Muscle cars are powerful cars that were very popular in the 1960s and 1970s. They are known for their strong engines and sporty designs, often used for racing.
Limited edition cars are special versions of regular cars made in fewer numbers. They usually have unique features that make them more exciting and valuable.
The Chevrolet Impala Z11 is a special version of the Impala made in 1963 for racing. It was built to be very fast and is popular among car collectors today.
The Pontiac Catalina is a big car that was made by the Pontiac company for many years. The 1963 version is special because it was built to be really fast and light, which makes it popular among car enthusiasts and collectors.
The 1968 Dodge Hemi Dart is a special version of the Dart car that has a very powerful engine called a Hemi. It was made in limited numbers, which makes it very collectible.
Hemi is a type of engine design that helps cars go faster by allowing air and fuel to mix better. The 426 Hemi is a well-known powerful engine used in some classic cars.
Body-on-frame means the main part of the vehicle, called the frame, is separate from the body. This makes the vehicle stronger and better for rough driving.
A four-wheel drive system means that power goes to all four wheels of the car, which helps it drive better on rough or slippery surfaces. It's great for off-roading or driving in bad weather.
An infotainment screen is the screen in your car that shows maps, music, and other information. Bigger screens usually make it easier to use these features.
Third row seating means there are extra seats in the back of the car for more passengers. But using these seats can take away space for luggage or other items.
Turbocharging means using a device to push more air into the engine, which helps it produce more power without needing a bigger engine. It's a way to make smaller engines perform better.
An eight-speed automatic transmission is a type of gearbox that automatically changes gears for you. More gears can help the car run more smoothly and save fuel.
Air ride suspension is a type of car suspension that uses air instead of metal springs. It can make the ride smoother and can be adjusted for different driving conditions.
said largest in texas magnolia Todd mission all that up there it's all pretty good I normally
don't hear about Todd mission David well that's the original that's our guest there okay okay if he
could get by that white line and in between the white line in the cone does it does it go in reverse
you're gonna love this apparently yeah so anyway uh there's lots of renaissance festivals around
the country if you like to do that kind of stuff I even found out there are people that make a living
they go from fair to fair to fair around the country with their designs and their
performances and uh it's pretty interesting I will tell you that not as interesting it was back
in the 70s but it's very interesting I went there once and I can take my kids now yeah and it rained
I went there once and it rained and did you leave or did you stay for as long as we could
the years ago the kids are really little okay are we off the how do you get off the screen there
all right well um I think that our next next guest has just has just shown up there it is yeah
is that a Model T perfect what is that it's an oil burner I can tell you that yeah
and I wasn't trying to be funny it just said it is and I'm sure that he'll confirm that
oh
time now for just car culture two powerful cars for the time too powerful for their time are you
002 2 yeah 2 2 uh to capitalize on the muscle car craze and racing enthusiasm many big three
automakers built limited edition factory drag cars with unreal amounts of horsepower these were
intended for the track but were 100 street legal are you ready fifi hit it uh first one is a 1963
chevy impala z 11 50 impala z 11's were built as drag cars for the track only but were guaranteed
to run under 11 seconds that's pretty quick the fact calls into question that uh official power
rating because the cars were definitely quick had more juice on it there was no real dyno or
credible sources to see exactly what the horsepower was but it's estimated to be 510 that's a lie from
the factory from the fact yeah the power this car may have in part been part of the reason gm would
ban engines over 400 cubic inches uh in the intermediate cars later on the gm produced uh
may have been thinking about potential lawsuits arising from letting a bunch of knuckleheads
get ahold of these cars who would be the knucklehead uh next one we've got is a 63 pi at catalina
super duty they call it the swiss cheese there's a theme on this list of all these cars had underrated
the catalina super duty was rated about 405 on the horsepower which is not enough to move a full
sized car down the quarter mile in 12 that thing was heavy too it was uh most likely it was over 500
ponies from the factory higher on the track after it was tuned up poniac made only 14 of these glorious
cars making them some of the rarest classics in the air oh i've never heard yeah car pictured here
is about 742 500 at amica moxin in 2025 so there you go uh another catalyne went for about 473
okay the next one is a 64 forward fair lane thunderbird thunderbolt i should say the god of
thunder and rock and roll the 64 thunderbolt uh wasn't much of a myth as it was a legend capable
of ripping off quarter mile estimates in the leavens with his mighty 427 cubic inch side oiler the v8
now uh science says that this was estimated about 425 so lightweight body and additional weight
reduction isn't enough you just keep on doing your thing because uh the three of us are gonna go over
here go for it uh best estimates put it about 540 on the ponies uh not a proven fact but hey
they only made 100 of them and several of them are still registered on the street so the next one
we've got is a 68 dodge hemi dart it is a full blown hemi uh the 68 dart was just his name would
suggest 426 street hemi if we had a little thing here uh squeezed into the engine bay christler
was uncomfortable with the factory installing hemi's in compacts so they did one better they just
let herst do it so actually uh it wasn't too bad for them to do that in addition the massive par
was upgraded the hemi darts were stripped in every weight adding comfort like receipts carpets
insulation they took all that stuff out of there so that would be uh for that hemi we're gonna
get the next one here is a 66 forward fair lane 500 r code for the 66 and 67 seasons only the
four fair lane are dominated the nhra ssb gas class and the as classes uh so given the acceleration
of the times of the era and they had to do a lot of it to get it under an 11 second car
unlike the rest of the cars on this list uh that we just read you they're available to the general
public ford reserved uh these cars for select drivers only they made 57 of them and the top
dollar collectors will be all over these things and the last one we have michael uh would be the
well that was the last one there you go so the 66 four fair lane so there you go that is
oh the bonus car there you go i knew we had another one there's the bonus baby right there
thank you mike and there you have it what was the what was the bonus car my car just
2020 performance beauty conformance beauty there's always a bonus in that come on
time now for this hour's car review i had a chance to drive the 2025 toyota forerunner final assembly
location taharan aichi japan all right available trim levels there are nine of them including
variants of the trd which has the most of them sr5 limited platinum and trail hunter which is a new
trim level four-wheel drive limited is what i had this is a standard suv in other words body on frame
and we were going to call this a mid-size suv seats five now it can come with a third row which
this one did i don't know why they've squeezed it back there but i guess somebody wants it
this is the sixth generation uh but that third row by the way is going to cost you $1,500 extra
third generation all new for 2025 the new skin on it still retains the forerunner look
but it's more muscular a little more edgy than the older model three-part grille includes the
skid plate down low on the version that i had bigger wheel options at a sophisticated street
look to this modern taillights book in the large tailgate with a sunshade over the rear window
but i liked about it the new look was 16 years in the making we hope that you enjoy it and so
today what could use improvement there are too many trim levels i think that they need to whack
some of those away it's just too many and i understand why they do it because they bundle
all of these things together and they come up with all the trim levels but it's too confusing
you know is it worth it i don't know because problems is when you have this particular
trim level then you say but i want that well that's extra now if you want you can have that
and that with a bunch of other stuff for the next trim level and it just keeps on going and going
and going that's just my opinion that interior highlights uh homework is needed for its multifunction
four-wheel drive system i didn't try it it has lots of adjustments listen this is an off-road
vehicle and let's not forget that who takes them off-road no one that i know that owns one my son
of law owns one and he's never been off-road with it phone charger is up underneath the dash
in front of the console i figured that this is a perfect place for it it's kind of a no man's
lad up there you just kind of slide the thing up there it's got an automatic charger the whole
nine yards it's perfect upper trims get classy leather appointments and i mean nice looking
optional huge infotainment screen that i had it's a bump up from the standard one and even the seven
incher that i think that is on the standard forerunner that it's plenty big but if you want a great
big one like a tesla well you can get it easy operation however a cargo room adequate without
the third row up needless to say what i liked about it the ruggedness the ruggedness of the
interior really stands out so you're not going to it's not a sissy mobile okay you're buying an
off-roader it's going to look like an off-roader on the inside third rows of no go for me engine
no more v6 2.4 liter turbocharged four cylinder 278 horsepower it's fine 317 pound feet of torque
eight speed automatic transmission it'll tow three tons wow so you know it's got to be stout right
mileage ratings 20 in the city 24 in the highway 21 for a combined i got 20 over 437 miles
what i liked the turbo four works well and i'm not a huge fan generally speaking of turbocharged
four cylinders but this one does work well let's toyota what do you think happy yeah uh
ride handling what i liked about it it's a nice cross between on and off-road compliance
what could use improvement optional air ride suspension if you're going to get one of those
high-end ones hey let's go all the way right let's do it on air ride base trim price 57.4 that's base
trim price 57.4 price is tested 62 625 but you can get in one the two-wheel drive model
no bells and whistles 41 270 competitors the Jeep Wrangler starts at $32,095 Ford Bronco
$38,995 which is probably its closest competitor and the Chevy Tahoe because GM does not have anything
really that competes in this class uh the Chevy Tahoe 5850 there is no midsize from yeah then
then they go up from there drastically yeah and that's my review of the 2025 all new from the ground
up toyota for runner and they're probably selling a google amount of them i'm sure because once you
get in one of those things it's really hard to get out of because they're they're nice and you know
but nobody takes you you know that i know well anyway um
About this episode
Exploring the quirky world of Renaissance festivals, the hosts share their top five fall road trip destinations for enthusiasts looking to dress up and enjoy themed events. From the bustling California Renaissance Pleasure Faire to the massive Texas Renaissance Festival, they discuss the unique experiences each location offers. The episode also dives into powerful classic cars, highlighting underrated drag cars from the 60s, and concludes with a detailed review of the 2025 Toyota 4Runner, discussing its features, performance, and the peculiar addition of a third row.
Skip the time machine and grab the keys—we’re charting five Renaissance festivals worth the drive, then mashing the throttle on a set of street-legal legends before closing with a grounded, real-world review of the 2025 Toyota 4Runner. We start with why people keep returning to these immersive fairs: the craft markets, roaming characters, dense 16th‑century villages, and the freedom to show up as a spectator or a knight in chainmail. From Pennsylvania’s vineyard-backed village to Maryland’s nine-week run and Minnesota’s roomy grounds, we build toward Texas, the largest Ren fest in the U.S., where hundreds of shops, two dozen stages, and a sprawling campground turn weekends into stories you can’t make up.
Then we pivot to the machines that rewired car culture. The Chevy Impala Z11, Pontiac Catalina Super Duty, Ford Thunderbolt, Dodge Hemi Dart, and Ford Fairlane 500 R-Code prove how factory “ratings” barely hinted at the truth. Lightweight bodies, big-inch V8s, and limited production created cars that ran elevens and reset expectations for what a street-legal car could be. Rarity, auctions, and a little fear from the automakers themselves only added to the legend.
To bring it all home, we take a clear-eyed look at the all-new 2025 Toyota 4Runner. Still body-on-frame and proud of it, the latest generation swaps the old V6 for a turbo four that tows with confidence, pairs with an eight-speed, and balances on-road comfort with real off-road bones. The interior stays rugged with smart tech options, but the third row feels cramped and the long list of trims can overwhelm. We sort what’s worth paying for, where it stacks up against Wrangler and Bronco, and who will love it most.
If you enjoyed the ride—from mead to muscle—follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a fall road trip idea, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find us.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
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