Camp Jeep, Up Close And In Control

The line forms where the growl echoes. We’re set up beside Camp Jeep at the Houston Auto Show, and the first thing you notice is the 30-degree hill and the calm voice of a pro driver explaining exactly how a Wrangler keeps its cool. We brought the track manager, Nick Hoy, into the hot seat to decode the six-obstacle course, the Wrangler 392’s idle climb, and why a single button for sway bar disconnect can be the difference between spinning and sticking.

From there, we open the hood on modern off-road tech without the buzzwords. Nick walks us through the electronic lockers, Off-Road Plus, and the front-facing camera that turns a blind crest into a confident line. It’s a clean progression from the old days of manual hubs and pliers in the mud to quick, precise controls on the dash. We talk Gladiator, poke at the Grand Cherokee’s air suspension and skid plates, and admit that not every model is meant to crab-walk a rock garden. Still, capability shows up across the Jeep lineup, and the indoor course proves it in minutes.

We shift gears into memory lane with Jeff’s Car Culture: a countdown of the best-selling American vehicles of all time. The Model T’s assembly-line revolution, the Chevrolet Impala’s long reign, Silverado and Ram solidifying the truck era, and the F-Series towering over all—each nameplate marks a chapter in how America drives and works. The list is a conversation starter, and yes, the Oldsmobile Cutlass earns its spot.

To turn inspiration into miles, we map five spring road trips that reward any capable car or SUV: the flowered overlooks of the Blue Ridge Parkway, Montana’s Going-to-the-Sun Road drama, the quiet curves of the Natchez Trace, shoulder-season serenity on Pacific Coast Highway, and a burst of Texas bluebonnets along the Willow City Loop. These routes pair perfectly with a fresh set of tires, a full tank, and a curious mind.

If you’re at NRG Center, follow the signs to Camp Jeep for a guided ride, then swing through the indoor display to poke around the screens and seats—including the head-turning TRX. Listening from afar? Tap follow, share the show with a fellow gearhead, and leave a review with your pick: which Jeep would you take up that 30-degree hill?

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

Live From The Houston Auto Show

SPEAKER_05 0:00

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast. Yes, this is the 43rd annual Houston Auto Show. And welcome to the In Wheel Time Car Talk Show, coming to you today live from NRG Center in the heart of downtown Houston. Just ahead, let me talk to another guest from this year's new car show, later in Jeff's Car Culture, the top six best-selling American cars of all time. And in driving directions. Mr. Mars has five scenic road trips for the spring. Getting ready to get out and ahead. What?

SPEAKER_02 0:40

We got a plan ahead for some of these.

SPEAKER_05 0:46

Okay. Howdy, along with Mike out of this world, Mars, down there. We always need more Jeff Zeke right here. Chief Engineer. And two-finger guy.

SPEAKER_03 1:00

Magic fingers. Magic finger. Uh-huh.

Meet Nick Hoy Of Camp Jeep

SPEAKER_05 1:04

Magic hands. David Ainsley is here with us. I'm Don Armstrong. And uh sometime known as Bad News, Don. Anyway, thank you very much for joining us today, live from uh the Houston Auto Show. And our next guest in the hot seat, he doesn't know it's the hot seat. Uh what is your name? Nick. Nick what? Hoy. Hoy? H.O. Hoy Peloy. All right. Nick Hoy. Thanks for sharing this. Where are you from, Nick Hoy?

SPEAKER_01 1:33

I am from Michigan. Really? Where in Michigan? Uh like right in between Lansing and Detroit. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:38

So this is the same thing.

SPEAKER_05 1:38

So Lansing, that would be Oldsmobile. Is that right? Yeah. Lansing.

SPEAKER_03 1:42

Lansing is is uh you got tech centers around there.

SPEAKER_05 1:44

No, no, but I mean didn't they used to have a factory there, Oldsmobile?

SPEAKER_03 1:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:47

Probably.

SPEAKER_03 1:48

Down from DeMore.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

No, you're too young. How old are you? 27. 27. I'm 27, too. Up here in my mind.

SPEAKER_05 1:58

In dog years. Oh God. Well, Nick is with uh Camp Jeep.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

Yes. I'm the track manager over there.

SPEAKER_05 2:09

Track manager. So you get to wave the checkered flag or the red flag? Yes. Or the green flag.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

All of them. All of them. All the flags.

SPEAKER_03 2:15

You're you're in charge, you're in control of the event.

SPEAKER_01 2:19

Uh pretty much, yeah. So a different company sets it up and then we come in and run the show for them.

SPEAKER_05 2:23

Gotcha. And so do you work for Jeep or do you work for a company that does all that?

SPEAKER_01 2:29

Yeah, we're just contracted with Jeep. Are you?

SPEAKER_05 2:30

Yeah. So how much homework did you have to do to get this gig? A lot.

How The Indoor Jeep Track Works

SPEAKER_01 2:35

So we've got to pretty much memorize everything about all the Jeep vehicles. Yeah. So we've got to be spot on with our product knowledge.

SPEAKER_05 2:41

Okay, so first of all, for those of you don't know, there's a big track back here. You can't see it because the camera's pointing at.

SPEAKER_03 2:47

Yeah, we got a camera here.

SPEAKER_05 2:48

Anyway, uh that that track has elevation changes, goes around corners and does all sorts of suspension things.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Yes, we have six different obstacles that you're gonna get to experience. We've got a log crawl, get to climb up some rocks, show off the suspension, and then we've got the hill climb. It's 13 feet tall, 30 degrees up and down. Showing off the traction, the brakes, everything like that.

SPEAKER_05 3:10

See, this is what happens when you're 27 years old, and you still have a member left. You get to memorize all that stuff. I like it. Okay, so how long does it take to go through the track?

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Your typical ride will probably be about two, two and a half minutes.

SPEAKER_05 3:26

That's significant. And just as I predicted, here they all clock here. Oh yes.

SPEAKER_01 3:33

They know where to go. Yeah. They're coming right through here.

SPEAKER_05 3:36

Um what kind of vehicles you got over there?

SPEAKER_01 3:38

So we have the Wrangler Rubicon, Gladiator Rubicon, and Wrangler 392. So the 392 has a 6.4 Hemi in it. We know.

SPEAKER_03 3:46

So you're going up that 30 degrees and coming down real fast.

Vehicles On Course And The 392

SPEAKER_01 3:49

Yes, you hear it. Yeah. But it's in idle.

SPEAKER_03 3:52

Oh. It's only idling up there.

SPEAKER_05 3:54

It's got so much power. That's right. What is it that makes this thing so popular with everybody?

SPEAKER_01 3:59

I think you just actually get to get in and actually feel the vehicle and experience what it's like. You don't get to drive it. You do not. So we have professional drivers. There is the ride and drive outside where you guys can drive the vehicles. But over here we have drivers for you.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Jeeps out there? Mm-hmm. Oh, okay. Did not know that. You're a Jeep guy. I didn't know the Jeeps were out there. I came in the back door. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Yeah, so indoors will drive you around, get in with a professional driver, they'll tell you about the vehicle and what it you're driving over and how it's handling, and then outside you get to hop and you're going to go.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

You can do the things you can do with the suspension and things.

SPEAKER_05 4:29

And it gives the opportunity for those that are in there going for the ride to ask questions. Correct. So all of the drivers have to be well schooled and well heeled at their jobs.

SPEAKER_01 4:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

At the the articulating suspension. And and they have a line that's already backed up. Yeah. We do, oh yeah. Didn't take them long.

SPEAKER_05 4:48

So since you're well schooled in all of this, and um obviously you can vocalize, uh, what exactly is a uh disconnecting sway bar and what does it do?

SPEAKER_01 4:59

So it is held together by a magnet. Once you disconnect it, it basically just allows the front tires more room to travel independently. So the Rubicon.

SPEAKER_05 5:06

Why is that important?

Why The Experience Hooks People

SPEAKER_01 5:07

So you you're creeping the wheels on the ground so you're getting as much traction as possible. So you're not sitting there spinning one wheel or anything like that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 5:14

And uh there's just a couple of buttons that you need to push to make that happen.

SPEAKER_01 5:17

Yeah, there's just one right in the middle. You'll see it as a sway bar. Once the lights on, it's disconnected and you're good to go.

SPEAKER_05 5:22

You know, the Jeeps today are so much easier to handle all of that stuff than they used to be. Because if you remember correctly, yeah, and I had a Jeep one time and it had the locking hubs, but you had to get outside and go out there and lock them, unlock them like that. Total pain. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:40

And if you didn't get the pressure off of the axles and stuff, you had to go backwards and lock it in. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 5:45

Martha, get the pliers out. I can't get the thing to I can't get the I can't get it to turn. Martha's our go-to. Yeah. Yeah. Always.

SPEAKER_06 5:53

She's pretty good.

SPEAKER_05 5:55

So today, there's so much of that is controlled by electronics in the dashboard. Or should I say the screen. So explain, explain what all is that you can do in the four by four Wrangler.

Sway Bar Disconnect And Traction Tech

SPEAKER_01 6:10

So with the Rubicons, you get the electronics sway bar disconnect like you talked about. There's an off-road plus button which will change the gearing so you can go a little bit faster in four low. And then you also get the locking front and rear axle. So, like you guys were talking about, you literally just push a button now and it locks. Yeah. So you don't have to get out, turn the hubs, or anything like that. It's all controlled by the computer inside. And then obviously you get the backup camera, you also get a front camera, so it's kind of like a built-in spotter so you can see where you're going. Has the guidelines so it shows you where your wheels are going to end up as you're turning the uh steering wheel and everything like that.

SPEAKER_05 6:37

You've got it made now. We did all the hard work before you came along. We appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah, you're welcome.

SPEAKER_02 6:45

You know, I was I think it's great, and I think part of the reason that people like that so much, you know, particularly like now, we don't have a lot of rock climbing down in our part of the world. We've got a lot of mud and a lot of sand, but to to go out and actually be able to climb the hills and and get into something that'll do the articulation is it's kind of unique. You don't have to here in Houston anyway, it's probably 50, 60 miles to the closest places you can do that.

SPEAKER_05 7:08

Back in the day when we belonged to the same organization, they had an event, and uh it was in the spring, no, it was in the fall, and uh it was at a ranch out in the Texas Hill Country. And they had uh a rock climb that was very tight, very close, and you had to really know what you were doing. And after a couple of days of practicing through this thing, it worked so well, you know, it was it was fun to do. But that Jeep Wrangler killed everybody else. They couldn't hold a candle to it.

unknown 7:45

Uh-huh.

From Manual Hubs To Dash Buttons

SPEAKER_05 7:45

The Jeep Wrangler has come such a long way since its inception in World War II. Yeah. And um being able to disconnect the sway bar, it was a huge thing because the way that this particular turn, it was a 180, and you go up and it was tight, and you go up the thing, and then at the top, then you'd come back down the other way. And talk about putting all of the pressure on the entire suspension and the engine combination, it was uh it was pretty impressive. And of course it always won. And there was one girl that said that we did she was told, do not venture out into the river. You can keep it up next to the bank, but don't go out there. What'd she do? She went in. Sunk it. They took the air cleaner element out of it, shook it out, left it to dry out there, cranked it right back up, and away she went. It's true, it's truly amazing that that that vehicle is. And I you know we have great Jeep clubs here around the Houston area. Lots of people.

SPEAKER_03 8:49

You probably have them up near Lansing, too, and all through Michigan.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Oh, yeah, there's a bunch. Do you own one? I do have a 21 Rubicon myself. I could have not get one after doing this.

SPEAKER_03 8:59

Sand dunes in Michigan, they got Big Bear out there. You have got big bills, server like sand dunes. I've been out, I was a little kid, and they got those uh dune buggies where you put 868 people in them. That was a blast. I yeah, like I said, I was a little kid back then. Good stuff.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

That's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_05 9:15

And you know, the other thing is too, is that uh other Jeep vehicles have similar equipment on them to be able to do things that you normally wouldn't do with you know other vehicles.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

Yeah, so each model has at least one trim level trim level that can do something equivalent to what we're doing here today.

SPEAKER_05 9:34

Yeah. And maybe not should have. Yeah. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 9:49

I can do that.

Wrangler Off-Road Systems Explained

SPEAKER_05 9:50

I'll bet you you've had a timer too with your Wrangler when you first got it, didn't you? Oh. Did you ever get it stuck?

SPEAKER_01 9:55

I have not, thankfully. We leave that up for the corporate ones. You've got to work on it to get it stuck. I mean, I really have to try it.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

You gotta go out in the middle of the river where you're not supposed to be.

SPEAKER_03 10:05

Next year, do that, and then next year come back and test them. I'll tell you guys all about it. Yeah, I'll record it so we can see video. I'm thinking that folks get in these things and they test them. I got the big shot up. They they buy a Jeep, whatever uh features they want on it, and the first thing they're gonna do is I'm gonna find a hill. I'm gonna go find a hill. And it could be the side of a median.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

And then the next I'm gonna find me some big curbs. Now, all you've got over here to drive is Wranglers, but some of the other Jeeps, like you said, could basically do this. Oh, yeah, like the Grand Cherokee is a big one.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

Yep, so that has the air ride suspensions, you can actually raise and lower. All of them are gonna have the steel skid plates underneath, so you don't have to worry about the undercarriage getting damaged or anything like that. But everything besides the grand wagoneer can do this. That's more luxury.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

Well, and it's got the longer wheelbase, and there's a lot of reasons it can't get that tight, but I'd like to see the Grand Cherokee. I like the Grand Cherokee size. I like that vehicle. Uh it's got a little more, the older I get, the more I appreciate it than what the Wrangler would be. But you know, it's uh for what I do, the Grand Cherokee would be just fine.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Hey, you can take it off-road and you can get a massage while you're off-roading. There you go. Best of both worlds.

SPEAKER_05 11:09

David, you didn't hear that, did you? You didn't hear that. David just bought two Wranglers. Okay. Yeah, I'm sure he did. Can't take you anywhere.

SPEAKER_06 11:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 11:22

Okay, let's get back to your job for a minute. Did you did did you did you did you start? Uh where did you start with this? Did you start, you know, taking tickets or how I mean how did you get to being the traffic?

Local Trails, Clubs, And Durability Tales

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Did you go to Michigan State up there? I did not go to Michigan State. So we started, we had a one-off event out in um Warren, Michigan. So we brought everyone from the factory so they could actually drive the vehicles that they built. Because surprisingly, a lot of them haven't even sat in the vehicles that they built. Sure. So we brought them out to show them that we appreciate them. I was a spotter, so I was just doing this on the course on you left, right. Yep. And then I worked my way up to a driver, and now I'm the track manager. And how long did that period of time take? So I started when I was 18. 18? Nine years. About nine years, yeah. Good job. Thank you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 12:07

Yeah. And uh how many cities do you visit?

SPEAKER_01 12:10

We do anywhere from like probably 10 to 15 a year. What do you do the rest of the time? This pretty much keeps us busy. So auto shows start in probably about Septemberish and that carries us through to May, and then we'll do some state fairs in the summertime for RAM, like we have the track back here, but Oh, the same company then. Same company, yep, we're one and the same, so we run both of them.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

Like Chicago starts next week. Chicago comes right. Are you all going back to Chicago? Yep, so I'll fly in Chicago on Tuesday to do the same thing. Wow.

SPEAKER_05 12:39

So you you pack it up here Sunday night and then you get on the plane and ready to go on Tuesday. Yep. But clearly it's not the same track. So they have another one that's we have an A kit and a B kit.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

So when they overlap, we kind of try to figure out which one can go where.

SPEAKER_03 12:56

If this is A, B is probably in holding for the next event. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

We actually have three kits now that I think about it, because we have Philadelphia going on right now as well, so we have a track out there.

unknown 13:06

Nice.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Interesting. You get to pick which one you go? For the most part, we know pretty much what shows we do throughout the year, so as long as they're not overlapping.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

I think I'm gonna go to Houston this year, or I want to go to Philly, or for the most part. I would.

SPEAKER_03 13:20

Where is it gonna be warm? Where is it gonna be warm? Where is it gonna be warm?

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Oh, yeah, I thought it would be warm here, but I brought the cold weather with it.

Beyond Wrangler: Grand Cherokee Capability

SPEAKER_05 13:27

It will be on Monday when you leave. When I leave, yes. Yeah, it's 67 on Monday. Yeah, there's that. Um so okay, we got this over here, the ride, the drive part of it. And you've got the ride and drive out front, but you've also got the display inside.

SPEAKER_01 13:44

Yeah, so we have product specialists all throughout the display, so they can answer any questions. Feel free to hop in any of them. All the screens are lit up so you can play with the screens.

SPEAKER_05 13:51

There's some people right there. Yeah, that's the best.

SPEAKER_01 13:53

That's Caitlin, she's our star product specialist, so she can answer all the questions.

SPEAKER_03 13:56

Caitlin, what are you eating? I mean, we're pretty hungry too.

SPEAKER_05 14:04

Every single sauce, so it's gotta be some sort of a taco or something. What did you say?

SPEAKER_00 14:09

Kava?

unknown 14:10

Kava, yeah. Mediterranean.

SPEAKER_05 14:11

Mediterranean. Did you get that at a food truck out front?

unknown 14:15

Just yonder.

SPEAKER_05 14:16

Just yonder. Just yonder. Yonder. Where are you from?

unknown 14:20

Scottsdale.

SPEAKER_03 14:21

Where? Scottsdale. Scottsdale, yonder. You just did you just finish up the Barrett Jackson uh last week.

unknown 14:29

I was in the city.

SPEAKER_03 14:30

Great, great timing.

SPEAKER_02 14:34

Yeah. Okay. So so when people come in and we're looking at the cars here in the display and and we got product specialists around, the doors are typically closed. But I just saw somebody open a door, so it's okay. When you walk in, you want to look at the cars, you want to open the doors, you want to look at it, go sit down in. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you can do that while you're here. Uh even though the doors are closed, you know, open them and check out.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

Yeah, they're all open. We even have the new TRX on the floor for you guys to check out. This is the second show with it.

SPEAKER_05 15:02

Didn't we drive that?

SPEAKER_01 15:03

I drove one back when it was when it first came out, and it has real motors in it.

SPEAKER_05 15:07

Yeah. Yeah, I I got a chance to drive that.

SPEAKER_02 15:11

It's fun. Too much fun.

SPEAKER_05 15:13

Yeah, it can be.

SPEAKER_02 15:14

It's kind of like that 392 Wrangler. It's a different level of fun.

Nick’s Career Path And Touring Shows

SPEAKER_05 15:18

It's so funny because I was I was always a hot rod guy, high school, all that stuff. Now, it's rare that I actually put my foot to the floor. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no. It's rare.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

I'll tell you stories off air. It's rare when I do it too, because the light changes to red.

SPEAKER_05 15:38

But they don't even give you cars anymore. You're surprised you even have a driver's license. It kind of comes and goes. That's it. Depending on how many tickets you've had that year. Exactly. You've got to kind of check that. Yeah, officer, I'm sorry. I didn't, I I couldn't see the gauge. I I didn't I don't know. I don't know what happened. Lost my way. It was Don's fault. So if you come into the car show, you're gonna come in the front door of the show. Uh-huh. And you're going to you're going to hang a right and come to the very back corner back there. You'll see it. When you look in, you'll see it. Which is where we are. Yeah. You'll see how it's going to be.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

It's got uh lots of big signs and and it's really kind of follow the flow of the crowd right now, actually.

SPEAKER_05 16:20

Yeah, I will tell you that uh you know we we have known a lady by the name of Kimberly Schultz. Are you familiar with her? Mm-hmm. Okay. Uh dear friend of ours that uh goes back actually, I remember when she first got the PR job uh out of Dallas.

unknown 16:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 16:35

Golly, that was a long time ago. 2000?

SPEAKER_06 16:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 16:40

Something like that. Yeah. So we've known her for a long time. So she allows us. And sometimes we've had to kind of twist her arm. We really need a place to do the car show. Can can we go over to the Jeep booth? Okay. One of those kind of things.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

But uh she's also learned that after she does Press Day on Wednesday, she leaves. She's not here. By the time we get here, she's not here. She's gone.

SPEAKER_05 17:06

Well, Nick, it's a pleasure to meet you. And uh great fun, great job. Yeah. I I'm not too sure about where you stay in all of these cities that you go to, but I did uh the drag racing tour for a year, and I can tell you, some of those places I wouldn't yeah, you can only imagine. Oh, yeah. But there's a big difference between racing and car shows. Big difference where you stay. Different mod demographic. Nick Hoy with Jeep and Camp Jeep, thank you so much. Of course, thank you guys. Appreciate you, buddy.

SPEAKER_03 17:37

We'll come see you. Perfect, we'll get you on the ride.

SPEAKER_05 17:40

Come see us, come see us and say. There you go. Just ahead, Jeff's Car Culture.

SPEAKER_03 17:43

Nick, it was a broad Nick I'm there.

Displays, Product Specialists, And TRX

SPEAKER_05 17:46

You've got a whole audience back there. You've got fans. Jeff's Car Culture and six of the best-selling American cars of all time. Plus, Mr. Marz has driving destinations, five scenic roads for spring trip planning. After this break here on the In-Wheel Time Car Talk Show. The TexBecks 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 at Lupi Tortilla, all developed in a little house near Highway 6 and I-10 in West Houston. Visit any of the Loopy Tortillas and you'll see the same attention to detail in each and every location. Start your loopy experience with queso flammiato 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 Luppy 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.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

Make a splash. Live the dream. It all happens at the Houston Automotive Show at NRG Center. Check out classic autos to today's cars and trucks. Experience off-road adventures with Polaris, Ram, and Camp Jeep. Explore five acres of the newest sport boats, fishing boats, and much more. It's all here from the open road to the open water. If it thrills you, you'll find fun for the whole family. Get your tickets now, the Houston Automotive Show, making waves and fueling adventure.

SPEAKER_05 19:35

Hey, uh Enwell Time invites you to join us 10 to noon Central Time every Saturday for our live show about all things automotive. And we thank you for joining us today here at the 43rd annual Houston Auto Show. We're back here right in front of Camp Jeep and the Ram experience. And we invite you to stop by, say hello. We got lights up and like we're important or something. Automotive show. Okay. The boats are down there. Right. And we are uh doing the Houston Auto Show.

SPEAKER_03 20:08

I I can see them over there. I can see the boat right now.

SPEAKER_05 20:10

I know, but that's over there. Okay. Over here is the autos.

SPEAKER_02 20:14

That's in the south, that's on the east pastor. They over there on the east.

SPEAKER_03 20:18

We should move all this over to the boats for the next hour.

SPEAKER_05 20:22

Whatever you'd like.

SPEAKER_02 20:23

We'll we'll wait on you, Dave. All right, buddy.

SPEAKER_05 20:25

Time now for Jeff's Car Culture Six Best Selling American Cars of All Time.

Where To Go And How To Find Camp Jeep

Jeff’s Car Culture: Top-Selling Cars

SPEAKER_03 20:29

There's about 30, but I took the top six. And here we go. For number six on the list is the Oldsmobile Cutlass. First introduced in 1961, the Oldsmobile Cutlass was the most popular car in America by 1977. They sold 632,000 plus units that year. It eventually was phased out in 1999, leaving a lasting impression of the automotive world. They sold 11,900,000 vehicles of the Oldsmobile Cutlass. Oh yeah. Next one, Dodge Ram, how fitting. The full-size Dodge pickup has been in production since 1980, originally as the Dodge Ram. Before Ram became the standalone brand, the Ram pickup has a reputation for smooth, comfortable ride, reliability, powertrain, and spacious interior. They sold 12,135,000 Ram pickups. Number four on the list, who would think of it, but it's the Chevrolet Silverado. It's available in a full-size truck, chassis cab truck, or a medium duty truck. It was originally a top trim level Chevrolet CK truck introduced in 1975, before coming its own in 1999, which remains in production today. Although the Sierra GMC's brand is fibling, the Silverado's great all around truck. A 14 million seventy five thousand units for the Chevrolet Silverado. Ford Model T, who would have thunk it? Model T was the first mass produced automobile, and it's Third on the list made car travel reliability available for the middle class. Its assembly line production enabled Ford to sell Model T's at a much lower price than had been possible ever before. By the 20s or uh 1920s, half of the cars in the world were Ford's. 15 million units of the model. Yep. Chevrolet Impala is number four now. That's it's a it's a good number, it's a good car, and number two. Bala shot. Chevy's popular flagship car during its long production run. It was built in 1957 to 19 uh 1957 to 2020. Although production of the Impala took a break from 1986 to 94, and again from 97 to 99. The Impala was the first car to use SS designation, making it a pioneer in the muscle car craze of the 60s and 70s. 16,700,000 Chevrolet Impala's out there. And the last one, we all kind of know this, we do live in Texas, is the Ford F1, uh F-Series pickup truck. Uh blowing uh the list out of the water, the F-Series is the best-selling American automobile of all time. The truck has been in continuous production since 1948. The 40th million truck rolled off the assembly line in January of 22, so we're calling it 40 million units of the Ford F Series pickup. How about that, Jazz?

SPEAKER_05 23:27

That's major right there.

SPEAKER_03 23:28

There's more, there's more out there. I mean, you've got uh uh other other manufacturers are in that, but they're you know, seven, eight, nine.

SPEAKER_05 23:35

Mom and dad had an old cutlass for quite some time, yeah. All right, uh, time now for Mr. Mars. We're gonna talk about uh the five scenic roads for spring trip planning and driving destinations.

Scenic Spring Road Trips With Mars

SPEAKER_02 23:47

Yeah, I kind of thought that, you know, some of these are a little far off. We didn't just stay in Texas, so you might need to have a little more time to make some plans. And uh so I wanted to start with the Blue Ridge Parkway. Now, a lot of people have heard of this. It's in Virginia, goes up through to North Carolina, and it's often called America's favorite drive because they're in the spring, flowers bloom, the mountains shake off the winter, and it really greens up. 469 miles from the start through the group to the great Smoky Mountains National Park. Goes through a lot of ridgelines, overlooks, valleys, you got dogwoods, red buds, you got any kind of about any kind of foliage you want to see in the northeast part of the country is there. Now, it is rather curvy and it does get crowded, so it's got a lower speed limit, but it gives you a lot more time to do relaxed cruising, to see some things, and uh it's a great place to go in the motorcycle or on your cavutibum. Then going on to the Sun Road, going to the Sun Road, that's actually the name of it. It's in Montana. Now, this is part of the Glacier National Park, and it's kind of a one of the dramatic drives in America because of the way it opens and closes during the winter because the 50-mile route crosses the continental divide at Logan Pass. So you get a lot of views, you get a lot of uh road edge of the road tripe driving, and then you're gonna be. I don't need that. I don't need to be on the edge of the road either. And a lot of that's because of the uh the waterfalls and the melting ice, and it kind of gets you some narrow lanes and some sheer drop-offs. It kind of keeps you focused on the road. Then for something that's a little more relaxing, go back to the other side of the country, the Natchez Trace Parkway. Now, this goes through three states: Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. It's 444 miles. And it's part of an old corridor that used to be used by Native Americans and early settlers whenever they were going across the country and exploring. Now, there's really no commercial traffic uh in this on this road, and they've got general curves and it's peaceful. It's a nice, easy drive for long cruising and very relaxing. You can stop, take short hikes, you can pull off into scenic uh areas and turn around and enjoy the whole destination.

SPEAKER_05 26:04

You ever done any of this stuff?

SPEAKER_02 26:06

So I've been on part of that parkway and uh part of the Blue Ridge, a part of it.

SPEAKER_05 26:12

Becky go with you? Uh was that another girl who goes.

SPEAKER_02 26:15

Yeah, but she was with me. Yeah. We used to get to travel quite a bit. Um also been on part of the Pacific Coast Highway. Oh, I have too. The PCH.

SPEAKER_05 26:25

Yes, I was there with you. Love you. If you remember correctly, that was a Mazda event that I'd really like to forget, to be honest with you.

SPEAKER_02 26:32

I did until you just said that, and now it's all coming back to me.

SPEAKER_05 26:34

Now let's forget that.

SPEAKER_02 26:37

So the PCH, you know, I really want to go from the top to the bottom of it. I really would like to do that. It involved liquor, if you want to large quantities. So you go down the PCH, it goes from Southern Calgary, it goes down through Big Sur, and goes down along the uh ocean cliffs. You got Crashing Surf, you got a lot of horizon views, and with the spring, it's kind of less tourist there than there are during the summer, so but you also get a lot more greens on the hills and on the sides of the mountains. And areas like Bixby Bridge become more enjoyable because the road's a little bit more driver centric. You can play a little bit more on it. Then uh the Texas Hill Country Willow City loop. It's uh it's a short loop. Continue on, pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. I'm trying not to. In Fredericksburg. So this is a short loop outside of Frederickburg. But what it makes it so neat is whenever the blue bonnets are blooming and stuff, that's really becomes colorful. And this particular road is on private property. Now, it's not paved per se on most of it, but you can kind of cut through this uh road and it brings you in between two highways, and the landowner just allows this to happen, but you can't really stop, you just drive through it, and it's really very scenic, and it's considered a great place, particularly with the blue uh blue bonnets, whenever they're all blooming out. So that's just some five drives that you can start thinking about because the some of them will take a little planning to get to and um to have fun on.

SPEAKER_05 28:09

You want to go back to that Pacific Coast Highway trip? We don't want to do that.

SPEAKER_03 28:12

PCH?

SPEAKER_05 28:13

PCH one.

SPEAKER_03 28:14

I've been on PCH.

SPEAKER_05 28:15

Matter of fact, I ran across a picture that you were in on the Pacific Coast Highway. We were standing out there. Uh Were you holding his hair above the nose or anything? No, no, no, it wasn't anything like that. No.

SPEAKER_02 28:27

Mom, mom, ma, ma, ma, ma.

SPEAKER_05 28:29

Yeah, it wasn't quite that that that way. Um anyway.

SPEAKER_02 28:35

Was that the one or was it? Now you're all curious.

SPEAKER_04 28:38

Say again.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

There was a third person there? Yes. Yes. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 28:41

Yeah, there was a third person there. Yeah. It was a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02 28:46

Let me tell you about some of these other trips that we'll been able to see a lot of times.

SPEAKER_05 28:54

California has done a lot of things to me, and most of them pretty weird if you want to know the truth. That's for sure. Yeah, no doubt about it. The N-wheel time car talk show will continue right after this quick break. Stay with us.

SPEAKER_02 29:04

Oh, not so quick.

Closing Promos And How To Listen

SPEAKER_05 29:05

Oh, okay. From the 43rd annual Houston Auto Show. Now you can hit the button right. There you go. You own a car you love. Well, why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it? Houstonian John Gray invites you to his state-of-the-art facility to introduce you to his specialist team of auto enthusiasts. We promise you'll be impressed. Whether you're looking to massage your original paint to a like new appearance, apply a ceramic coating, install a paint protection film, nano ceramic window tent, or new windshield protection called Exoshield, Gulf Coast Auto Shield is where Houston's car people go. Curbed your wheels? Instead of buying new, why not have them repaired? How about a professionally installed radar detector? Gulf Coast Auto Shield does that too. Get a peek inside the shop and look at the services offered by getting online and heading to gcautoshield.com. Better yet, stop by their facility at 11275 South Sam Houston Tollway, just south of the Southwest Freeway, and get a personal tour. Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your place to go for all things exterior. Call them today, 832-930-5655, or gcautoShield.com. Apple or Android NWL Time Podcast can be found everywhere, on the stream and through downloads. Whether you're on the road or at home and Jones in for a different kind of 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 and 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 Music. Mm-hmm. InWheeltime.com has a list, and we know you love lists. 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.