The Chevrolet Camaro Z28 is a sporty car that was popular in the 1980s. The 1980 version had a powerful V8 engine but was heavy, which affected its speed.
The Ford Mustang II Cobra II is a version of the Mustang that came out in the 1970s. It was supposed to be sporty but didn't have much power, making it less exciting.
The Dodge Charger Daytona is a special version of the Charger that was designed for speed and racing. It has a unique look and is known for its performance.
The Seat Cordoba is a small car that was made in Spain and is known for being stylish and affordable. It's a good option for people looking for a practical vehicle.
The Dodge Road Runner is a fast car from the past that many people loved for its speed and cool looks. It was designed to be powerful and fun to drive.
The Chevrolet El Camino SS is a car that looks like a pickup truck but is designed for sporty driving. It had some cool features but didn't perform as well as expected.
The AMC Javelin is a cool, sporty car from the past that many people loved for its speed and unique look. It was one of the cars that raced against other famous muscle cars.
Car
AMC Javelin AMX
The AMC Javelin AMX is a sporty car that looked tough and was meant to compete with other big brands. In its last year, it couldn't perform as well because of new rules about emissions.
A mid-sized car is a car that is bigger than a small car but smaller than a big car. It has enough space for a family but is not too large to drive around easily.
A fastback roof is a type of car shape where the roof slopes down smoothly towards the back. It makes the car look sleek and helps it move through the air better.
Infotainment is a system in cars that provides information and entertainment, like music and navigation. It helps drivers stay connected while on the road.
A shifter stalk is a part of the car that lets you change gears, usually found on the steering column. It helps save space and can look different from regular gear shifters.
A turbo four-cylinder engine is a smaller engine with four cylinders that uses a turbocharger to make it more powerful. It helps the car go faster while using less fuel.
An eight-speed automatic transmission is a system in a car that automatically changes gears for you. Having eight speeds helps the car drive smoothly and use fuel more efficiently.
All-season tires are types of tires that can be used in different weather, like rain or light snow. They are good for everyday driving but might not be the best for racing or very snowy conditions.
Ride and handling describe how smooth a car feels when driving and how well it turns. A good ride means it feels comfortable over bumps, while good handling means it responds well when you steer.
Base trim price is the lowest price for a car model without any extra features or upgrades. It helps you see how much the car costs before adding anything special.
The Honda Accord is a type of car that is good for everyday driving. It's known for being reliable and not using too much gas, making it a favorite for many people.
The Volkswagen Jetta is a smaller car that is fun to drive and has a sporty design. It's a good option for those looking for a compact sedan.
LIVE
always those all right mr. Mars has driving destinations i gotta find it today it's going
to be five october fests that he has deemed worthy mr. Mars there's a surprising number
of october vests out there across the united states and uh it was kind of how do you weasel them down
into something of the bigger ones but some of them that i thought were particularly interesting
was october fest usa is in lacrosse wisconsin i thought this would be good for you don bring
back some pleasant memories since 1961 the lacrosse october fest has become a midwest tradition
it's settled along the mississippi river they have lots of pageantry they're parades they tap
the golden keg is part of the deal and they have a vibrant poker halls that they play lots of music
where visitors don their leader hosin and dirtles i'm not sure what that is none of us do if you
pronounce it like that i think somebody slipped a word in there that she's not supposed to play on
a broadcast but is that what if you were leader hosin your doles are exposed no dirtles dirtles
is the way you say it whatever anyway so it's kind of a big carnival rides a contest for all the
family so then you go to denver of all places where the milehouse city has become a tradition
where they bring in this german cheer with denver's energetic beer culture they have a lot of beer
there among other things so they turn six blocks the downtown area into this festival area with
they have keg bowling they have stein hosting contests and they have live poker bands lots of
breweries you know of course it's colorado and they have lots of things to go along there then
moving on to something a little closer to home fredericksburg octoberfest now this is the as
they've designated it the poker poker capital of texas and it's set to the heart of the hill country
and it's kind of replaced some of the other areas that seem to have like lots of poker stuff but it
really doesn't they this is grown bigger and better they get together at kinder park and they have
lots of wine here as well as 50 varieties of beer arts crafts exhibits all this stuff goes around
into the areas proud german heritage again with the leader hoson for travelers and parades and
contests singalongs it's a fredericksburg octoberfest offers a family friendly celebration with
texas hospitality now this is one that i thought was very interesting helen georgia now this is
the blue ridge mountains and it's a story brook brook brook pervarium i cannot talk today the
town's built much very very much the architecture along the pervarian mountains houses and homes
and they have a lot of brass bands playing pokas they have a traditional german attire because this
is kind of what the town looks like a big german festival yeah yeah it's on the chattahoochee river
so that makes it even better oh yeah hoochie now this one is the big one octoberfest zin zin natty
zin zin natty with z's is the way it's pronounced happens in uh becomes the largest octoberfest
celebration in the country they got a lot of polka uh bratwurst and eight uncontrollable brats
yeah 800 000 people show up for this event they have uh you know of course they've got all the
they have nothing else to do there if i guess not so they have lots of live bands costume uh
people and they have the world's largest chicken dance don i look for you in this picture but i
could not find you in that crowd but i looked where's waldo yes where's waldo and uh they have
dashhound races which i thought several places have dashhound races yeah i thought it would be
called doxins is that like a doxin i think it's a dashhound is a doxin but yeah but they also have
far be it from me to uh correct anybody on the air that's right and or you some of them actually
they have it called the running of the wieners instead of the for dashhound races so for me
they're not dashhounds i think that they're called doxins but again um dash dox whatever
yeah model it's like sauerkraut balls you know and strudel and networks it's all kind of sauerkraut
balls that's what it said they serve plates of sauerkraut balls you know what i think we're
going to leave this segment right here where how do i get off the screen michael oh yeah let's see
that picture something okay i don't know what else to tell you but all i can tell you is
that the in wheel time car talk show will continue after this break in our recovery
time now for jeff's car culture you ready michael muscle cars that didn't deliver yeah one of the
you bet muscle car badges implies that asphalt melting torques stoplight showdowns and even
engine roar that rattles windows but not every muscle car lived up to the hype the mission
straggulations heavy bodies marketing misfires meant these machines take a big uh game but don't
walk the walk so our first one mic is a 1980 chevrolet camaro z28 excuse me the z28 struck fear
into the hearts of other other cars at red lights and by 1980 it's 190 horsepower v8
was all bark and no bite being nearly 3,500 pounds it had the looks but couldn't outrun a
well-fed minivan to get to a disco era disappointment wrapped in racing stripes so there you go the
next one we have is a ford mustang 2 cobra 2 that nameplate promised venom yet in 1976 it was
defanged all it delivered was a weezy 140 horsepower 302 v8 with the cal glores uh it looked like a
car but performed like a budget commuter carol shelby probably winced with emotional pain every
time one drove by the next one mic is a dodge charger Daytona borrowing the iconic Daytona name
could have come with uh horsepower instead this bloated b body weight weight down it's obviously
cute v8 engine it handled like a yacht in the parking it looks like a christle a cordoba with
rich currentian leather it was more of a showboat than a muscle car the next one mic is a plinth
velari road runner this road runner name once meant speed and simplicity by 1980 it was a sticker
packaged on a velari powered by an asthmatic 318 v8 it beeped and probably wheezed right after a sad
final lap once a great nameplate next one michael is a ford thunderbird 1980 a thunderbird had
evolved into a personal luxury coop rather than a performance machine the base 255 cubic inch v8
struggled to produce 115 horsepower there's your answer leaving this heavy cruiser with all the
thunder of a polite cough despite the name it was flying it wasn't flying past anything
buick century free spirit this bicentennial edition looked the part with his red white and
blue paint and gold graphics yet the 455 v8 couldn't overcome its age the emissions the constraints
of that and the extra weight it was a patriotic parade float with a drag strip demon nasty the next
one is an el camino ss had a sporty uh aesthetics stripes and badging unfortunately the performance
it gave was lukewarm even with an optional v8 it drove more like a parts hauler than a powerhouse
sure it was cool and had street cred it wasn't really quick enough to justify the muscle car name
that's sad one more here is the javelin amx 1974 once battled on equal ground with the big three
four gm and chrysler but in his final year his performance was stifled by emission rules and
weight gain the styling was aggressive but it was like a washed up bodybuilder with muscles
fading don armstrong rebadged and the last one my favorite is the forward ltd2 sport
the sporty trim was a lumbering ltd2 had a blackout trim and a big bravado but its performance
numbers were anything but athletic the 302 350 351 v8 moved at all with the urgency of a jogger in sand
well get away michael you know i'm proud to say that i completely forgot about those cars
and they were very forgettable i had one yeah it was the chevy
monza do you remember that yeah monza from 1975 i traded in my 74 vega gt i had a 77 v8 i had a v6
77 chevy monza spider and i told him if it came with any spider stuff on it i wasn't buying anything
mine had a v8 in it i had the v6 yeah but did probably yours v6 probably had more horsepower
than my v could have been i remember having my very first trip in it the road trip to dalis in
a bowling tournament i was in right and the heater didn't work and it was ice cold oh yeah you told
me that story yeah yep all right time now for this hour's car review i had a chance to drive the
2025 hundae sonata and we have a picture of that i believe is that my um the final assembly
location of this vehicle is ulsan korea so you know i'm sure that tariffs will have something
to do with the price of this car available trim levels there's gasoline there's a hybrid
and the end line i had the end line front wheel drive this is considered a large car
or many people call it a full-sized car i don't even consider it a full size i'm thinking more
along the lines of a mid right yeah yeah uh it uh seats five people including the driver
it was all new in 2020 they've recently had a bump uh in the update on this car
sleek wind cheating front fascia with fender to fender lighting a halo light goes up there
you can see it right there in that picture this particular car that i had like this one in the
video is a matt silver finish it's an extra thousand bucks wow has black wheels it looks it looks hot
really did kind of like the look of it creased fender well openings
highlight the big wheels on this car fastback roof with trunk lid spoiler
has the boy hot rodders giggly over this car what i liked about it the overall design gets
high marks in my opinion what could use improvement nothing i think that they they really hit it if
you're looking for a hot rod type sedan this is something to look at that's for sure interior
highlights include a gray interior that has a red stripe throughout the interior that is actually
tastefully done one big screen atop the dash contains instruments and the infotainment information
comfortable seating with n embroidered on the seat backs a handy center console with multiple
functionality like that a lot trunk room is adequate it's got that fastback on it so
you've got a little bit more trunk room on it than you normally would on a standard sedan
but i liked the unique shifter stalk now you jeff would probably hate it because you're more of
a traditionalist i get to drive all these different cars this is a stalk that comes out of the right
side of the steering column and on the end of it has a silver knob and if you want to put it in
drive you twist it forward if you want to put it in neutral you bring it back and press it in and
if you want to put it in reverse you twist it back towards you works really well is out of the way
it's not on the center console taking up space that i just feel is really it's a waste of space is
what it is wow so unique shaft shifter stick that i liked on it what could use improvement
it could use a ventilated seat option that it currently doesn't offer i think that's something
they should probably look at two and a half liter turbo four cylinder that turns out ready
290 horsepower with a turbo four 311 pound feet of torque eight speed automatic transmission
mileage 23 in the city is what it's rated 32 on the highway for combined at 27 i got 28.9 miles
per gallon over 467.4 miles what i like uh the powerful engine in it this thing rocked what
could use improvement sure would like to have some exhaust sound at full throttle maybe they
could put a button on it some something because when you step on it it's you can't tell that you've
stepped on it it just goes without any sound and this is a hot rod so let's make it sound like
a hot rod ride and handling underscore comfortable this thing rode like butter butter what could
use improvement the tires the tires meet need more grip oh wow this thing will be sticky no this
thing will light them up and use their all season tires probably yeah they are and you know that
that's fine but this is a hot rod in my opinion a new it is a performance vehicle did you ever have
one Mars no but i mean it's their inline that's what it's touted at that's what it's all about
so they need to do something with the tires unless of course you know you just light them up all the
time go through them like water and then go get you some stickies on there yeah ride and handling
comfortable tires need more grip base trim price 35 250 price is tested 37 610 that's with that
$1,000 pop for the matte finish uh competitors to this vehicle there really isn't any Honda Accord
starts at 28 295 but it doesn't have the horsepower same thing with the Toyota camera it's at 287
and the VW Jetta threw that one in there just for the heck of it for 22 995 like the car overall
i mean it really is it really is nice cool the Honda i'm sorry the Hyundai Sonata inline front
wheel drive with niacin with niacin turbo power fun agile and elegant is it says on the sticker here
all right that's that that's that just moving right along okay well let's move right along
show okay hey if you'd like to get in touch with us shoot us an email the address is info
at in wheel time dot com we'll be right back
About this episode
Exploring the intersection of beer culture and automotive performance, this episode dives into various Oktoberfest celebrations across the U.S., highlighting unique traditions and activities. The discussion shifts to muscle cars that fell short of their performance promises, featuring iconic models like the 1980 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 and the Ford Mustang II Cobra. The hosts share personal anecdotes and insights, culminating in a review of the 2025 Hyundai Sonata, emphasizing its design and performance while suggesting areas for improvement.
Fall energy meets turbo torque as we jump from steins to stopwatches, mapping the most spirited Oktoberfests in the U.S. before tearing into “muscle cars” that talked big and drove small—then we strap into the 2025 Hyundai Sonata N Line to see what real-world performance feels like today. We start with pure festival joy: Denver turns six downtown blocks into keg bowling, stein hoists, and polka beats; Fredericksburg, Texas doubles down on Hill Country hospitality with 50 beers and a proud German thread; Helen, Georgia leans into storybook Bavarian architecture along the Chattahoochee; and Cincinnati’s Zinzinnati packs in hundreds of thousands for brats, bands, and a gleefully chaotic chicken dance plus those crowd-pleasing dachshund races. It’s a tour of local flavor, beer culture, and family-friendly spectacle that proves tradition thrives when a city makes it its own.
Then we flip the script and call out the pretenders. From the Camaro Z28 and Mustang II Cobra II to bloated nameplates wearing legendary badges, we break down how emissions-era limits, weight creep, and marketing overreach diluted true performance. The takeaway is clear: a stripe package can’t outrun physics.
That honesty sets the stage for a modern surprise—Hyundai’s Sonata N Line. With a 2.5L turbo four, 290 hp, and 311 lb-ft, it delivers punchy acceleration, smooth shifts from an eight-speed, and a chassis tuned for comfort without feeling sleepy. We dig into the sleek lighting, fastback profile, clean interior with a wide digital display, and the clever column twist shifter that frees up the console. We also call our shots: ventilated seats would be great, the stock tires need more grip, and a selectable exhaust note would match the car’s hot-rod attitude.
If you care about festivals, car culture, and where everyday performance is heading, this ride is for you. Hit play, share it with a friend who loves Oktoberfest or horsepower debates, and tell us: which underperforming “muscle” car deserves a second chance—and would you daily the N Line? Subscribe, leave a quick review, and email us your thoughts at [email protected] so we can feature your take next time.
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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