In Wheel Time Podcast

A mouse doesn’t need much time to turn a “stored safely” car into a repair nightmare, and the bill can be shocking. We sit down with Ken Huening, a lifelong car guy, to unpack how rodents get into parked vehicles, why they chew wiring and nearby materials, and why the usual garage tricks like soap bars, mothballs, dryer sheets, sprays, and pepper tape often fail when it matters most. His breaking point came after multiple invasions, including damage that hit about $25,000 on one car, and it pushed him to build something that works as a true physical barrier. 

That “reasonable” monthly car payment can hide a brutal truth: the loan structure matters more than the sticker price once interest rates spike. We sit down with Chip Lupo from WalletHub to talk about what today’s auto loan interest rates mean for real drivers, including why borrowers with marginal credit get hit the hardest and why a fixed car note can feel even worse than fluctuating prices at the pump or the grocery store.

We use Texas as a real-world snapshot, where the average car loan rate can run shockingly high, then zoom out to the choice...

A bright yellow 1939 truck named Tweety Bird rolls into the Back to the Past car show and instantly proves a point we love: classics aren’t meant to be “look but don’t touch.” We sit down with Debbie Millar and Andrew Millar to hear how this vintage truck went from dream purchase to true daily driver, handling everything from errands to multi-state road trips without a trailer and without the fear that keeps so many classics stuck in the garage.

We talk about what makes an old truck actually usable today, including comfort features, smart safety choices...

A car show trophy looks simple on the table, but the decision behind it can be brutally complicated. We’re out at the Back to the Past car show talking with Ed Thurien, part of the judging crew and a lifelong car guy who has restored more than 50 vehicles. He walks us through what judges actually look for up close, how judging criteria changes from show to show, and why a fair comparison sometimes comes down to one thing: quality of build, from paint and body fit to interior details and overall execution.

Then the conversation takes a...

A $10,700 car parked in 1922 next to a $319 Ford tells you everything about who it was built for, and today we’re standing beside that kind of rolling history. At the Back to the Past car show in Houston, we talk with Bob about his newly purchased 1922 Brewster Town Brougham, a coachbuilt luxury car from New York City that once catered to the ultra wealthy and is now rare enough that only about two dozen are believed to survive. 

We dig into what made Brewster special, from its roots as an elite coach builder to its relationship with Rol...

A Houston car show can feel like a parking lot full of chrome, until you hear the stories behind the cars and the community that gathers around them. We’re broadcasting from the Back To The Past car show at Cornerstone Academy in Spring Branch, where the SBISD Alumni Association turns a beautiful day into real support for local history, local schools, and the museum they operate on site. Between the rows of classics, muscle cars, and truly rare builds, you can feel how nostalgia becomes a living thing when people show up and share it together.

We...

A 4,200-pound Dodge Demon shouldn’t be flirting with 180+ mph seven-second passes, but that’s exactly where Chris Bailey takes the conversation. We head northwest of Fort Worth to learn what Bailey’s Hyperformance Services actually does day to day, how a drag racing upbringing shaped his approach, and why late-model Mopar performance has become its own high-tech world of fuel injection, data, and repeatable combinations.

We talk through the shop’s bread and butter builds for street-driven Dodge Challenger and Charger platforms, plus Durangos, Jeeps, and TRXs that need real-world reliability with real power. Chris also breaks d...

A closed high school doesn’t have to mean a closed book. We sit down with Frank Clam, president of the Spring Branch Alumni Foundation, to trace how a rescue mission for Spring Branch High School memorabilia turned into a living Spring Branch ISD museum inside the old library at Cornerstone Academy. With Houston growing outward and neighborhoods changing fast, we dig into why preserving school district history matters and how stories can disappear when the original buildings and the people who remember them start to fade. 

We get specific about what you can actually see and do...

A great car show is more than chrome and trophies, it’s a well-run day that makes you feel welcome and leaves your town better than it found it. We head to Friendswood with AJ Loupe from the Space City Corvette Club to talk about Good Grub and Gears, a Houston-area charity car show that’s open to all makes and models, packed with vendors and food, and set in the shade and walkways of Stevenson Park.

We also go deeper than the flyer. AJ explains how the club grew to hundreds of members, why their mission is w...

Your next great fall drive might be closer than you think. We’re scanning the calendar and calling out the most tempting October weekend destinations across Texas, plus a couple of easy hops into Lake Charles, so you can point the car toward something fun instead of staring at another “what should we do” group text.

We start with early October favorites and smart day-trip picks, including Fredericksburg Oktoberfest, Round Top’s Wine and Whiskey Weekend, and Eastland’s Ripfest, where a Texas legend shares the weekend with an annual car show. If you like mixing travel with a bit...

Your car key has been the same basic idea for decades, and then suddenly it isn’t. We sit down with Ian Televik, Senior Marketing Director at the Car Connectivity Consortium (CCC), to unpack the fast-moving shift toward connected cars and digital car keys and what it means for everyday drivers who just want things to work.

We break down what a connected car really is: a vehicle that can communicate wirelessly with other cars, smartphones, wearables, EV chargers, and more. From there, we get specific about CCC’s role as a global standards body bringing together auto...

The first cool front can’t get here fast enough and we’re already planning the drives. We’re putting together a list of Southeast Texas weekend road trips that feel like a real getaway without draining your wallet at the pump, including festivals, fairs, and car events that give you a reason to point the hood toward somewhere new.

We start with classic Texas fall energy: the Texas Rice Festival in Winnie, the Austin County Fair and Rodeo in Belleville, and the Katy Rice Harvest Festival in historic downtown Katy. Expect practical details you can actually use, l...

A single photo can hit harder than a trophy list, and that’s the heart of our conversation with motorsports author George Levy. George joins us to talk about Motorsports Mavericks, a big, beautiful coffee table book built from the late Pete Biro’s astonishing body of work. Pete didn’t just shoot “cars on track.” He captured the humor, the danger, the exhaustion, and the moments you only get when you’re allowed far closer than today’s rules would ever permit.

We dig into what it takes to curate a lifetime archive, including the reality that Biro left...

400 cars in the middle of downtown. Streets closed to traffic. A Friday night cruise-in that feels like a rolling reunion. Then Saturday brings judging, awards, and a Veterans March that puts the mission front and center. We sit down with Bill Szelag and Neil Jones from the Bastrop Area Cruisers to get the real story behind Heroes and Hot Rods, one of the biggest car show weekends around Bastrop, Texas.

We get personal first, because every car story starts somewhere. Neil traces his love of hot rods and classics back to his grandfather’s collection and the ca...

Pontiacs are getting rarer, brand-specific car clubs are under pressure, and yet one Houston-area group is doing the opposite of shrinking. We sit down with Karl Wick from the American Pontiac Association to unpack how a nonprofit Pontiac club founded in 1982 rebuilt momentum after COVID, doubled membership in just a few years, and kept its identity without shutting the door on enthusiasts who do not currently own a Pontiac. If you care about the future of car culture, this conversation is a playbook on consistency, welcoming energy, and showing up in public with purpose. 

We also get s...

A car can be ahead of its time and still get remembered for the loudest headline. That’s exactly why we brought on Greg “Riley” Riley, Corvair author, lifelong enthusiast, and engine builder, to walk with us through what the Chevrolet Corvair actually was and what really happened to its reputation.

We start with the 1950s roots of the project under GM engineering legend Ed Cole and why Chevrolet aimed the Corvair directly at Volkswagen. Then we follow the market twist that turned a plain economy idea into the sporty Monza phenomenon, plus the sales numbers that don’t...

Texas doesn’t always cool off when the sun goes down, so if you’re staring at the same four walls and thinking there’s “nothing to do,” we’ve got a better plan: point the car toward a drive-in movie and let the night do the rest. We talk about why drive-in theaters still feel special, from the simple fun of loading up a car with friends to that moment when the sky gets dark and the first feature finally starts. 

We put five Texas drive-in theaters on our road trip list, starting with the Galaxy Drive-In in E...

A single week on the calendar can hold the whole arc of car culture: obsession, innovation, shortcuts, and consequences. We start in 1948 with what sounds like a normal used-car buy, when Al Moss picks up an MG TC in Southern California. That small British sports car lights a fuse. Racing, driving around Los Angeles, and frustration with weak dealer support eventually push Moss to open his own shop, which grows into Moss Motors, one of the best-known sources for MG and British sports car parts in America.

Then we jump to speed and controversy at Talladega. The...

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282 mph sounds like a headline until you hear what it feels like from inside the cockpit. We sit down with NHRA icon Angelle Sampey, a three-time Pro Stock Motorcycle world champion, to trace the path from a six-year-old on a Suzuki dirt bike to a driver chasing the next mountain: Top Fuel. Along the way, she explains why one moment at an NHRA race can erase every other plan and how a racing dream can coexist with a serious career off the track as a registered nurse.

Angelle breaks down what a Pro Stock Motorcycle really is...

A used car can be “clean” on the outside and still be expensive on the inside. We sit down with Patrick Olsen, editor-in-chief at Carfax, to talk about what a Carfax report really does for buyers and sellers, how “show me the Carfax” became part of the culture, and why VIN-based history changed the way people negotiate, price, and trust a deal.

We get practical about the stuff shoppers worry about: what counts as a real service record, why some maintenance never shows up, and how independent repair shops and owners can add documentation. Patrick also breaks down Car...

A Dakar-designed Ford Raptor T1 showing up on American dirt isn’t just a cool headline, it’s a real test of two racing worlds colliding. We talk with Matt Martelli, CEO of Unlimited Off-Road Racing, about why Ford chose the Reno to Vegas run for the Raptor T1’s American debut and what makes this 550-mile, mostly graded-road course different from punishing US staples like Baja or the Mint 400. If you’ve ever wondered what “rally raid” actually means, this breakdown makes the differences crystal clear.

We also get into the wild engineering gap between restricted race formats...

Electric cars finishing first and second in America’s first auto race sounds like a headline from 2026, not 1896. We kick things off with a fast run through automotive history that’s packed with proof points: Peugeot showing early gasoline reliability with a 1,271-mile endurance run, a Rhode Island horse track hosting the first US auto race in front of a huge crowd, and Volkswagen returning to German control after WWII. We even hit a sobering milestone from 1897: the first recorded DUI arrest after a cab crashed into a building. 

From there, we take a detour into real-world nosta...

Adventure vehicles are one of the most misunderstood corners of the car market, because most of us buy them for the trips we imagine, not the ones we actually take. We sit down with John Vincent from U.S. News and World Report to unpack the 2026 Best Adventure Vehicle Awards and the real criteria behind the picks, from approach and departure angles to the stuff that makes a vehicle easy to live with on a random Tuesday. 

We move through the off-road SUV winners across multiple size classes, including the Ford Bronco Sport, Jeep Wrangler, Ford Bronco, a...

A timber-frame “cathedral” packed with Mopar muscle cars and vintage neon sounds like a dream, but it’s real and it’s sitting just outside Brookshire, Texas. We sit down with John Hovis, the creator of the Hemi Hideout, to hear how a lifelong love of late-60s and early-70s Dodge and Plymouth performance turned into a 21,700 square foot car culture landmark that stops visitors in their tracks. 

We talk details that true gearheads care about: why he chased the 1968 to 1971 sweet spot, what it means to build a themed collection heavy on 440 Six Pack and Hemi lege...

A $700,000 Audi supercar with three electric motors should sound like a clean break from the past. Instead, the headline is the part Audi refuses to delete: a big, loud V8 sitting at the center of the Nuvolari’s nearly 1,000-horsepower hybrid setup. We talk through what that says about the luxury performance market, why “all-electric” still isn’t the default at the very top, and how hybrids are increasingly being used to add torque and smoothness without sacrificing the thrill that enthusiasts pay for.

From there we shift to the practical side of hybrid cars, because the tech isn...

6,300 miles in about 11 days sounds unrealistic until you meet Andy and Mercedes Lillienthal, the kind of rally couple who treats the map like a promise. They’re heading back to the Alcan 5000, one of the most iconic endurance road rallies in North America, and the goal is not raw speed. It’s precision: a time-speed-distance rally where you chase a master schedule, hit invisible checkpoints on time, and adapt when real life shows up in the lane next to you. 

We talk through what makes this year’s Alcan 5000 so intense, including long stretches of dirt and gravel...

A castle with a drawbridge and moat sits just outside the Houston area, and that is only the start of our Saturday lineup. We share a set of easy driving destinations that make a full day feel bigger than the miles, including Belleville’s Newman’s Castle, the living-history feel of San Felipe de Austin, and the water-and-wildlife mix you get near the Trinity River at Fort Anahuac. If you have been searching for near-Houston day trips, Texas history sites, or simple weekend road trips that do not burn the whole day in traffic, these stops are built for real...

A steering spindle installed wrong. Shock reservoirs that can detach. A rear spoiler that can fall off at speed. We start with the kind of recall roundup that makes you double-check your own VIN, then we swing hard into pure car-nerd fun: guessing what vehicles actually sold for on Hemmings online auctions and arguing about whether the prices make any sense in today’s market. 

The auction game takes us from a 1969 Chevy Camaro pace car replica to a clean 1965 Mustang convertible, then into a surprising low-mile 1999 Mustang GT 35th Anniversary convertible that sells for way less tha...

An 80s and 90s “dream garage” hits different when it’s built for the era you actually grew up in. We sit down with Denny Moody, owner and curator of the Ultimate 80s Garage in Fulshear, Texas, to talk about what it takes to create a space that feels like a time capsule: the cars, the memorabilia, and the little details that instantly spark stories. His point is simple but powerful: nostalgia is fun, but community is the real payoff when you open the garage doors and invite people in. 

We also get into Retrofest West, Denny’s annual...

A movie trailer is one thing, but a movie promotion inside your car’s dashboard hits differently. We react to BMW’s Spider-Man screen takeover and the owner backlash, then zoom out to the real question every driver is about to face: as connected cars become software platforms, who controls the cabin, and how much marketing will we be asked to tolerate after we’ve already paid for the vehicle?

From there, we dig into the next wave of automotive technology, including AI assistants in cars. GM is rolling out Google Gemini, Volkswagen is bringing ChatGPT into voice...

One minute you’re laughing at our auction guesses, and the next you’re doing a double-take because a V12 Aston Martin sold for less than you’d expect from a “dream car” badge. 

We kick things off with fast, useful recall talk that hits the stuff drivers care about most: visibility, signals, and safety systems. If you own a Tesla Model 3 or Model Y, a Rivian R1S or R1T, or you pay attention to Toyota reliability headlines, you’ll want to hear what’s on the list and why it matters.

Then we jump into ou...

A car can fail in the market and still become unforgettable, and a “weird” idea can quietly invent the future. We start with a fast tour through automotive history that connects more dots than you’d expect: the 1979 AMC Eagle as an early crossover and all-wheel drive concept, Yellow Cab’s origins in Chicago and how that taxi story eventually links to Hertz, the 1959 Mini’s small-car genius, the Ford Edsel’s infamous launch, and the founding of Toyota Motor Company, complete with the naming decision that leaned on luck and branding. 

Then we switch from past to present wi...

Your insurance bill can jump overnight, and it’s not always because you did anything different. We sit down with Chip Lupo from WalletHub to unpack what’s behind today’s rising car insurance and homeowners insurance rates and what you can actually do to lower your premium without cutting the wrong corners.

We get specific about the moves that matter: when bundling home and auto insurance really saves money, why you still need to compare coverage line by line, and how shopping at least three quotes keeps you from overpaying out of habit. We also dig into t...

Rodney Rodriguez isn’t just talking about racing today, he’s about to go do it. We catch up with the Dirty Air host and longtime circle track voice as he heads to Edna, Texas to climb into a steel-bodied Nova for a special night at Texana Raceway Park. Between the heat, the pressure of driving a proven winner, and the challenge of running on dirt with limited seat time, it’s a perfect snapshot of what grassroots motorsports really feels like.

From there, we get into the details that only racers and track folks obsess over: why di...

A cracked wheel, a questionable seat belt anchor, and a high voltage battery risk are not the kind of surprises any driver wants, so we open with the latest vehicle recalls and talk through what they mean in plain language for real owners. If you track EV trucks like the Silverado EV and Sierra EV or you just want to stay ahead of safety issues, this recall roundup is a quick way to know what to watch for and what questions to ask your dealer or service department. 

Then we shift gears into one of our favorite p...

Chevrolet in China went from unstoppable to almost invisible, and that single data point opens a much bigger question: how quickly can a global market rewrite the rules for an American brand? We dig into the stunning sales drop that has Chevy reportedly ending sales there after two decades, what GM’s next move signals, and why EV demand and local competition can turn “iconic” into “irrelevant” in a hurry.

Before the headlines, we get real about the stuff that actually happens on the road and in the studio. There’s the modern curse of updates and glitches, bu...

Summer can disappear overnight when school starts, but we’re not letting that happen without a fight. We kick things off with “Marrs Driving Destinations” and lay out practical, family-friendly day trips around the Houston metro that still feel like a real getaway. Think Armand Bayou Nature Center in Pasadena for trails and wildlife, Space Center Houston in Clear Lake for interactive exhibits and tram tours, the Baytown wetlands for a geo-tour style adventure, plus Lake Conroe for boating even if you don’t own a boat, and Columbus, Texas for a small-town day that doesn’t turn into an all-day...

The fastest way to spark a car argument is to ask one simple question: which feature would you delete forever. We start with the everyday stuff that actually changes ownership costs and stress, like fuel economy habits, using cruise control as a “steady throttle,” and how adaptive cruise can quietly help you avoid the constant speed swings that burn gas. From there, we get into the modern tech that drivers love to hate, including hard to read steering wheel controls, lane keeping assist that feels intrusive, and start stop systems that make you hit the same button every single time...

A car ad says $299 a month, the salesperson says “trust me,” and somehow you’re staring at a payment that makes no sense. We bring in Dom Genova, a former Chrysler factory rep who built his own dealership by refusing to play the usual sales games, to explain what really happens between the headline number and the contract you sign.

Dom lays out a simple idea that feels almost radical in the modern showroom: “real price and real payment.” We talk through why so many buyers hate buying cars, how fine print can quietly change the meaning of an offe...