Gearheads Rejoice: Rare Cars, Raptors and Secret Spots

Beyond the highways and byways lies a world of hidden automotive treasures most people never discover. Our journey begins in Houston, uncovering six remarkable destinations that fly under most visitors' radars.

We explore the Sam Houston Boat Tour, offering free 90-minute cruises that reveal the bustling Port of Houston from a completely different perspective. Then we venture into Buffalo Bayou Park, a surprising 160-acre natural oasis nestled right in downtown Houston, complete with walking trails and family-friendly activities. For automotive enthusiasts, we uncover the Art Car Museum (affectionately called "Garage Mahal"), showcasing vehicles transformed into rolling works of art. Just outside the city, we visit the impressive Hemi Hideout, housing an extraordinary collection of restored Mopars and Americana in a 21,000-square-foot facility that's an attraction all its own. Racing fans will appreciate our discovery of the Houston Motorsports Museum, preserving Texas racing heritage with collections ranging from IndyCars to NASCAR machines. We round out our Houston exploration with the Lone Star Flight Museum, which surprisingly includes significant automotive elements like World War II Jeeps and military vehicles.

The conversation shifts to "banned, crushed, and forgotten muscle" – those legendary cars that never quite made it to glory. From the ultra-rare 1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL1 (only two ever built) to Ford's answer to the Dodge Charger Daytona – the 1971 Ford Torino King Cobra – we examine six fascinating vehicles that represent automotive history's road not taken. These cars, often too expensive, too radical, or victims of changing regulations, offer a glimpse into what might have been.

We conclude with a comprehensive review of the completely redesigned 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor. This midsize pickup delivers impressive off-road capabilities with Fox shocks, increased wheel travel, and a powerful 3.0-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost engine generating 405 horsepower. Starting at $57,065 for the Raptor version, we examine how it stacks up against competitors like the Toyota Tacoma TRD and Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison. Whether you're planning your next

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 - 12noonCT 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 Car Talk, email us at

info@inwheeltime.com

Tags: In Wheel Time, automotive car talk show, car talk, Live car talk show, In Wheel Time Car Talk

Chapters

• 0:00 Hidden Houston Destinations
• 3:27 Banned and Forgotten Muscle Cars
• 8:53 2024 Ford Ranger Raptor Review

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Mr Mars has a new feature. We're going to start today driving destinations, mr.

Speaker 2: 0:07

Mars and I started out with Houston. I mean, it's local and it's a good place to start on a memorial weekend. Hidden Houston. Now, one of the things I found was the Sam Houston Boat Tour. Now this offers a free opportunity for families to explore one of the busiest ports in the United States. Now this is a 90-minute cruise. Takes passengers along the Houston Ship Channel aboard a 95-foot boat. It's air-conditioned. You get close-up views to what's going on in the Port of Houston Completely different view than looking at it over the bridge and going across it. But you need to make advance reservations because this is a really popular thing to do in Houston.

Speaker 2: 0:46

Buffalo Bayou Park. What caught my attention on this? This is 160 acres of green space in downtown Houston. Never knew it existed. Walking trails, bike paths, play areas. It's got hiking, biking, picnics, wildlife spotting. There's a play area with rock climbing walls, water features and a sand pit that kids can play and get lost in. There's interpretive signs. This is a really cool place to go out and take the family and get out around nature without spending a lot of money.

Speaker 2: 1:15

Now getting into something a little more automotive the Art Car Museum, also known as the Garage Mahal. Now, this is a unique Houston attraction dedicated to vehicles transformed into rolling works of art. Now, part of this comes into the Art Car Parade that happens once a year, but this is a museum that you can go to all around. If you miss the parade, you can go see where some of these cars end up at the Art Car Museum Cool. Now, the other thing that you want to look at if you're a car guy is the Hemi Hideout.

Speaker 2: 1:47

Now, this is outside of Houston, but we're going to call it the Houston area because it's so awesome. It's 40 minutes west of Houston, in Brookshire. It's a private collection of restored Mopars, neon signs and Americana 21,000 square foot building to put this in. The building itself is worth going to look at if you like the signs and everything. This is a great place to go. Need to make advanced arrangements uh, all the money that that people collect from going to see this, uh, it goes to charity and they usually match that, so you need to call them and check on this. The hemi hideout in brookshire.

Speaker 2: 2:21

Then, going over to speed sports, there's something I found they're called the houston motorsports museum and this is out in the woodlands area at speed motorsports facility. It's a museum that's focused on the collection of race cars, memorabilia and historic vehicles. It's dedicated preserving the history of motorsports in texas and specifically and beyond, with things like indycars, formula one, one, nascar and endurance racing machines. Great place, close, to go check it out. Plus, you can do a little driving while you're out there. Finally, I wanted to mention the Lone Star Flight Museum. Now it's primarily focused on aviation, but it's such a cool place. It's in Houston, includes a collection of vintage military aircraft, war-era automobiles and it's out at Ellington Field and it's got some World War II Jeeps, motorcycles, staff cars and some other transportation vehicles. They even have hands-on activities with simulators, guided tours available. It's very family-friendly, admission is modest and this is a great place to go see some really cool stuff with your family. Check out Hidden Houston while you're out and about.

Speaker 1: 3:26

All right, Thank you, sir. Very good Time now for Jeff's car culture Banned, crushed and forgotten muscle, that's right.

Speaker 3: 3:39

So not every muscle car made it to glory. Some were banned before they even hit the streets, others were quietly crushed after their moment had passed. So this first one up on the block is a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette ZL1. The 69 ZL1 was technically a production car, but just barely Chevy built a new one. Just two of these, powered with an all-aluminum 427 V8 designated for racing. The engine alone added $4,000 to the price, doubling the cost of that standard Corvette and that year-made model. Too expensive, too aggressive for the public roads, the ZL1 faded into obscurity and it just went away.

Speaker 1: 4:18

Well, it didn't fade that much because you got it on this thing.

Speaker 3: 4:21

Well, both examples survived, but they're in private collections and not used. So next one 71, ford Torino. King Cobra Ford's response to the Dodge Charger. Daytona and the Superbird was the Torino King Cobra Sleek fastback and radically sloped nose designed for NASCAR aerodynamics.

Speaker 1: 4:43

God, that's ugly.

Speaker 3: 4:44

Woo. Only three prototypes were built before NASCAR changed the rules. After they built them, it said no more. No more of that. With the program scrapped. The King Cobra never reached production. The prototypes were quietly shelved and the 429 jet engine silenced before they could make the headlines.

Speaker 1: 5:02

I wonder where that car is today. It's a museum piece. It's a museum piece.

Speaker 3: 5:06

It's a museum piece 65 Pontiac Catalina 2 Plus 2.

Speaker 1: 5:09

I remember these 421 high output I remember these.

Speaker 3: 5:12

I love that car. Pontiac's Catalina 2 Plus 2 was built to move, especially when equipped with a 421 high output engine making 376 horsepower at a time. Though it was a full-size coupe, it had quarter-mile performance that rivaled mid-size muscle cars, but overshadowed by its GTO sibling. So it's a little bit smaller on the GTO side, but that's a beautiful car. Plus, it's a ragtop. That's good. Next one we're going to go to Mike is the 71 AMC Matador Machine. The Machine AMC planned to follow up with the Rebel machine with a more aggressive Matador version in 71. The idea was to carry over the machine's 401 V8 and the graphics, but marketing didn't back it. They didn't like it. A few prototypes were made but the project quietly died before mass production. What's left of the Matador machine concept is mostly photos, paperwork and a few scattered parts no one completed. No known completed cars have survived, making it one of the strangest.

Speaker 1: 6:12

AMCs. There is Now wait just a minute, that's a late model Tahoe back there in the back. So somebody's got that dead car.

Speaker 3: 6:17

Yeah, somebody's got that there, but that's just what I can tell you. Okay it's a photoshop, it could be uh. 1966 fairlane gtx prototype. This fairlane was a ford prototype created to bridge the gap between the mustang and the full-size so what is the valve covers that have shot through the?

Speaker 1: 6:33

uh, what the?

Speaker 3: 6:34

hell is that loose bolts?

Speaker 2: 6:36

I think it's been recalled uh no, but if you think about, if you think about the, the later models of the roadrunner and stuff, they had hoods, not like that. That's ridiculous, not near that tall.

Speaker 3: 6:48

It wore a unique badging. Interior trim reportedly tested a few suspension tweaks that would later show up on the GT and the Cobra models. It never intended for production, but after a few developmental changes it was reportedly destroyed. What makes it interesting is how the little photographic evidence remains. One of these cars you hear about engineering's, performed executives, all that good stuff. No one knows where it went, what. That is a new Explorer or something.

Speaker 1: 7:16

Yeah, it's an Expedition or something.

Speaker 3: 7:18

There you go, 73. Somebody has that car. 73 Pontiac Trans Am SD455 with an aluminum block, or, as they say, aluminium block. Sd was super duty. Super duty 455 is already a rare piece of pontiac history. But there's a subset of prototypes that took things further. A handful of pre-production cars were fitted with experimental aluminum blocks for weight savings and better heat distribution. Only a few were ever built and most were destroyed after testing. None were sold to the public. Rumors persisted about one surviving car in private hands, but nothing has been confirmed. That's a pretty car. I like that car.

Speaker 1: 7:58

Well, that would be easy to do. You could hide that all-aluminum V8 underneath the hood. Yeah, even though it was just a regular Trans Am at the time, or a Camaro or Firebird, whatever.

Speaker 2: 8:09

All the externals, and there's companies that make the retro.

Speaker 3: 8:12

They'll take a new Camaro and they'll make it look with the old body, styling and stuff. It's still new, but they'll make it kind of retro looking. That's no fun.

Speaker 2: 8:19

I had an aluminum block car one time. It was the lightweight, I understand, but it always had a heating problem. You had to be careful that you didn't cook the engine because it just didn't take much to heat it up.

Speaker 1: 8:32

Well, you're probably using the mechanical fan on the front there of the motor. Oh, absolutely 1963. Oh yeah, they didn't have electric fans back then.

Speaker 2: 8:42

So it was. You know I could see why they tried it, but it didn't work so good.

Speaker 1: 8:52

All right Time now for this hour's car review. I had the opportunity to drive the 2024 Ford Ranger. Now you say, well, wait a minute, it's not a 25. Well, it's a brand new one. The Ranger has been completely redesigned for 24, and they didn't make any changes really for 25. So take that for what you will. Final assembly location Wayne, michigan, at Michigan Assembly, I've been there.

Speaker 1: 9:18

Available trim levels the XL, the XLT, the Lariat and the Raptor. I had the SuperCrew 4x4 Rapt raptor. This is a mid-sized pickup truck. That's what we're going to call it anyway. Seats five little tight in the back seat because it's not a full-size pickup truck. Now it's all new for 24.

Speaker 1: 9:35

As I mentioned, it has a raptor specific grill and you would think that it has wider fenders like they have on the Raptor 150. It does not. It's the same. It has fender extensions on it to gobble up all of that big rubber, and I'll tell you about that in a minute. Front skid plate on it. Optional bedlock-capable wheels with 33-inch all-terrain tires, which, by the way, is a $1,500 option. There it is right there. Exterior I told you about that. What I liked about it we like the F-150 Raptor. Look applied to its little brother the Raptor Ranger. Now, what could use improvement? Not a big fan of the Raptor graphics, but that's just me. I like the more conservative look, so you can get it without the graphics on it, and I think that may be one of those things where they send the graphics down to the dealer and the dealer applies them. I don't know, but I'm not a big fan of the graphics.

Speaker 3: 10:35

Or they stick them in the glove box and put them on it. Well, not the glove box, but yes.

Speaker 1: 10:39

Why not offer a multi-purpose tailgate? That would be just a little suggestion to Ford. Make themselves a little bit more money and I like that multi-purpose tailgate. Interior highlights Eye-popping, contrasting color highlights throughout the cabin of the Raptor, which you can't get on the regular Ranger Dash well laid out, easy to find controls, awesome.

Speaker 1: 11:06

Sync 4 operating system, changeable instrument display, cargo and trunk room. Well, there's not a lot of room in the back seat and you can flip the back of it up, down, whatever, and make a little bit more room, but it's just not a whole lot Back there. It is a midsize. If you want to get something bigger, get the F-150. What I liked I liked the materials. I liked the fit and finish Awesome throughout. What could use improvement? Fuel and other essential gauges are a little bit too small on the dashboard instrument cluster. That's just for me.

Speaker 1: 11:40

3.0 liter twin turbo EcoBoost, that turns out 405 horsepower, 430 pound-feet of torque, 10-speed automatic transmission tows, 5,500 pounds. Haul rating 1,375. 16 miles per gallon, city 18, highway for combined to 17, and, believe it or not, I got 17.2 over 281.9 miles. What I liked about it? The power. What could use improvement? Hey, if you can think of something good for you, I can't Ride and handling Wheel travel makes for a softer ride.

Speaker 1: 12:15

Wheel travel is for off-roading and let me tell you something this thing doesn't ride like any kind of specific truck. Is it a softer shock? It's got Fox shocks on it Fox shocks for one, but the wheel travel is much more than a regular Ranger Pricing. Base trim price Now we're talking about the Raptor version of this Ranger Base trim $57,065. As tested $60,050. If you want to just get into the Ranger base model price $32,670. Competitors again, these are base model prices. Toyota Tacoma TRD 33.7, right there with it. Jeep Gladiator is a little bit more expensive 37,895. And then Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison, which is brand new for this year. It's Chevy's version of an off-roader. 29,500 is where it starts. Nice, and that is my review of the 2024 Ranger Raptor.

Speaker 2: 13:19

You know you mentioned that multi-purpose, multi-use tailgate. You know, on a truck that's lifted like that one is that would be even better than on a regular truck because, just you know, not only do you have to deal with something up in there, but now you've got to deal with the height because it is a raised for the off-road thing. Thank you, that would be a great ad.

Speaker 1: 13:37

Yeah, hey. If you'd like to get in touch with us, you could always shoot us an email. The address here is info at inwheeltimecom. We're back after this.