Muscle Wagons, CX50 and Texas Throws Beads?

Think Mardi Gras begins and ends on Bourbon Street? We hit the road to map the best celebrations across Texas—Galveston’s towering floats and nighttime crowds, Beaumont’s growing footprint with room for families, Texas City’s daytime routes, Seguin’s golf cart charm, and San Antonio’s Fiesta Texas makeover that turns the whole park purple, green, and gold. We also spotlight the small-town sparkle of Jefferson and Alvin, then head waterside for Kema, where lit-up boats parade past the boardwalk and the vibe walks the line between festive and family-friendly.

Road trips need the right ride, so we put real miles on the 2026 Mazda CX-50 Meridian Edition. Expect crisp styling, an interior that puts the driver in command, and standout handling that outperforms most compact SUVs. The 2.5-liter turbo brings usable power and confidence without drama, though the flat roof rack looks overbuilt and the infotainment system needs a rethink. We share observed mpg, pricing context, and how it stacks up against segment staples like the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, and Nissan Rogue so you can decide what matters most: grip, comfort, or fuel spend.

To cap it off, we nerd out on muscle car station wagons that should have been factory legends. From Ford Torino and Chevy Chevelle cousins to Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser, Pontiac Tempest, and Dodge Coronet platforms, we break down why these long-roof builds make the perfect blend of nostalgia, utility, and torque. Whether you’re planning a family-friendly parade crawl or sketching your dream resto-mod wagon, this ride has you covered with routes, reviews, and a little righteous rumble.

If you enjoy the show, follow, rate, and share it with a friend who loves parades, road trips, or great cars—and tell us which Texas Mardi Gras stop you’re hitting next.

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Transcript

Mardi Gras Beyond New Orleans

SPEAKER_02 0:04

Well, you know, Mardi Gras uh the weekend starts this weekend. It started, I guess, today. Gallows and Mardi Gras. Pardon me? Gowist and Mardi Gras?

SPEAKER_01 0:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:13

The Mardi Gras season.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

All right, there you go. There you go.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

Well, okay. Whatever you want to call it, it's Mardi Gras, period. And uh, you know, there's stuff to do and places to go to do it. And Mr. Mars has this week's driving destinations. I can't see it, including Mardi Gras party destinations.

Galveston’s Big Parades And Nightlife

Beaumont’s Growing Celebration

Texas City And Small-Town Festivals

Seguin To San Antonio Routes

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Well, I kind of looked at it and I thought, you know, there's a lot of places that do Mardi Gras. A lot of people here, everybody thinks of New Orleans immediately, but there's a lot of things beside New Orleans. And one thing I wanted to say is, you know, the Mardi Gras floats, now these are really elaborate works of art, usually got a lot of people on them, throwing beads and things, but these are actually built by crews, what they call crews. A lot of them are clubs and stuff. There are some professional float builders down in New Orleans. They build them and they they rent them out to all these different Mardi Gars gras that are around the country. And but a lot of them, particularly the smaller Mardi Gras events, are all home-built, you might say, by the crews. Now, the closest, biggest one to us in Texas is going to be Galveston. Now, I've been to the Galveston a couple of times, and it is very much like New Orleans. If you go down there at night, it's really crowded. There's a lot of uh people drinking and having a good time, and but during the day, it's a little more family friendly. They do have all the big floats both times. You got people throwing beads, you got a lot of Cajun and Creole cuisine, and a lot of music that goes around just blocks and blocks of it. Now, the new another one that I wanted to mention, speaking of car shows in Beaumont, Beaumont actually has a Mardi Gras now as well. It used to be over in Port Arthur. They moved it to Beaumont because they had a little bit bigger area because it was growing so much. Again, you got a lot of floats, a lot of food, a lot of food trucks, a lot of uh parades that go on at different times, and it's really pretty family friendly as far as that goes. Now you go on down here, a little bit closer over there. Texas City actually has a Mardi Gras. And again, a lot of these areas have a lot of smaller Mardi Gras. Some of them are only a day, some of them are only a weekend, some of them run for two or three weeks at a time. But Texas City actually has one. A lot of their events are during the day. Very family friendly. Again, more food and more celebrating of the Gulf Coast culture. Then from there, you can go on over to uh a little bit more west, go over to Sagine. Again, this is a local, regional type uh event, and they have uh golf cart parades, King. Wait a minute.

SPEAKER_02 2:43

Sagine is on the is on the way to San Antonio.

Fiesta Texas Turns Mardi Gras

SPEAKER_00 2:47

Yes. And speaking of which, once you get through in Sagine, you can go on over to San Antonio to where we're gonna go there. I think one of the probably the most family-friendly one of the ones that I've run across uh that are semi-close is going to be the one at Six Flags over Texas.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Wait a minute.

SPEAKER_02 3:08

Uh right now I'm looking at the crew of Herb. Oh, that's H-E-B-E.

Jefferson, Alvin, And Kema Boardwalk

SPEAKER_00 3:14

H-E-B-E? Did I get it? Did I get off? Oh, yeah, I got off one. I missed it. Mardi Gras, Six Flag of Fiesta, Texas. And the reason I think this would be probably the most family friendly is because all they do is they take the park and all the shows and the music and everything, and they just turn it into Mardi Gras, focusing on that purple, green, and gold coloring. And uh it really would be the most family-friendly one I would think that uh I've run across. If you're looking for something a little bit smaller, again, going back to this one, this is up in Jefferson, Texas, kind of up in the northeast part of Texas. A little smaller town, uh, have a lot of antique shops and stuff, but it brings that small town charm to the Mardi Gras festivals. Another one that you might want to go to to check out that's on a little bit on the smaller scale, is over in Alvin. They actually have one there. And again, a lot of food, some parades. It is smaller, so it's a lot easier to get around and manageable, particularly with the family if you've got little ones. And then from there, one I wanted to point out was the Kima boardwalk. Now, this is really a neat one. Got a lot of boats cruising in and up and down by the boardwalk coming out of Clear Lake, and a lot of lights. It's really neat. I've seen this one before as well, and it's really neat to go. It's pretty family friendly, so long as you stay out of the bars. Don't take the kids into the bars with you, and you'll be all right. And that's just a few of the places besides New Orleans and some of the other bigger ones that are a little more uh adult oriented, shall we say?

SPEAKER_02 4:47

Did your mom and dad take you into the bars? They did, didn't they?

SPEAKER_00 4:50

My parents haven't been in the bar in their life. Okay, wow.

SPEAKER_02 4:54

So I knew something happened to you along the way.

SPEAKER_01 4:57

Maybe that's what it is. Now the decorations you talked about on in Galveston, they do that in Christmas time, too.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

Yes, they do. You know, they they get into the Dickens on the strand, but it's the the the Mardi Gras is very much like New Orleans as far as the setup and how they run the parades during the day and during the night. Got it.

2026 Mazda CX-50 Review

SPEAKER_02 5:13

Thank you, Michael. In wheel time car it's a beater. Time now for this hour's car review. I had a chance to drive the 2026 Mazda CX 50. Uh, the uh available trim levels, I don't know what they are because I didn't write them down. Many. Say many. Great. You know, this is what happens when I do this at work, and the fact of the matter is that I get interrupted a lot. Yeah. So anyway, there are several editions, and I had the 2.5 liter turbo meridian edition, which is new. This is a small SUV, uh, seats five, exterior changes from last year. Well, it was all new in 2023, so it is a relatively new version of the CX50. Sharp looking front fascia, nicely proportioned grill. Uh, Meridian Edition has a huge flat roof rack on the top of it that looks kind of funny. It's also got a big sticker on the hood that says Meridian Edition. Uh squinty rear tail lights and dual exhaust tips, black plastic wheel trim. Um that's wheel well trimmed. What I liked about it, the overall body looks great on this. What could use improvement? Maybe perhaps tone down the disproportionate roof rack. I don't know, it just looks funny sitting up there. It's flat. And it kind of like you could tie down another car up there. Interior highlights, nicely designed, horizontal dash. Love the center console design with uh the radio volume knob right down there by the shifter. Comfortable seats, two rows, overall gets high marks. Cargo room, adequate for this small SUV. I liked pretty much everything. What could use improvement, as I said many times? The infotainment operating system needs a redesign. Engine, as the title suggested, it was a 2.5 liter four-cylinder engine with a twin scroll turbo. Turns out 227 horsepower with 310 pound feet of torque through a six-speed automatic transmission. It will tow up to one ton. Uh miles per gallon rated 23 city, 29 highway for combined to 25. I got 22.2 miles per gallon over 500.0 miles. Wow. Yeah, I know. No anything. Uh what I liked, this has got perfect power. Um, it's just right for the size vehicle, the weight of the vehicle, and it runs well. Uh, what could use improvement? Uh, I would suggest that you check out the hybrid version, but it's four thousand dollars more, but you get better gas mileage. Riding handling, uh, standard all-wheel drive on all trim levels for this vehicle. What could use improvement? This is one of the best handling SUVs in its segment. Wow. And I would definitely uh want to check that out if you're into a semi-performance kind of thing. If you're a really uh a guy that likes the way his car handles, this is one I think that you would appreciate because you know most SUVs are basically built for the road or for off-road, right? And uh they got a squishy kind of uh chassis on it. This one does not. Squishy. Squishy. I like that. It's a very technical term. Um let's see.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

Hand me my squishy wrench.

Pricing, MPG, And Rivals

Tease: Next Week’s Lexus RX

Muscle Car Station Wagons Spotlight

SPEAKER_02 8:39

Base trim price,$34,645. Price is tested,$44,675. The base model price drum rolls$29.9. Oh wow.$29.9. So competitors on the base model price include the Honda CRV for$39.20, the Toyota Rav 4,$31.9, and the Nissan Rogue for$29,090. So I think it's one for you to look at. There you go. Uh next week we're gonna review the Lexus RX. Okay. It was gonna be the NX, but some reason they pulled it and said, I'm gonna give you the RX instead. I said, You can give me that RX any old time. You just go right ahead. Yeah, please do. Um, I did want to thank you for being with us today. Time now for Jeff's car culture this week. Muscle car station wagon.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Yeah, there's there are cousins involved. So more than just styling, uh, the performance, really incredible amount of choice and variety of American cars from the 60s and 70s. What's so special? Well, interestingly enough, uh, nearly all of the iconic American muscle cars of the late 60s and early 70s had close cousins of the station wagon variety. That means there's some seriously great options for building a high-performance vintage wagon, whether they're all of what if or just going ahead and make a resto mod out of its style. So here we go, Mike. The first one is a Ford Torino wagon, Ford custom Torino GT. Well, not as popular as the Mustangs of that era. Ford's large Torino based muscle cars were as just as bit as cool as the Mustangs were. So, what happens when you blend a fair lane or a Torino wagon with some inspiration from a Torino Cobra or a Talladega? You have one heck of a cool family hauler. Check that out. Next one, Mike, is an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Wagon 442. Even on its own, Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser is one of the coolest American station wagons ever built. But should you mesh one together with an Oldsmobile uh muscle car, the same period, you've got recipe for greatness. Whether it's a W-3042 or a Hearst Olds, it provides the ingredients. There aren't many things cooler than a Vista Cruiser given all the muscle car stuff. So there you go. Uh Pontiac Tempest GTO wagon. The Pontiac GTO started the whole muscle car thing in 1964 and only got more popular in the years that followed. Pontiac also sold a Tempest wagon at the same time, and many of the parts that the GTO had went right onto that Tempest wagon. So the hot rod version of the GTO, yeah, you're gonna have it in that wagon as well. The Dodge Cornet wagon Super B. Don't think that we've let the moat park guys out. There are a number of Dodge and Playmates Muscle cars that have close station wagon cousins, but the Coronet is one of the favorites, whether it would be built as a Super B wagon that never existed or built in a more modern style with a Gen 3 Hemi under the hood. Very, very peeling and very, very desirable. And the last one we have, Michael, is a Chevy wagon, Chevelle SS. Finally we got Chevy. Few muscle cars and more popular than uh than the Chevrolet SS of the late 60s and 70s. The Chevelle wagon counterpart is a ripe conversation. Whether it's the stripes, badging, or the cowl induction hood fitted to a low roofline model, the SS wagon would be all right, all right, all right. There you go. That's good. Yeah, you forgot the bonus. Oh, yeah, there's a bonus. Check it out.

unknown 12:27

It's the Buick.

SPEAKER_02 12:29

It's the what? It's the Buick. It's the Buick. Yeah, well, I I don't see a muscle car uh with that, but okay. Well, he's still got to get it tubbed out and uh Yeah, we know we know the old regular routine when it comes to Jeff's customization. Uh yeah, I don't think that you could put an LS engine in it, it wouldn't fit. You just put it in the back. No, we ain't doing none of that.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Yeah, come on. I got two.