A Turbo-Charged Talk on Sales, Infrastructure, and the Industry with 'Buzz' Smith, the EVangelist!

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast, a 30 minute mini version of the In Wheel Time car show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11am, central.

I said it was going to be a quick break.

Yeah, you did.

It was Howdy, and thanks for joining us here on the In Wheel Time car talk show.

So glad that you could join us.

We couldn't wait to get to Buzz.

Well huh, and we're going to get to him here in just a second.

It's your favorite go to spot in car podcasting and live streaming.

You're on the In Wheel Time car talk show just ahead, Buzz Smith going to talk about the EV sinking ship.

Oh, I didn't say that.

Conrad has this week in auto history and we'll get you caught up on stories making news this week.

Howdy, along with Mike, that is all choked up over there.

Along with Mike, out of this world, mars King, conrad, along.

We always need more Jeff Seekin.

I'm Don Armstrong, let's just get right to it.

Shelley, here he is Lying from the Dallas Cowboys headquarters is Buzz.

Smith, I'm sorry, I just had to.

Good morning.

You know I got a razz.

You, you know that.

I actually think the reason I got invited at this time is all of the doom and gloom news, and you hit it right there.

Let's just say we were lucky on that.

Well, let's see, we have these cowboys electric vehicles.

Cold weather.

None of them work, thanks for coming in.

We'll see you next week.

So I had this all planned out.

I was going to read this story and I'm going to read this story before we get started with Buzz.

He is our EV God, if you will.

He knows it.

All Tesla owners in Chicago found out the hard way that EV makers vaunted supercharger network can't always overcome extreme weather conditions.

Big storm of freezing temperatures, offline charging stalls and high demand combined to create a rare charging breakdown for Tesla, which is the US leader in charging infrastructure, both for the size of its network and its reliability, or lack thereof.

Chicago's WGNTV visited several of the stations Monday and found long lines and tow trucks in some cases taking Tesla vehicles to owners homes or to other supercharger stations.

An unidentified Uber driver told WGN that he had to wait an hour for an open charger and then had to wait two hours for a full charge while driving in the cold.

Battery range fell so fast that he had to charge twice a day while operating as a ride share.

Part of the problem was out of Tesla's control, since EVs use more energy in cold weather, as do gasoline vehicles, according to the US Department of Energy.

She says on its website that gas mileage is about 15% lower in the freezing cold, while EV efficiency can fall by up to 40% depending on how much energy is used to heat the cabin.

And that seems to be a real stickler there at the heating the cabin At 20 below?

I would think so.

So listen to this.

Newer Tesla models have heat pumps that use far less energy than traditional resistive heaters.

Ev charging stations are not as plentiful as gasoline stations and charging takes far longer in the cold, since EV batteries need to warm for a fast charging session.

This from Automotive News.

On its webpage, tesla said that cold weather best practices include warming the cabin and battery before leaving home, preconditioning the battery before arriving at a supercharger station, driving slower to conserve energy and using seat heaters to keep warm rather than the cabin heater.

I get all.

That Lowdown in electric vehicle sales growth has put suppliers in a bind as they look to manage customer demand for parts for both EVs and internal combustion engine vehicles.

Ev sales growth stalled in the back half of 2023 and EV inventory began to pile up.

That caused some automakers to pull back on aggressive EV rollout plans, at least in the short term.

Gm pushed back the launch of the Chevy Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV production in suburban Detroit until late 2025, while Ford said in October it would delay about $12 billion in EV spending and reduce Mustang Mach-E production.

Okay, buzz, take it away.

I'm sorry, but you know, and to your defense and I know that you and I joke a lot about EVs.

I'm not a big fan.

I think that there's a place in the world for EVs, but I think that people are expecting gasoline kind of mileage.

It can't be a complete replacement for Correct, you know, because there was one thing consistent about all of those wreckers going to tow those EVs in Chicago they were all powered by gasoline engines.

Yeah.

Vehicles.

Yeah, so you know, I guess one thing that I wanted to talk to you about, and really the story kind of explained the thing with cold weather and batteries and Teslas and charging and all that sort of stuff.

So I don't really want to hammer that too much, but EV sales have really plummeted and I think that they're all backed up on dealer lots, not necessarily because people don't like them.

I think that part of the problem is interest rates and the price of them.

Let's face it, it's cheap.

Well, actually there are some really affordable models out there.

I just bought my seventh Plagen vehicle and it's my first Tesla, and I thought Tesla is just, you know, for the ultra rich, except for maybe the Model 3, but we were looking for something we could take camping, and the Model Y would have been a better fit.

But I tried desperately to buy either a Kia EV6 or a Hyundai Ionic 5.

And you can't find one.

Oh, I found plenty of them.

The problem was the dealers were perting $3,200 worth of, you know, cup holder protections and door edge guards.

Cup holder protection, that's good.

I like it.

I couldn't believe it, but it was actually on the list of the stuff that was added.

So some of this is you know.

Going back to the old dealer game and on their behalf, one of the problems that's going on is now invoice price and interest rates and the actual dealer cost are now lined up.

They didn't used to be, and so a dealer could say oh we're giving you invoice pricing.

So you're thinking, wow, I'm getting what the dealer paid for the car.

You don't stay in business if your profit is zero.

So they always had that cushion.

Well, nowadays they don't have that cushion, so they're looking for other ways to generate profits and there's a lot of mistrust going on between the dealers and the OEMs.

Right now.

The dealers are worried that the OEMs are trying to run them out of business so that they can take on the Tesla sales model of you know, just direct sales delivered directly to the customer, that sort of thing.

As far as the sales drop for EVs, that everybody's blowing way out of proportion, the government, I think, caused a lot of this.

Interest rates absolutely did.

But the government had a lot of confusion about which cars we're going to still qualify for the $7,500 income tax credit.

They also made it where, on January 1, if the dealer became or applied with the government to do this, the dealership could just give you that $7,500 as a point of sale discount.

So a lot of people, me included, decided, hey, I'm just going to wait until 2024 to buy an EV so that if in case, like in my case I'm retired and I may not have you are not retired?

Well, no, I just came out of retirement, but I was retired and you know that I may not qualify for the full $7,500.

I may not have that big a tax burden.

So I was going to wait until January 1.

And then, as I'm looking at vehicles now, the Hyundai and the Kia's didn't qualify for the $7,500, but they were discounting them $7,500.

So I got that with them.

And then I went over and, after visiting two dealerships that had just packed on thousands of dollars of extra cred, I was sitting there at my house on a Sunday, kind of depressed because I wanted to get an EV, and I just thought I wonder if Tesla is open on Sundays?

Well, they're not a dealership.

So in Texas, yeah, they are.

And I went and test drove it with my wife and it was you know.

They basically gave us the key and said have fun for 45 minutes.

So we went out driving just on our own and when we looked at the numbers, believe it or not, the Tesla was cheaper than the Ionic once the dealer packed all that stuff on there, but only if I got the $7,500.

And, as it turned out, tesla couldn't tell me if the Model Y was going to qualify after January 1.

So we decided to pull the trigger just before the end of the year to get the car, and no regrets.

I mean, it's a phenomenal vehicle.

I really did not want to buy a Tesla because I'm trying to tell the world hey, there's plenty of great, inexpensive electric vehicles to buy.

Tesla is not the only car in the world that's electric, you know.

So shop around.

And when I did in this case, in this particular area of Texas, the Tesla won the day.

Well, the Tesla has also been coming down in price because Elon has been discounting it because of competition.

now, yeah, and competition.

And since they got such a great head start and they're at mass production now these other OEMs and you mentioned Ford and Chevy, you know pulling back on their investment sum.

Tesla can just go to war with them and discount, and that's a huge advantage for Tesla and it's going to take a while for the other EV manufacturers to get up to speed.

Now the thing that's on the horizon are the Chinese electric vehicles.

They are not currently available in the United States, but they are in Europe and they are stomping the traditional OEMs that are making electric vehicles.

The European population loves the Chinese vehicles.

They are very high quality vehicles.

They're very affordable.

They're subsidized, probably way more than the US.

Oh, yeah, for the tax credit.

So that's an issue and they are shopping.

There's at least one brand I know of right now that's shopping for a factory location in Mexico.

Once they start building in North America, they're going to start qualifying for these tax credits.

Are you talking about VinFast?

No, vinfast is actually building a factory in the United States and I got to drive one of their vehicles at the Electrify Expo and they've gotten some really bad press.

But I'll tell you on that test drive and we could drive them on the Formula One track not at Formula One speeds, but that was an amazing vehicle.

It's a three row SUV.

You know exactly what the American market's looking for.

And so the Kia EV9 that's about to come to the United States.

Well, actually, they're in production now.

We're hoping to take one on the East Texas road trip in a week.

But the Kia EV9 is going to be an amazing vehicle for America.

And you know you were mentioning some of these SUVs starting at $80,000.

The EV9, I believe, comes in just below that, and definitely the VinFast does.

So there are going to be a lot of really good choices, especially once they qualify for the tax credit.

Are you coming to Houston for the Houston Auto Show?

Not this year, on February 28, or January 28th, et cetera.

The organization that I just became executive director of we're putting on what's called the East Texas EV road trip, and so we're driving from Beaumont to Texarkana, stopping at several different cities to present to the chambers of commerce, the news media, hopefully hosting some politicians from that area.

We have the conservatives for energy innovation that will be with us.

So you know, I keep telling people EVs are not partisan, they're not political, it's not a liberal thing.

If you're conservative and you care about international competition with China, if you care about energy independence, things like that, then EVs are still great, great thing for you too.

So it's not, you know, some green conspiracy there are.

There are things for liberals and conservatives when it comes to EVs, and we're going out there even with a school bus.

An electric school bus is going with us on this trip, because in the Austin area there's a school district that just got 91, or they just ordered 91 school buses.

Longview, texas, just ordered 10 electric school buses.

So now that the government funds are coming out, we're seeing a lot more charging infrastructure.

We're seeing a lot more school districts taking advantage of the program to get their school buses electrified, and that's what I'm focusing on this year.

I did want to see you guys at the show, but I'm not going to be able to make it.

I wanted to see that red sequined jacket of yours.

That's what I wanted to see, top hat.

I don't care about you, I just care about the jacket.

I suppose now that now that I'm executive director of Tech, I've kind of tone it down.

I see that you're wearing a little more stylish.

Yeah, you're looking good.

Well, I'm wearing this because I'm cold.

I'm so tired of winter already.

Yeah, well, we started talking a few weeks ago.

We were talking about if you made it down to Houston, we were going to talk a little bit about your new position with Tech etc.

And so we really haven't announced that or gone any place with that, so, but you brought it up, so can you just real quickly what is that?

Okay, yeah, Tech Centres and non-profit that works with the state legislature on EV policy, things like EV incentives, EV taxation, you know, because we now have to pay a $200 annual fee on top of normal registration, since we don't buy gasoline to get our roads repaired.

We work with the state government on infrastructure rollout.

In fact, five years ago we started generating the roadmap for EV electrification and the Navy funds are just starting to roll out into the field now, where you're going to see a lot of electric chargers getting built and the big announcement from a lot of the OEMs to move towards the NACS or Tesla charger.

In fact it's, you know, national or North American charging standard.

This is what Tesla named it.

So they they were kind of uppity there, you know, saying, oh, we're going to take over, and now they are going to take over, so we're going to see a lot more charging infrastructure and what's really cool for the other EV drivers than Tesla Just two miles from my house, in the parking lot of below's home improvement store, there's a bank of like 15 Tesla chargers and they have Tesla's new magic port and so when you pull up in a Tesla, you know it senses your car is a Tesla and when you pull the charger out, it's

a Tesla charger.

If you pull up in a non-Tesla, when you pull the charger out it's a CCS plug.

So all of those non Asian EVs that are here in the United States will be able to start using the Tesla charging network as they roll this program out um across the nation and that's going to be huge.

Let's talk about with the DC chargers.

Oh, that's the DC fast charger yeah.

Let's talk about, uh, the uh reliability of these charging stations.

You know, uh, I don't get very many EVs, but when I do, there's one not too far from me and I won't tell you who it is, but, uh, it always seems like half of it works and the other half of it doesn't work.

So frustrating, because you can only get two cars in there, one on either side of the thing, and when the other half doesn't work, well, you got to wait in line.

What is up with that?

Well, I think that you know Tesla was really focused on up time and they did a uh, I'll tell you, a fantastic job.

The.

The most common reason for chargers not to work is loss of connection to the network, so that you know they can't charge you.

And so, uh, one of the really innovative things I've seen, as uh, one of the charging companies now will actually uh, you know you're using that your phone app to start the charging sessions, so it uses your phone's connection to the internet.

And, let's say you're up in the Rocky mountain somewhere and there is no internet connection and they lose their landline.

They're actually able to spread that transaction data across all of the mobile phones of all the vehicles charging there and when you get back into an area where you have cell phone connection, it will upload that transaction of the server.

So losing that internet connection won't shut down those chargers and it uses blockchain technology.

So everybody's, you know, information is completely private, but it basically, you know, has a way to get that, save that information until the car and the cell phone in it gets to an area where it can pick up a signal and then it just uploads that data.

Cause.

That's bad, that's bad PR.

You know it is bad PR, but the fact is internet, you know, goes down and and, and especially in rural areas.

Uh, hopefully that's getting fixed with the new uh uh infrastructure that's going out, but it's.

It's an innovative way to approach it and I think that's going to be cool.

But if, if the charging companies aren't careful, you know Tesla's going to take over now that they're doing CCS.

Is there?

Is there a website for your new company?

Yes, in fact, we just rebranded and changed the name of the website to make it easier for people to remember.

So remember, we're in Texas and it's TXEVorg, and there you can, uh, uh, see the latest news on uh, electric vehicles.

If you're in Texas, I'm begging you to join us.

Um, we, my position was held up until December 31st by a legend in Texas, uh, politics and in lobbying.

His name was, oddly enough, it's Tom Smith no relation, but he goes by Smitty, and he and I were at the Texas Energy Summit in the state legislature, um, and over and over from stage you'd see a state senator, a state representative, go, oh and look, they're Smitty out in the audience.

Our good friend, and you know, I think as an organization it's a big hit for us to take to lose his services.

He's been lobbying in the state legislature for 42 years and when he was with public citizen he was one of the people that was responsible for us to getting the high tension power lines that went from nowhere in the panhandle to the major cities, which is now what is supporting wind energy and solar energy, uh, in Texas.

So the work that he did over all those years, you know, put us where we're leading the nation.

We're number one in wind.

We're number three, and rapidly approaching number one, in solar renewable energy and we're talking, you know, a utility scale generation.

Uh, so we're leading the nation there.

We're number three in EV adoption right now, um, but what we need is we need more voices when we, when we're talking to the legislature.

We need members that can pick up the phone or go to their email and let their legislators know how they feel.

Buzz.

It's always a pleasure to talk to you and I appreciate your, your, your, welcome.

This, uh, as far as uh, my sixth sense of humor, and I'm always rousing you and you know that, uh, I enjoy talking to you.

I appreciate you.

No, I love you guys.

I got one question.

Always take it with a grain of salt.

I know you're just ribbing me.

You want to be so bad you can taste it.

What quarter of the game did you turn off at?

Um, I think it was like 10 minutes in.

I uh, I'm not a big foot and ball fan anyway, but right after the Houston Astros and the uh uh Texas Rangers faced off in the uh ALCS, I was really hoping for a championship game between Dallas and Houston and you know the I think that the really the Dallas Cowboys should start uh producing some jewelry.

If they came up with a nice choker for a woman, that would be a good jewelry, but I think it'd be nation wise.

I didn't know it was going there.

But as I read where somebody had asked Roger Stalback if he thought that his team from back in the seventies could beat the current Dallas Cowboys, and supposedly he told the reporter yeah, but it'd be really close and be like 10 to seven, and and and ask him why?

And Roger said well, me and most of the guys on my team are in our eighties now.

So to shade.

That's it Very good.

Thank you, buzz.

Good to talk to you.

My friend, take care of yourself.

All right, y'all keeping an eye out for that Texas uh East EV road trip.

It's going to be a hoot Well we certainly will.

Thanks again.

All right Time now for this week in auto history here on the in wheel time car talk show, and Conrad has that.

Well, we know, jeff is the uh, the resident Cadillac fan.

The automotive world witness the public premiere of the Cadillacs and inaugural car at Madison square garden in New York city in 1903.

Unveiling the groundbreaking Cadillac run about with its single cylinder engine.

The vehicle closely resembled the original Ford model a, for a good reason, because Leland had worked for Henry Ford in the design of the model a.

In 1921, the first ever Rolls Royce rolled off the assembly line.

Us built Rolls Royce rolled off the assembly line, signaling the commencement of Rolls Royce production in the United States, built in the Boston area, and they built them for a number I think it was nine years in the Boston area.

In 1953, the Corvette prototype made its debut at GM's Motorama in the New York Waldorf Astoria Hotel, laying the foundation for the birth of the American sports car legend that would capture the enthusiasts worldwide.

And today the Corvette is still an enthusiast car and they're making huge changes in the market all the time.

In 1964, it marked the delivery of the first Porsche Carrera GTS.

It soon established its dominance on the track, translating to a legacy of unmatched performance and design, and Porsche to this day is recognized as one of the racing leaders in all categories.

In 1997, subaru unveiled its first production forester for the US market.

The vehicle originally made headlines at the Tokyo Motor Show in 1995 as the Striga Concept.

Credited for one of the first crossovers.

Subaru slapped at Slogan's SUV Tough Car Easy on this.

And then in 1998, the state of Tennessee designated Highway 51 South and renamed it the Elvis Presley Boulevard.

The name pays homage to the legendary musician's cultural impact, providing fans with a symbolic route to Graceland Very nice.

I want you to know that I signed up for the Elvis Hologram Concert.

All right, it's not been announced as a tour yet.

In the United States they're going to tour it and I was so excited.

You know, I went to see the Hologram for Buddy Holly.

No, not Buddy Holly, it was a, it was a Previgin concert.

It was a Previgin concert sponsored by Previgin that one God.

Anyway, it was really impressive, pretty woman.

Made such an impressive kid Pretty woman who sang Pretty Woman, roy Orbison.

Ah, it was that concert and it was spectacular, with a full orchestra and backup singers, and there he is singing right at the front of the stage in a hologram form.

It was pretty impressive.

Now you?

can go watch Elvis.

Elvis Gyrate.

Did you see the?

movie Elvis.

No, I heard it's excellent.

It's excellent.

Okay, so, some of the stories making headlines and we start with our recalls this week and there are a few, not near as many as I thought there would be Ford EcoSport and Ford Focus 2016 through 2022.

Engine oil pump failure.

You and I talked about that last week.

And they don't have parts available for it yet.

So, even though your engine has failed, you're just going to have to wait, yeah.

Well, that's definitely going to do that and not have any transportation Inoperative.

Left rear turn signal in the Volvo XC40 for 2024, whatever that is about, Ford Motor Company on Friday said it's cutting two thirds of the jobs at the Michigan plant that builds the F-150 Lightning as it slows output of the electric pickup.

From automotive news in April, Ford will make 1400 workers at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn either retire or move to other facilities as the plant drops to one daily production shift.

The automaker said.

Have that strike work out for you.

Since October the site has been operating on a two-shift, three-crew pattern with one crew of workers on rotating layoffs.

Ford said 700 people, or roughly half the affected workers, will transfer to nearby Michigan Assembly where it's adding a third crew to increase production of the Bronco SUV and the Ranger pickup.

Yeah, the production pullback comes amid a slowdown in EV demand.

That has prompted Ford and other automakers to rethink ambitious plans.

Ford has delayed roughly $12 billion in EV investments and postponed some production targets.

The company said it was reducing some Mustang Mach-E production and postponing opening one of two battery plants planned in Kentucky with partner SKON.

That's interesting.

I'll save this story for later when you come back.

But Goodyear Tyron Rubber Company on Thursday named Stellantis North American Executive Mark Stewart as CEO.

The appointment is effective January 29th, goodyear said in a statement.

Conrad's making all the noise over there this morning.

The manufacturer in Akron, ohio initiated a review to maximize shareholder value last July after shedding jobs to deal with softening demand and spiraling inflation.

Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, dodge, ram, jeep, fiat and several other global auto brands, announced Tuesday that Stewart was leaving the automaker after a five-year stint as COO of North America.

It'll be replaced by Carlos Zarlenga, president of Stellantis', mexico unit.

Wow, effective February 1st Interesting.

Yeah, it is Okay.

Time now for a quick break, but we'll be right back.

The in-mode time car talk show is streaming and podcasting.

Look for us on your favorite podcast provider Back after this break.

Grab your engines and set sail for the ultimate surf and turf the Houston Auto Boatip Show January 24th through the 28th at NRG Center.

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It's the Houston Auto Boatip Show January 24th through the 28th.

Buy early and save at autoboatipshowcom.

You own a car you love, why not let Gulf Coast Auto Shield protect it?

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The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants will have you telling your family and friends just what the original recipes mean.

When it comes to the best fajitas in southeast Texas, founders Stan Holt invites you to visit the original loopy tortilla near I-10 at Highway 6.

Here's the original house that inspired the design of all the rest and the original charm that helped make loopy tortilla the go-to destination for Houston Tex-Mex.

Speaking of original, nothing can compete with the original lime pepper marinade that everyone will agree makes loopy tortilla award-winning beef fajitas the best anywhere.

Loopy tortilla Katie is another location that gives you the same quality and service Historians have come to expect at loopies.

It's located just off I-10 of the Grand Parkway, at Kingsland Boulevard in Katie.

Find yourself in Aggie Land.

Head to the loopy tortilla in College Station.

Located just around the corner from Kyle Field.

It's a great place to enjoy those famous frozen margaritas before or after the game.

Head east to Louisiana.

Stop in at the loopy tortilla in Beaumont.

It twos on I-10, you can't miss it.

The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants invites you in for the best Tex-Mex anywhere.

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 8 to 11 am Central on Facebook, youtube, twitch and our InWheelTimecom website.

Podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, spotify Stitcher, iheart Podcast, podcast Addict Tune In Pandora and Amazon Music.

Keep listening and we'll see you soon.

A Turbo-Charged Talk on Sales, Infrastructure, and the Industry with 'Buzz' Smith, the EVangelist!

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