A Live Road Update From The Hot Rod Tour Of Texas

A 300-car convoy is a moving story, and we catch it while it’s happening. We get Sabre Sparkman and Bobby on the phone as they roll into Blanco, Texas, sharing a real-time update from the Hot Rod Tour of Texas, including the Victoria kickoff night, the symphony at Town Square, and what it takes to get hundreds of cars and 600 plus participants fed, fueled, and back on the road without chaos.

We dig into what makes this tour work: all-new routes through the Texas Hill Country, smart lunch stops like 40 Darks Garage, and the little upgrades that separate a good car event from a great one. You’ll hear how the garage crawl keeps growing, why the kickoff party stays open to the public, and the best part of the whole thing, the community vibe where strangers become instant problem-solvers when a car needs help. Want to follow along from home? They point you to the Hot Rod Tour of Texas Facebook page for live posts, drone clips, and even helicopter footage.

Then we shift into Jeff’s Motor Minute for a fun detour into NASCAR driver real estate, from pirate-themed escapes to trophy-room estates. Finally, Don reviews the 2026 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS, covering styling, dual screens, power and range, pricing, and two big talking points: there’s no start button, and GM drops Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in favor of an in-house system.

Subscribe for more honest car reviews and real car stories, share this with a friend who lives for road trips, and leave a rating or review so more drivers can find us. What’s your non-negotiable on a new car: CarPlay, range, or price?

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Transcript

Show Open And Road Check-In

Don Armstrong 0:05

From the Dual City Studios in Texas, USA, it's the award-winning In Wheel Time Car Talk Show. Just ahead, Sabra Sparkman from the Hot Rod Tour of Texas, and they are on the road. They are rolling. Plus, Jeff's Motor Minute, and I'll review the new 2026 Chevy Blazer EV. Just ahead on this edition of the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show. How along with Mike out of this world, Mars. There he is. We always need more Jeff Zeken. Engineer David Ainsley, who's been on the phone with us for the past hour and a half, trying to make sure that this broadcast gets on, and probably is not. I'm Don Armstrong. Thanks for being with us this morning. Mr. Mars, why don't we just get right to it? I know that uh the Spartans are uh on the air with her. There's Sabra. Good morning, you guys. Uh Bobby's sitting next to her. Bobby. And uh want to make sure that uh you guys can hear us and we can hear you. Where are you exactly right now?

SPEAKER_04 1:01

Um we're pulling into Blanco, Texas right now. Uh just got off the devil's backbone, left from Gateway this morning.

Don Armstrong 1:10

Wonderful, wonderful. Yeah, that's great. Well, uh we're glad that there's there's cell phone service out there and we can hear and see you guys just fine. Uh so what we wanted to do is kind of divide up our interview with you guys uh this morning. And our first uh part of this is we're gonna talk to you guys about what happened on Thursday night because that's when you have the big uh symphony concert down there at uh City Hall and uh the county seat and all of that down at Town Square. How did things go?

SPEAKER_04 1:40

It was great. We had a huge turnout. In fact, I think this is the year that we handed out the most packets on the first night. Wow. I don't think we hardly had any left by the time we got done. Um the symphony, they had a wonderful um performance as usual. They include all the local school districts, I mean schools for Victoria and their performances. And um everybody had a blast, as usual. We missed you guys.

Don Armstrong 2:10

Well, uh, you know, we wanted to do something a little bit different, and this is kind of different for you and us on the hot rod tour. And I just heard uh I guess that was Bobby's uh uh cop car that we just heard.

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Acceleration, word hot pursuit.

Jeff Dziekan 2:26

Uh either that or he's being pulled over one or the other.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

So how we got a few pictures we're gonna scroll while you are while we're talking to you.

Don Armstrong 2:35

Okay, so uh let's uh let's let's talk about how many people are on the tour with you today. About 263, 263.

SPEAKER_04 2:43

We got about 263, 264 people this year.

unknown 2:47

Wow.

Don Armstrong 2:48

You would say people, you're talking about cars?

SPEAKER_04 2:50

That's cars, yeah. That's just drivers and then six hundred and twenty-two. About six hundred and twenty-two uh participants altogether.

Don Armstrong 2:59

Wow, wow, that that that that's that's really I can I can only imagine what the food line would be.

SPEAKER_04 3:09

I will tell you yesterday at the restaurant we went to everybody fed within probably an hour, everybody had a hot meal. Wow.

Don Armstrong 3:18

Yeah, wow, that's fantastic. And where where was that?

SPEAKER_04 3:22

That was at the powerhouse uh grill in Sagine. It's right on the Guadalupe River. It's the power plant.

Jeff Dziekan 3:29

I I need to interject something here. I've been following y'all on Facebook, Bobby. You your folks are doing a great job posting these things and keeping us aware of it. Uh you're you're there, but you're not there by following me on Facebook. And some of the things I'm reminiscing of the places we went to last year and the year before, I'm thinking that's cool, I've been there. But congratulations to y'all on your marketing and getting that out there because it's fantastic to follow y'all. Really is.

Don Armstrong 3:57

And there's gonna be times when then we're not gonna be able to hear them. Yeah, so we're just gonna have to kind of fill in the gaps. Right. There they are. There they are. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Uh on top of the hill.

Don Armstrong 4:14

Yeah. Yes, we did. Yeah, up above the cell phone tower. Yeah. So um, Bobby, I I have to ask, I heard that motor roar just a little bit ago. I obviously you got your foot into it. So are you driving the Edsel cop car?

SPEAKER_01 4:30

Yes, sir. The 59 for uh Edsel Ranger.

Don Armstrong 4:35

If the 59, but it doesn't it, but it doesn't have an EDSL motor in it.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

No, it's everything underneath it other than the body is a 2000 town car. It's on airbag, vintage air conditioning. So we're we're getting a nice cold AC.

Don Armstrong 4:51

Do you do you actually do any work on the car anymore? I mean, once you got the body changed over to the uh Lincoln, uh, I mean, I I've I've never heard you complain, or I mean the thing just keeps running forever.

SPEAKER_01 5:11

This this thing can really just all take it in, take it, take it in, baby them. Y'all y'all know that y'all been on the tour with us. We don't baby them.

Jeff Dziekan 5:19

Yeah.

Don Armstrong 5:20

Yes, I know. Because I've even in the Corvette, I've had uh every once in a while a time to keep up and catch you guys.

Routes Lunch Stops And Logistics

SPEAKER_01 5:28

It's a lot of fun. We really enjoy it.

Don Armstrong 5:30

Yeah, it it truly is. So uh what are the highlights that you got going on today? Now, this is day two of the tour, correct?

SPEAKER_04 5:40

We are headed to 40 darks garage in Spring Brand, the long way. We're going through Cisterdale and Candelia and a couple places, and we're gonna have lunch there, and then we're gonna go um head towards uh Fredericksburg. We're gonna take the Willis City loop and make our way to Archery uh resorts this afternoon to have dinner there.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

Wow, I will send you a sort of I'll send you guys some pictures of the the photo wap we have at the lunchtop. You guys are really good.

Don Armstrong 6:14

Well, thank you for rubbing it in. But yes, uh yes, we already we already do, actually. Um so Thursday night was the big uh concert with the symphony orchestra down there in Victoria, and uh I assume that all of that took off just fine. How was the uh Friday morning send-off from the baseball fields?

SPEAKER_04 6:37

It was perfect. We uh I believe we have some drone footage.

Jeff Dziekan 6:40

You do?

SPEAKER_04 6:42

Everybody showed up and we went to uh we went by several schools. If you hit our Facebook page, I posted pictures of all the kids um one of the schools in Victoria and we made sure they all had Texas flags and they were giving Texas flags.

Jeff Dziekan 7:00

Oh no. Uh oh just to finish up what she was saying, I did see that video. The kids are out there, the the whole school is emptied out on and they had a path. They were the the hot rods were just uh wonderful to go through there. A couple of them were revving their motors, the kids are all excited and getting uh getting all high fives and getting excited about that. So they did a great job.

Don Armstrong 7:19

So uh I guess my question now is is it it's not the same path though up through the hill country that you guys have gone before? All new routes.

SPEAKER_04 7:27

No, it's an all-new route. We've never taken this route before.

Don Armstrong 7:31

This more you went through some other little towns with all the kids uh out there in the playground uh waving as you guys go by.

SPEAKER_04 7:39

Yes, yes. That whole uh Yorktown we went through, all the the whole school district was out as we drove by.

SPEAKER_01 7:46

And our more our morning drive this morning is about 225 miles, just a morning drive. Wow.

Don Armstrong 7:54

And that's to that's to get to the lunch stop. Yes, yeah, and what are you guys having for lunch today?

SPEAKER_01 8:02

We're having uh beef and chicken fajitas catered in by a caterer we brought in from San Antonio, Texas. Wow, that's great.

Don Armstrong 8:09

Look at you guys go. Yeah. Talk about stepping it up. You know, uh, we were on the very first tour with you guys, and uh we connected, and uh, I remember that there was a bar that got overwhelmed on the first night on third on Thursday night. Uh the poor folks over there, and they actually they did quite a uh quite a job getting everybody uh all fixed up and you got all the bags handed out. And uh it was it was a fun time, but things have really progressed in the past few years.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

The garage crawl, too. Uh, this is our second year to do the garage crawl on Thursday before the kickoff party was fantastic. Uh all the shops, we had five different shops, uh, from drag racers to IMSA racers to uh basically my dino guy. So a big variety of stuff. They open our doors to the anybody can come, even if you weren't part of the tour. The Thursday kickoff party, it's it's open to the public, it's completely free. You don't have to be part of the tour to be.

Don Armstrong 9:14

Yeah. So obviously, you know, cell phone service up in the hill country is kind of sketchy, especially if you're on the move. Um, I I hear them trying to get back in. So there they are. There they are. Okay, so you guys are back. Sorry about that. No, no, it's okay. No need to apologize. Well, uh, I was just gonna say that uh with the advancement of the hot rod tour, it sounds like uh you guys have uh learned a few things from past events and improved on those, and you know how important it is uh to have some different venues along the way. It sounds like a ton of fun. Uh, you know, um I know that I thoroughly enjoyed it and I had no idea what to expect. You know, the first hot rod tour. I I can tell you that uh I got there to that uh that great outdoor patio bar that we all met up the first time and uh people aircraft. Yep, and yeah, and and the uh the guys uh from the uh the diesel guys from Dallas, um smoke uh the smoky whatever it is.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Black smoke garage guys with cartridge, Texas.

Don Armstrong 10:24

That's it. We got a bunch of them with us.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Jonas Patrice did make it, but the rest of them are all we got a handful of them with the steel.

SPEAKER_04 10:30

So were you there the year that we had the 18 wheelers that followed us for a while too?

Don Armstrong 10:35

No, well, if I was there, but I don't know if I remember them following you guys, but how fun would that be? I would have liked to have gotten into that uh that that follow-up.

SPEAKER_03 10:45

They went to the drag strip.

SPEAKER_04 10:46

Yeah, they went to the drag strip with us, and they went to the place in dripping springs that we did. They they were with us for about half a day that day.

Don Armstrong 10:54

How fun. How many 18 wheelers were there?

Jeff Dziekan 10:58

It was oh no.

Don Armstrong 11:02

Six of them or so. Anyway, uh you know, these are some of the things that uh surprises that you get along uh with on the on on the hot rod tour. It's it's uh it's it's a fun, fun event that uh that pretty much anybody is invited to go. There's just a limited number of slots, right? And I think it's 300 or so. Right. Am I right with the 300 slots?

SPEAKER_04 11:27

We did 350, but he was selling slots on Thursday night, people wanting passenger tickets, and he was selling them that night at the at the uh kickoff party.

Don Armstrong 11:37

Yeah, we know there's the other the other the other the other fun thing about it is the fact that you know everybody is welcome. It's not something if you've got an 80 cutlass, yeah, it it doesn't make any difference.

Jeff Dziekan 11:50

Whatever it is that we took Kathy's uh Lexus or 2013 Lexus a couple years ago.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Yes, Bob. We're branching out this year. When we leave the the lunch stop, we've got a helicopter following us all the way to Fredericksburg. You're gonna do a bunch of video footage for us by helicopter.

Don Armstrong 12:05

Well, I'm glad it's somebody else and not me. No, I'm not on call this weekend, and I'm glad that I'm glad to report that. So that's a good thing. What kind of helicopter do you even know?

SPEAKER_01 12:16

I'm not sure what it is. It's a second one that he's picked it up. A real good friend of ours. Yeah.

Don Armstrong 12:21

Well, he's crazy, I can tell you that. Whoops. We lost her. We lost her.

Jeff Dziekan 12:28

Yeah, they came to bounce.

Don Armstrong 12:30

You talk about helicopters and things just go south. Exactly. I know that they're trying to get my talk to us. There you go. There we I think we got you all. No. But uh any at any rate, uh, that ought to be fun with the helicopter shot.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

Yes, and we've had a we've had a bunch of uh bunch of drone footage as well. So we'll have a lot of footage on the website on the Facebook page. So keep an eye on the Facebook page for live updates and real real time postings and lots of big things.

Don Armstrong 13:03

What is it? What is it? Is it hot rod touroftexas.com? No, Facebook.

SPEAKER_01 13:08

Yeah, the Facebook's just Facebook's real simple. Just search for Hot Rod Tour of Texas.

SPEAKER_04 13:12

But uh we're we try to keep stuff on our actual website too, but you're gonna find it on the Facebook page first.

Jeff Dziekan 13:21

Lots of saying earlier. I was saying earlier that you can actually follow the tour without being there. I was I was commending Bobby on all the posts that he had. It was you were like you were there. He didn't do anything. He that that's Sabra did. I'm driving.

SPEAKER_04 13:36

Yes, yes, it's me.

Jeff Dziekan 13:38

Well, you're fantastic because you can follow it. You don't even have to be there, you're just you're there with spirit just by watching. So, where is your is your partner back there behind you guys or what?

SPEAKER_04 13:48

Actually, he's in front of us.

Don Armstrong 13:50

Jeremy.

SPEAKER_04 13:51

Yes, the lead man. He's always in the front. We always see the rear end of his truck.

Don Armstrong 13:56

That's great. Yeah, well, uh we're doing it.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

We're doing a navigation uh via uh radios for the rest of the group, so we kind of got a scattered out throughout the I think 12 miles long total.

Jeff Dziekan 14:12

So was there hasn't been a lot of attrition with any of the hot rods, has there?

Don Armstrong 14:17

We're we're 90 percent repeat repeat customers, so yeah, 90 percent of the of the of the group that normally goes. Um it's a great bunch of people, and uh I I the one thing that comes to my mind is we were out in the middle of nowhere. And here, you know, 300 cars all in a row, and we all decided no, somebody up front decided that they needed to take a leak. Yeah, and they pulled they pulled in into a little one-woman shop, convenience store, and there was no no there was no gas. It was just uh the fact that it was a one food items, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:55

And and the first year we did it, yeah.

Don Armstrong 15:01

I was overwhelmed, but I asked her, I said, is there something that I can do to help? Yes. Uh you want to take the money? I said, No, no, I don't want to take the money, but I'll be more than happy to help you in any way that I can. And that's the whole spirit of the hot rod tour, is uh everybody helps each other.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

She was more interested in going outside and looking at the cars than she was taking money.

Jeff Dziekan 15:20

So is she a usual stop now? Is she on the she on the schedule for stops now?

SPEAKER_04 15:25

No, we haven't been that way. Maybe that'll be a uh thing we need to revisit.

Don Armstrong 15:30

And there was a guy that had a Corvette convertible, and it looked like it was gonna rain, and the top got stuck down, and everybody came to help. And I guess that they finally got the thing to work. That's a good thing when you got a bunch of uh you know shea tree mechanics all in a row out there.

SPEAKER_01 15:45

Yeah.

Don Armstrong 15:46

Well, listen, it's great to talk to you.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

A lot of VA Corvette convertibles. Nice.

Don Armstrong 15:54

It's great to talk to you guys, and we thank you very much for taking the time out to talk to us. And let's talk again in another hour, okay?

SPEAKER_03 16:02

Sounds changed.

Break Show Info And Sponsors

Don Armstrong 16:04

Okay, y'all. Good luck to you, and we'll talk to you then. Very nice. All right, just ahead. Jeff's Motor Minute and a review of the new Chevy Blazer EV. 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 Lupi 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. He's 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. 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 the 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 actually Your car is a direct reflection of you, so don't be satisfied with color fader. Marshall, that was supposed to be for the bottom of the hour, so we don't know what's going on over there. There he is.

SPEAKER_01 19:09

Fat fingers.

Don Armstrong 19:11

Yeah? Well, you need to kick those fingers away from all those buttons you got control of over there.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

I see.

NASCAR Driver Mansions And Money

Don Armstrong 19:21

Well, I think that you also still have uh Sabra and them uh through your computer over there, so I just wanted to bring that up. Hey, we invite you to join us uh for the live version of the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show every Saturday at our regular time, 10 to noon central on inwheeltime.com, YouTube, and Facebook. And don't forget 30 minute podcasts of our shows can be found at your favorite podcast store. And we hope that you will join us. Time now for Jeff's Motor Minute.

Jeff Dziekan 19:46

All righty. Uh you got this mark? You want me to do it? Yeah, go ahead. Just go ahead. I'll let you do the intro and I'll pop it. Okay, so from rookie contracts to racing wealth, these are the uh homes of some of the NASCAR drivers that we all know, and not necessarily your current. So, what happens when speed, fame, and and big wins turn into real estate real world? Well, for NASCAR's biggest star, success doesn't just stay on the track, it shows up in the homes they build. From a quiet lakeside retreat to jaw-dropping mansions. So here we go. The first one on the block is uh Kevin Harvick's$3.5 million European castle. It's a 12,000 square foot Oak Ridge mansion. It looks more like a your European fortress rather than a uh race car driver's pad. 2014 uh NASCAR champion. He listed the five-bedroom home featuring a garden for$3.5 million. It's a fitting residence for a man with$121 national series wins, ranking him third all time in NASCAR history. I like it, but I don't like the big hill there. I would probably trip and roll down it. The next one we have is Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s uh$3.7 million Pirate Paradise. Uh Earnhardt, his love for history in the Key West, built his pirate home. 3,300 square foot nautical escape features rope-wrapped columns, ship wheels, and even a secret hatch. Don't know where it goes. 26 time cup winner listed a five-bedroom home for again for$3.7 million, showcasing a renovation hobby he once shared on the do uh on the DIY network. So he was actually doing remodels to it and uh put it on TV. The next person we have this is a retired driver, Kurt Bush's uh Trophy Room Palace. Uh located in Mooresville, uh which is North Carolina. Uh Kurt Bush's former uh 9,500 square foot estate was built to house a legacy. The inaugural the inaugural Chase for the Cup Champion designed the office specifically for thirty-four trophies. Uh boasting uh five and a half bathrooms, uh garage large enough for a custom nineteen sixty four Volkswagen Beetle. Home recently hit the market for nearly four million bucks. So there you go. If you got an extra four million, you can buy it. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Equestrian estate. This home is a massive 9,986 square foot property, previously owned by NASCAR legend Ernie Irvin and Joe Nimachek. I don't think they owned it together separately. Valued at$16 million. The estate features an 18-stall horse barn, three-acre pond, and a putting green. The Daytona 500 residence often uh offers a spa and a cabana for the ultimate post-race relaxation. Jeff Gordon, who knows him? This is the Manhattan condo guy.

Don Armstrong 22:29

In your tiny little speedo.

Jeff Dziekan 22:31

There you go. Four-time champion uh Jeff Gordon trademarked for uh the track for Central Park views with its$30 million residence. Now bear in mind it's an apartment or condo, I should say, featuring Brazilian cherry floors and an Italian ceramic kitchen.

Don Armstrong 22:45

Brazilian. I knew we would get that word in there sooner or later.

Jeff Dziekan 22:51

3,454 square feet uh home tripled in value since Gordon's 2007 purchase. NASCAR Hall of Famer sold the electric unit just two months before finishing it. He provided speed translates to real estate, is what he's talking about. So he real estate. Real estate. Not real estate, I guess. Uh-huh. An estate for the real. Tony Stewart's$30 million Indiana Lounge or Lodge. This is pretty cool. Uh known as Smoke, that's his moniker. Uh owns this most expensive residence, a$30 million rustic large spanning over 19,000 square feet, 415 acres. The home features an 8,700 gallon freshwater aquarium and an indoor trout stream. Oh boy, get out of bed and drop a line.

Don Armstrong 23:37

Drop something. Drop. I was going to say trout, but I guess that'd be kind of trout.

Jeff Dziekan 23:42

Go trolling the night before. Built in the Northern Rockies Lodge Pole Pine. Extreme luxury. The last one we have, this guy is known as the Kid, Mark Martin. It's the million-dollar Chef Haven, known as the Kid. He said another square foot sanctuary on Lake Norman, the 40-time NASCAR champ winner. Uh enjoy Professional Chef's Kitchen, a private pavement, a pavement dock for Lake Access.$2.55 million. It remains a testament to his storied Roush racing career. And of course, he made a lot of money with uh when Viagra was his sponsor. Are you serious? He was winning races by inches. Oh my god. And uh and I got it.

Don Armstrong 24:27

There was a joke in there. I just now getting it. Sorry.

2026 Chevy Blazer EV SS

Jeff Dziekan 24:30

But there you go. So if you got a lot of money and you're a race car driver, and I know there's a lot of folks out there that are trying to be a uh uh that level, keep trying. I mean you gotta start somewhere, and and there's a lot of folks out there that know what they're doing.

Don Armstrong 24:41

Time now for this hour's car review. Had a chance to drive the 2026 Chevrolet Blazer EV. Comes in these trim levels: the LT, the RS, and the SS. I had the SS. Now, this is considered by the government as a small SUV. We would like to call it really a medium size. Uh ours was Habanero Orange. Seats 5 folks, including the driver, all new for 2024. Sharp and unique EV styling ranks high on our looking glass meter. Unique gills behind the front wheel well. Uh driver's side in particular opens for a charge port over there. Good-looking 22-inch wheels, not ugly EV wheels, great-looking rear hatch area, Chevy unique. And what I liked, the overall design kills it. We could use improvement. The power sunroof is a$1,500 option. It's not for Houston sunshine in the summertime. That my opinion. There's no stop button. You get it in, sit down, uh, put your foot on the brake, and it's it turns on. Wow. Uh-huh. You want to get out? All you gotta do is just put the car in park and get out, and it shuts off.

unknown 26:08

Wow.

Don Armstrong 26:08

There's no button. Very different. It's kind of unsettling at first. Anyway, uh seating materials are cool. Three round vents on the dash for AC. Uh layered dual screens are awesome. 17-inch center screen. Uh cargo room, adequate for a vehicle. Its size. What I liked, the overall interior design is awesome. What could use improvement? There is no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto available on this vehicle. It's a thing that General Motors is doing across the board that they're going to do away with all of that and bring it in-house with the OnStar built in. And so they want your money that you would normally pay for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. They want to be in charge of everything on the no button. Engine, 120, uh, I'm sorry, 102 kilowatt per hour battery. Uh, it's got dual motors on it, it's all wheel drive. Uh, relative speaking, it's uh 615 horsepower, 600 650 pound feet of torque. No transmission, it's a direct drive electric motor. Uh range, it says 302 miles. Well, um, I got uh 2.6 miles per kilowatt hour, which uh related to about a 443.5 miles. Anyway, what I liked about it, um it's for a plug-in. I mean, it's it's okay. I plugged it in at home and I plugged it in at work. And so if you want to call it free electricity, as you know, there's no nothing free anymore. Riding handling, uh, it's smooth despite its heavy battery pack. What could use improvement? Nothing, I suppose. Here's the price. Uh base trim,$60,600. Price assessed$63,985. The base model price, not the SS now, uh, is$44,700. Competitors, Hyundai Ionic 5 starts at$35,000. Cadillac Lyric,$59,200, which I think would be its twin sister on the Cadillac brand. And then the Mustang Mach E starts at$37,795. Next week I get to review the Kia K4.

Jeff Dziekan 28:27

You I want to back up. You talked about the no start button. Do you think maybe there's a uh sensor in the seat, like the weight would maybe activate you the computer.

Don Armstrong 28:37

You have to have the key fob on you, and then you sit down in it. So there's probably some kind of sensor, maybe? Absolutely. Okay. Because uh I think all cars are that way. You can't start it without somebody having their butt in the seat and the foot on the brake.

Jeff Dziekan 28:50

You just can't lean in and because you gotta put your foot on the brake and all that.

unknown 28:53

Yeah, correct.

Don Armstrong 28:55

Like the good old days.

Jeff Dziekan 28:57

Hot water car with one hand.

Email Break And Closing

Don Armstrong 28:59

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