Glowing Tires, 21+ get aways, and the Kia Sportage PHEV?

Glowing tires were once pitched as one of the most dramatic developments in automotive history, and we can’t stop thinking about how close it came to being real. We dig into Goodyear’s illuminated tire experiment from the late 1950s and 1960s: translucent polyurethane “neothane,” dye colors, and small lights mounted inside the rim so the whole tire could shine at night. It’s a perfect slice of retro car culture, equal parts engineering ambition and marketing bravado, right down to the promise that your tires could match your car or even your outfit. 

Then we change gears into travel mode with quick, practical Texas Hill Country getaway ideas built for comfort, quiet, and big skies. We talk through glamping destinations near Austin and beyond, including 21+ spots designed for couples, luxury tents that actually feel like tiny cabins, and futuristic pods with patios and private jacuzzies. If you’re planning a Mother’s Day trip or just need a weekend reset, these recommendations focus on what matters: vibe, views, and what you really get for the price. 

We close with a hands-on 2026 Kia Sportage PHEV review, covering styling updates, minimalist interior design, and the real question with any plug-in hybrid SUV: does plugging in pay off? We share real-world MPG results, performance notes on the 1.6L turbo hybrid system, and what still needs improvement like downshift timing and acceleration feel. If you’re shopping a compact SUV that feels like a midsize, comparing a Sportage PHEV to options like the RAV4 Prime or Tucson PHEV, this breakdown helps you decide. 

Subscribe for more car history, travel picks, and honest reviews, and if you enjoyed the mix, share the show and leave a quick rating and review. Which part surprised you most: glowing tires, glamping pods, or that plug-in hybrid mileage?

The Lupe' Tortilla Restaurants
Lupe Tortilla in Katy, Texas

Gulf Coast Auto Shield
Paint protection, tint, and more!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

----  ----- 
Want more In Wheel Time car talk any time?
     
In Wheel Time is now available on Audacy!  

Just go to Audacy.com/InWheelTime where ever you are.
-----   -----
Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast provider for the next episode of In Wheel Time Podcast and check out our live multiplatform broadcast every Saturday, 10a - 12nCT simulcasting on Audacy, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and InWheelTime.com.

In Wheel Time Podcast can be heard on you mobile device from providers such as:

Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music Podcast, Spotify, SiriusXM Podcast, iHeartRadio podcast, TuneIn + Alexa, Podcast Addict, Castro, Castbox, YouTube Podcast and more on your mobile device.

Follow InWheelTime.com for the latest updates!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/InWheelTime

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inwheeltime/

https://www.youtube.com/inwheeltime

https://www.Facebook.com/InWheelTime

For more information about In Wheel Time Podcast, email us at 

info@inwheeltime.com

Transcript

Goodyear’s Glowing Tire Experiment

Jeff Dziekan 0:04

Glowing tires. Let me fire this up and then you're gonna have to change these because uh of uh yeah, here we go.

Don Armstrong 0:11

All right. Let me let me get it up top there.

Jeff Dziekan 0:14

All right, thank you. All right, uh so Goodyear tires, bright idea. Back in the late 50s and 60s, Goodyear engineers were feeling enlightened. Their tires actually were. The glow unfortunately didn't last. More than five decades ago, and what the Ohio tire manufacturer called one of the most dramatic tire developments in history of the industry, Goodyear unveiled a custom car accessory unlike no other illuminated tires.

Don Armstrong 0:39

Can you imagine that today? We didn't sell out of those.

Jeff Dziekan 0:42

You know what? That's Martha. You know, we always talk about Martha, Martha right there. So Goodyear's translucent tire can be produced in any color to match the car, or perhaps the wife's new outfit. Some someday a wife may tell a husband, Charlie, can you go out and change the tires? I'm wearing my blue dress tonight. And that's what that's all about. Regardless of what you might think uh about the marketing strategy, Goodyear's illuminated tires off offered custom car enthusiasts plenty of exciting possibilities. This was a creation of Goodyear chemist William Larson and the and co-worker Anthony Fennelli. The tires were made of neothane, a synthetic polyurethane rubber that combined the hardness of plastic and the resilience resilience of rubber. To create the new fang dangled tires, the neothane was poured into molds, baked at 250 degrees, a temperature much lower much lower than required to make a standard tire. Goodyear uh then added dye to create a rainbow of different colors, and 18 small lights were mounted in the rims inside of each tire to create a glow that was particularly brilliant at night. Now people still do that to this day, putting lights in their fender wells and things. The invention caused quite a stir when Goodyear put a set of red illuminated tires on a Dodge Polera and drove it around Miami. It did the same for a Chrysler Silver 300, just same thing, driving around the New York City area. Although the tires went into production, one set made it into the hands of a person by the name of Jim Sakanis, who poured$75,000 or about$750,000 in today's money in creating the tripped out of Golden Sahara II in the early 60s. The second version of this was a George Barris custom that started with a 1953 Lincoln Capri called the Golden Sahara II. It wore gold paint mixed with pulverized fish scales that was adorned with gold plate and ornamental work. Yeah, I like it. Uh those new Fang Dangle Goodyear tires were referred to as glass. They were a cherry on a Sunday. In 2018, this vehicle sold at auction unrestored for$385,000. It's ugly. Yeah, and the tires were were not their the tires were solid. They weren't filled with air. Filled with air a little bit, but they were mainly solid. Now, Goodyear held tight on the idea of a sineothane tires would one day become a common, as common as the black rubber counterparts, but didn't happen. After 10 years of work, engineers threw in the towel. Keith Buckley, senior engineer of Goodyear Entire Rubber Company, said in a brief phone interview with the promise of a longer conversation that would ever materialize, the new Fang Dangle tires were doomed for several reasons. Low melting point for the tires uh in the manufacturing process uh made it susceptible to melting while they were actually on the road. So they would just deteriorate and disintegrate. And then the cost would be one thing. Uh made them more dangerous in rainy conditions, and it would take longer uh before they were even covered by road grime, which negated the illumination to begin with. So there you go. Uh illuminated tires. Yeah.

Don Armstrong 3:53

Well, they've kind of got that today, uh, with like you said, the lights in the fender wells. Uh I you know, I I I'm not of that age group anymore, but I think back in the day, uh, had I had a big jacked-up truck or something with a lot of room in there with the wheel wells and some fancy rims, I'd probably do that.

Jeff Dziekan 4:14

And you can make you there uh Hancook has red letter tires, blue letter tires. You can get the lettering different, but that's a different process.

Don Armstrong 4:21

Well, I was gonna say that we wait, I mean, you can get letters to anything that you want, and they stick them on there.

Jeff Dziekan 4:26

Yeah, you can. Yeah, well, that's that's a different process so far as the manufacturing of the color in the tire. Yeah, I got it. Yeah, yeah.

Don Armstrong 4:32

And we had remember we went through the red stripe era, yeah. Then we went to the raised white letters.

Jeff Dziekan 4:38

Yep, exactly. And uh growing up back in the mid-70s, you know, in high school, and everybody's running around Telegraph Road and all that. Uh particular gentleman, young guy, had a white Camaro, Z, uh, split bumpers, and he put white, his car was white, so he put white light bulbs in his fenders as he raced it up and down the street. We used to call him Fenderwells. That was his nickname, Fenderwell.

Don Armstrong 5:02

Really? Is this in Detroit?

Jeff Dziekan 5:04

Yeah, because he and he didn't get arrested? No, because he only did it at certain times when he was running racing.

Texas Hill Country Glamping Picks

SPEAKER_02 5:08

But, anyways, make a crazy all right.

Don Armstrong 5:17

We're gonna do driving destinations now, Mr. Mars. You got that cued up and ready to go? Oh uh Jeff's got it cued. Yeah, all you need to do is say the words, Mike.

Mike Marrs 5:26

Um I'm ready for it. And I was really looking forward to this one because Mother's Day is coming up, so you've got to do a little planning ahead for some of these things if you want to make a nice little getaway. And so these five places are gonna be, they're less than a half a drive from half a day's drive from Houston, Austin, San Antonio, even Dallas, Fort Worth. So we're talking about a Hill Country getaway here, but we're not talking about a regular getaway, we're talking about clamping, Texas style. And what you want to do then is uh have you know, it's we're talking about open skies, a glass of wine, and uh maybe a hot tub. And no kids around for the majority of these. So the first one we want to start with is Safari for the Soul. Now, this place is outside of Austin in Marble Falls, built specifically for couples. There's no kids, no crowds. Got some luxury tents that are tucked along the river that's not very far from Lake LBJ.

Don Armstrong 6:20

Would you please wait a minute, wait a minute, would you please define a luxury tent?

Mike Marrs 6:25

Um I'm I'm working on that. So you got the luxury tent, you're gonna have possibly private hot tubs, outdoor showers, movie setups. Sometimes some of these will have air conditioning, but this particular one doesn't. It's more of a tamp, it's glamping, more of a wine set out and look at the stars type of thing. And uh but that one's at Marble Falls. Now, if you want to, I got one up here I'm saving for you, Don. If your idea of glamping is a little towards more towards modern, the wall Walden Retreats Hill Country. So this is another 21 and up venue that you can go to. It's about an hour west of Austin. It's based on 96 acres out on the Pergnales River. These are architect-designed 500 square foot tents. Now they got big glass views of the Hill Country, they got soaking tubs, big decks all around it. They have air conditioning, they have heaters, they've got running waters, private baths, king's eyes bed, and even a kitchenette. So it's quiet, but it's out in the middle of the wine country, so you can also get you some wine, sit out, watch the sun go down, and have a big time with mom for the weekend without the kitties. Now, the other one you can go to is mom.

Don Armstrong 7:36

Not your your mother. That would be that would be the mother of your children.

Mike Marrs 7:41

Yeah, okay. Mother's Day, mother's children. Yeah, the mother of your children. You probably don't want to take your mom mom.

Don Armstrong 7:47

Correct.

Mike Marrs 7:48

Yeah, that's true.

Don Armstrong 7:49

Just wanted to make sure that we got that straight.

Mike Marrs 7:53

All right, so the uh Udiscope Echo Glamping Resorts. Now, these are some elevated glamping pods. They're kind of futuristic. They got a lot of sci-fi type stuff in, a lot of technology, but they got private jacuzzies, they got a dining area, they got a patio that you can sit out there and look down across the hill country. And because it's outside of Austin, far enough, you can literally see a lot of the stars. So it's not like a typical hotel that you want to go to for the weekend. Now, if you want something to get a little more laid back on the other end of the spectrum, go to the Juniper Ranch and retreat at Canyon Lake. Now, again, this is 21 Plus place, and they've got bell tents and vintage airstreams so that if you want a little RV feel to it, you can get that. They got it hammocks, they got hot tubs, and it's near Canyon Lake. It's about 30 minutes to New Bronsol's from there if you decide you need to go into town. And it's um it's a place where you slow down, you know, you can drink your coffee a little bit longer, but the phones don't work so good, and the internet don't work near as good as the phones work. But if you really want some more room to roam, go to the Space Camp Resort. Now, this is a resort out in Hunt, Texas, near Kerrville, so it's a little bit further out, but uh it's a little more West Texas, less crowds, but they got the glamping tents and the cabins, and you have access to the Guadalupe River and a private lake.

Jeff Dziekan 9:19

So if you want to go do a little river rafting, yeah, you can do that.

Mike Marrs 9:25

Um but again, it's a little bit further west, so you've got the cloud. I mean the the skies are a lot clearer because you're away from all the ambient light that's around. So it gets out there if you want to do a little nighttime viewing, it's a great place to go and do that. So you can do all of these things, and you can have a lot of the comfort of being kind of out camping, but but you've also got the comforts of uh air conditioning and heating. They're all in a head.

Don Armstrong 9:50

And if it just so happens that you smell weed wafting through every once in a while because hobs aren't nearby, they'll have to take them 30 minutes to get there.

Jeff Dziekan 9:58

Yeah, you're in a minute.

Mike Marrs 9:59

You gotta back up to the one up, I think it's up at Hunt. That's where you're gonna kind of get in that that secondhand smoke that you gotta watch out for. But anyway, so these play none of these places are very big. So if you want to go to these places or others like them, you need to plan ahead and make your reservations because some of these only have 11, 12 million. Absolutely. I'll give you a map and I'll tell you where to go.

Don Armstrong 10:22

Oh, he's gonna tell you where to go, uh yeah. Well, he's told me that several times this morning. Well, thank you, Mr. Mars. That was entertaining and fun.

SPEAKER_02 10:30

Yep, yep.

unknown 10:31

All right.

2026 Kia Sportage PHEV Review

Don Armstrong 10:36

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. Uh, 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. Um, wide opening rear hatch as well. Uh, 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. 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? 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 13:41

Wow.

Don Armstrong 13:42

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. Uh, this is not a car that's meant for road courses. What could use improvement? Um Kia did not make the battery weig 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 15:27

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

Don Armstrong 15:33

Plug in hybrid a plug-in hybrid. Yeah, I 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 15:46

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

Don Armstrong 15:50

95% Korean. Oh.

Jeff Dziekan 15:52

It's Korean made, it's Korean assembled. So if you drive it and you get out of it, 30 minutes later you want to drive it again.

Don Armstrong 16:01

Did I is that Mars giggling over there?

Jeff Dziekan 16:05

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

Don Armstrong 16:10

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. Giggly.