In Wheel Time Podcast: Your Go-To Automotive Talk Show Feb 11, 2026

Muscle Wagons, CX50 and Texas Throws Beads?

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Term

beater

A 'beater' is a cheap car that you can drive around without worrying too much about it getting damaged. It's usually not fancy but gets the job done.

Car

Mazda Cx50

The Mazda CX-50 is a type of SUV that is good for families and people who like to drive in different conditions. It's designed to be comfortable and useful for everyday use.

Term

turbo

A turbo is a part that helps the engine get more air, which makes it more powerful and efficient. It helps the car go faster without using more fuel.

Term

front fascia

The front fascia is the front part of a car that includes things like the grille and headlights. It's important for how the car looks and how it moves through the air.

Term

wheel well trim

Wheel well trim is the part of the car that goes around the wheels. It can make the car look nicer and help keep dirt from getting inside.

Term

roof rack

A roof rack is a frame on top of a car that helps you carry extra things like bags or bikes. It gives you more space inside the car.

Term

infotainment operating system

The infotainment operating system is like the car's computer that helps you use things like GPS, music, and phone calls while driving.

Part

2.5 liter four cylinder engine

A 2.5 liter four cylinder engine is a common type of engine in cars. It has four parts called cylinders that help it run, and it's designed to be efficient while still providing good power.

Term

227 horsepower

Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. 227 horsepower means the engine can make the car go pretty fast and handle a good amount of weight.

Term

six speed automatic transmission

A six speed automatic transmission is a system in the car that changes gears on its own, making it easier to drive. It has six different settings to help the car go faster or save fuel.

Term

310 pound feet of torque

Torque measures how much twisting force the engine can produce. 310 pound feet of torque means the car can accelerate quickly and pull heavy loads.

Term

miles per gallon

Miles per gallon tells you how far a car can go on a gallon of gas. The higher the number, the less gas you need to drive a certain distance, which is better for your wallet.

Term

hybrid

A hybrid car uses both gas and electricity to run. This helps it use less gas and can save you money on fuel while being better for the environment.

Term

all-wheel drive

All-wheel drive means that power goes to all four wheels of the car, which helps it grip the road better, especially in bad weather like rain or snow. This is useful for SUVs and sporty cars.

Term

handling

Handling is how well a car responds when you turn the steering wheel or press the brakes. A car with good handling feels stable and easy to control, especially when going around corners.

Term

chassis

The chassis is the main frame of the car that holds everything together, like the engine and wheels. A strong chassis helps the car handle better and feel more stable on the road.

Term

base trim price

Base trim price is the lowest price for a car model before adding any extra features or options. It's the starting point for how much the car costs.

Term

MSRP

MSRP is the price that car makers suggest dealers sell their cars for. It's a good reference point to know how much a car should cost.

Car

Honda Crv

The Honda CR-V is a popular SUV that is known for being reliable and having a lot of space inside. Many people like it for its good gas mileage.

Car

Toyota RAV4

The Toyota RAV4 is a compact SUV that many people choose for its comfort and safety. It's a practical vehicle for families and everyday use.

Car

Nissan Rogue

The Nissan Rogue is a compact SUV that offers a comfortable ride and lots of space inside. It's a good choice for families and those needing extra room.

Car

Lexus RX

The Lexus RX is a luxury SUV that is known for being very comfortable and having nice features inside. It's a popular choice for people looking for a premium vehicle.

Term

muscle car

Muscle cars are fast cars that were popular in the U.S. during the 1960s and 70s. They usually have big engines and are designed for speed and performance.

Concept

American cars from the 60s and 70s

Cars made in America during the 1960s and 70s are famous for their unique looks and strong engines. This time was important for creating many different types of cars, including fast ones and family-friendly station wagons.

Concept

restomod

A restomod is when you take an old car and fix it up with new parts to make it better to drive, but still keep its classic look.

Car

Ford Torino

Pontiac was a car brand that made sporty and fast cars, especially popular in the 1960s and 70s. They are known for models like the GTO, which many people love for their speed and cool designs. Even though the brand is no longer around, people still talk about its cars because of their impact on car history.

Car

Ford Torino

The Ford Torino is a car made by Ford in the late 60s and early 70s that was popular for its sporty versions, similar to the Mustang.

Car

Ford Mustang

The Ford Mustang is a famous sports car made by Ford that started in 1964 and is known for being fast and stylish.

Car

Ford Torino Cobra

The Ford Torino Cobra is a faster version of the Torino car, made for people who wanted a sportier ride.

Car

Shelby Cobra

The Shelby Cobra is a famous sports car that was made in the 1960s and is known for being very fast and stylish. It was built to compete in races and has a strong following among car fans today. People often mention it because of its cool looks and racing history.

Car

Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser

The Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser is a classic station wagon that was made from the 1960s to the 1970s. It is known for its cool design, including a glass roof, and was popular with families because it had a lot of space. People like to talk about it because it reminds them of a fun time in car history.

Car

Pontiac Gto

The Pontiac GTO is a classic American car that started the trend of muscle cars in the 1960s. It was known for being fast and powerful, making it very popular among car lovers. People often talk about it because of its important place in car history.

Car

Dodge Coronet

The Dodge Coronet is a large car that Dodge made, and some versions of it were known for being powerful and sporty.

Term

Gen 3 Hemi

The Gen 3 Hemi is a powerful type of engine made by Chrysler that is known for being strong and efficient.

Car

Chevrolet Chevelle

The Chevrolet Chevelle SS is a sporty version of the Chevelle car that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s for its speed and power.

Car

Chevrolet Ss

The Chevrolet SS is a powerful version of the Chevelle car that was popular in the late 60s and early 70s. It is known for being fast and having a sporty look, making it a favorite among people who love muscle cars. It's often talked about because it represents a fun time in American car culture.

Term

cowl induction hood

A cowl induction hood is a special type of car hood that helps bring cool air to the engine, which can make it run better. It usually has a raised part to help with airflow.

LIVE

Well, you know, Mardi Gras, uh, weekend starts this weekend, started, I guess, today.

Gallistan, Mardi Gras.

Pardon me.

Gallistan, Mardi Gras.

Yeah.

Because the Mardi Gras season.

All right.

There you go.

Well, okay.

Whatever you want to call it, it's Mardi Gras, period.

And, um, you know, there's stuff to do and places to go to do it.

And Mr. Morris has this week's driving destination.

I can't see it, including Mardi Gras party destinations.

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 Gras that are

around the country.

And a, 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 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've got people throwing beads.

You've 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 it had a little bit bigger area because it was growing

so much.

Again, you've got a lot of floats, a lot of food, a lot of food trucks, a lot of 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 were during the day.

Very family friendly.

Again, more food and more celebrating of the Gulf Coast culture.

And from there, you can go on over to a little bit more west, go over to Zagine.

Again, this is a local regional type event and they have a golf cart parade.

Wait a minute.

Zagine is on the way to San Antonio.

Yes.

And speaking of which, once you get through in Zagine, you can go on over to San Antonio.

I knew you were going to go there.

I think one of the probably the most family friendly ones that I've run across that are

semi-close is going to be the one at Six Flags over Texas.

Now, they have a...

Wait a minute.

Right now I'm looking at the crew of Herb.

Oh, that's H-E-B-E.

H-E-B-E?

Yeah.

H-E-B?

H-E-B-E?

Did I get off?

Oh, yeah.

I got off one.

I missed it.

Mardi Gras Six Flags 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 it really would be the most family friendly one I would think that 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.

Little smaller town, 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 and check out that's 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, what I wanted to point out was a chemo 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 within, 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 adult-oriented, shall we say.

Did your mom and dad take you into the bars?

They did, didn't they?

My parents haven't been in a bar in their life.

OK.

Wow.

So I knew something happened to you along the way, maybe that's what it was.

Now, the decorations you talked about in Galveston, they do that in Christmas time, too.

Yes, they do.

They get into the dickens on the strand, but the Mardi Gras is very much like New Orleans

as far as the set up and how they run the parades during the day and during the night.

Got it.

Thank you, Michael.

Inwheel time.

It's a beater.

Time now for this hour's car review, I had a chance to drive the 2026 Mazda CX 50.

The available trim levels.

I don't know what they are because I didn't write them down.

Many.

See many.

Great.

You know, this is what happens when I do this at work.

And the fact of the matter is, is that I get interrupted a lot.

To get to work.

Yeah.

So anyway, there are several additions and I had the 2.5 liter turbo meridian addition,

which is new.

This is a small SUV, seats five, exterior changes from last year, while it was all new in 2023.

So it is a relatively new version of the CX 50.

Sharp looking front fascia, nicely proportioned grille.

Meridian addition 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 says meridian addition.

Squinty rear tail lights and dual exhaust tips, black plastic wheel trim.

That's wheel well trim.

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 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.

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 didn't know anything.

What I liked, this has got perfect power.

It's just right for the size vehicle, the weight of the vehicle, and it runs well.

What could use improvement?

I would suggest that you check out the hybrid version, that's $4,000 more, but you get better

gas mileage.

Ride and handling, 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, and I would definitely want to check

that out if you're into a semi performance kind of thing.

If you're a really 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, and they got a squishy kind of chassis on it.

This one does not.

Squishy.

I like that.

It's a very technical term.

Let's see.

Hand me my squishy wrench.

Base trim price, $34,645.

Price is tested, $44,675.

The base model price, drum roll please, $29,9, so competitors on the base model price include

the Honda CR-V for $39,20, the Toyota RAV4, $31,9, and the Nissan Rogue for $29,090, so

I think it's one for you to look at.

Next week we're going to review the Lexus RX, it was going to be the NX but some reason

they pulled it and said, I'm going to give you the RX and status it.

You can give me that RX any old time.

You can just go right ahead.

Yeah, please do.

I didn't know that.

And we thank you for being with us today.

Time now for Jeff's car culture this week, muscle car station wagon.

Yeah, there are cousins involved, so more than just styling, the performance, a really

incredible amount of choice and variety of American cars from the 60s and 70s.

What's so special?

Well, interestingly enough, 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 are some seriously great options for building a high performance vintage wagon,

whether they're all what if or just going to make a rest-o-mod out of its style.

So here we go, Mike.

The first one is a Ford Torino wagon, Ford custom Torino GT, while not as popular as

the Mustangs of that era, Ford's large Torino based muscle cars were just as big 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.

The 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 muscle car, the same period, you've got recipe

for greatness, whether it's a W3442 or Hurst 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, 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 in many of the parts that the GTO had

went right on to that Tempest wagon.

So the Hot Rod version of the GTO, yeah, you're going to have it in that wagon as well.

The Dodge Coronet wagon Super B. Don't think that we've let them old parked guys out.

There are a number of Dodge and Plymouth 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

appealing 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 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.

You forgot the bonus.

Oh, yeah, there's a bonus to check it out.

It's the Buick.

It's the what?

It's the Buick.

Yeah, well, I don't see a muscle car with that, but okay.

Well, he's still got to get it tubbed out.

Yeah, we know.

It's the old, regular routine when it comes to Jeff's customization.

Yeah, I got to get the LS engine in it.

I don't think that you could put an LS engine in it.

It wouldn't fit.

You could put it in the back.

No.

We need to do another thing.

Yeah, come on.

I got to.

About this episode

Mardi Gras festivities take center stage as the hosts explore various celebrations beyond New Orleans, including family-friendly options in Texas cities like Galveston and Beaumont. They discuss the unique aspects of each event, from elaborate floats to local cuisine. The episode also features a review of the 2026 Mazda CX-50, highlighting its performance and design, while a segment on muscle wagons reveals the exciting potential of vintage station wagons that share lineage with iconic muscle cars. The blend of culture and automotive passion makes for an engaging listen.

227 horsepower 2.5 liter four-cylinder engine 310 pound feet of torque all wheel drive American cars from the 60s and 70s base trim price beater chassis cowl induction hood front fascia

Chevrolet Chevelle Chevrolet SS Dodge Coronet Ford Mustang Ford Torino Honda CR-V Lexus RX Mazda CX-50 Nissan Rogue Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser Pontiac GTO Shelby Cobra Toyota RAV4

Original notes

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.

Be sure to subscribe for more In Wheel Time Car Talk!

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