

By the way, and I'm not trying to put you on the spot here. Uh I was asking Jeff, I said, what is meant by the Golden Triangle? Do you know Mars?

Mike Marrs 23:30

Yes. So Beaumont, Port Arthur, and Orange, Triangle, if you look at it on the map, and that's where all the refineries, Texaco's largest refinery was here, Chevron, Gulf, all that stuff because of the refineries, uh, in that area is the reason it's called the Golden Triangle. Again, twin one time it was almost 24% of the nation's gasoline came from the Golden Triangle.

Don Armstrong 23:54

I just read it was it all started with Spindletop over there 1901. And there's a spindle uh yeah, the Spindletop Museum, which is an interesting place. If you ever have some time, stop in there and check that out.

EV Registration Drop And Shelby Road

Jeff Dziekan 24:07

Just a little bit of uh history.

Don Armstrong 24:08

I got some uh interesting notes here uh regarding new vehicle electric vehicle registrations fell 37 percent in February from a year earlier, pushing share below five percent across the board as the loss of tax incentives continued to ripple across the U.S. light vehicle market. But while some automakers canceled EV nameplates as sales cooled, others pushed ahead, including Toyota with its best-selling BZ crossover. EV registrations totaled 56,000 in February, and their share of the light vehicle market dipped to 4.8 percent from 7.2 a year earlier. That data does not include hybrids. Without the federal tax credit that expired September 30th, the EV market better reflects organic demand now for new vehicle consumers that are kind of slowly warming up to the idea of an electric.

Mike Marrs 25:01

I wonder how it's doing around the rest of the world. We don't know how to do that.

Don Armstrong 25:05

Well, apparently in in Europe it it's it's pretty big. But remember it's it's different because they've got the infrastructure apparently, plus it's not that far to go from Germany to France.

Jeff Dziekan 25:18

True. You know, yeah, so there's that. And the roads are smaller. There's not a lot of narrow in the yeah, and on the inner city sides.

Don Armstrong 25:27

So there's all of that. And um let's see, I don't want to get bogged down here and lose track of time. Carol Shelby will remain a part of Ford Motor Company's engineering campus, despite a plan released by the automaker showing the legendary designer's name being removed from two streets near its new headquarters. I said that story last week. Renaming the two segments of Carol Shelby Way as Raptor Way and Navigator Avenue was under consideration but not finalized, Ford said in an April 10th statement, apologizing for a miscommunication. Carol Shelby Way is not changing, Ford said. The statement corrected information released April 9th by Ford Land, the automaker's real estate arm, saying Carol Shelby Way West and Carol Shelby Way East were among four streets changing in May. Well, they didn't talk to the big boss up the way, and they went, nah, not happening.

Mike Marrs 26:24

They didn't get permission.

Don Armstrong 26:26

Correct.

Jeff Dziekan 26:26

And uh so they're there'll be a little something in your last check. They're gonna they're gonna fix it.

Farewell And Listener Callouts

Don Armstrong 26:32

Okay, the N-Wheel Time Car Talk Show continues right after this quick break. Your car is a direct reflection of you, so don't be satisfied with color fade or a dingy dull appearance. Get rid of those terrible automated car wash scratches. Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your Save the Paint company. John Gray and his team of detailing experts can help your cars finish without a full repaint. Searching for real experts in window tent or windshield protection, Gulf Coast Auto Shield. Dash cams, radar detectors, Gulf Coast Auto Shield. Got a new car? Get it protected as soon as you take delivery. If you don't know which of the multitude of protection products to go with, John Gray will give you an honest opinion and won't sell you something you don't need. John will help you understand the many options and pricing right on the spot. He's your guy to have your ride looking its best and protected too. See this state-of-the-art shop yourself, free tours anytime. Gulf Coast Auto Shield is easy to get to, located just south of the Southwest Freeway on the Sam Houston Parkway. Gulf Coast Auto Shield, full service luxury car care today and online at gcautoshield.com. Gift giving should be meaningful, and we have an idea. A hand-painted custom illustration of your car from one of the nation's leading artists. Now you can get one or a car show poster customized for you, a friend, or a loved one. Bill Sites will be happy to guide you through the process. No matter what the day, birthday, anniversary, or any day, an autographics custom illustration adds an extra touch of class to any home. Call Bill today, 832-922-0963. That's 832-922-0963. Well, guess what? That sound says. It's time to say goodbye. That's all for this week's In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Be sure to check us out online at Inwheeltime.com. We're always looking for new, informative, and great automotive things to bring to our global audience. If you've got an idea, an event, road trip, or tall tale you'd like us to feature, let us know. Our email is info at inwheeltime.com. Hey, when you're searching for award-winning Car Talk, you can find the InWheel Time Car Talk Show 24-7 on the InWheel Time app and website. Grab a podcast from your favorite podcast store, video stream or live show every Saturday, 10 to noon on Facebook, YouTube, and InWheelTime.com. The InWheel Time Video Coordinator is We Need More Jeff Zeke. For booking agent and video editor, Michael Out of This World Mars, and Chief Engineer David Ainsley. I'm Dot Armstrong. Thanks to our weekly show contributors, Jeff Heitzman and George Skelton. We hope you'll join us again next week for from our Dual City Studios, 10 to noon Central Time. Have a great weekend. Stay safe out there. Watch the weather tonight. So long for now. 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.