The Ford F-150 is a very popular big truck that many people use for work and daily driving. It's known for being tough and reliable, but sometimes it needs fixes called recalls to keep it safe.
The Ford Maverick is a smaller truck that's easy to drive and good on gas. It's great for people who want a truck but don't need something very big or expensive.
The Packard Patrician is an old fancy car made by a company called Packard. The 1956 version is special because it was one of the last ones made before the company stopped making cars.
A cruise in is like a car party where people bring their cool cars to show and hang out. You can see old and new cars, eat food, and sometimes win prizes for the best cars.
A hot rod is an old car that people make faster and cooler by changing its engine and looks. They are popular at car shows and people like to show them off.
Electric traffic signals are lights that tell cars when to stop and go at intersections, making driving safer and smoother than having people manually control the traffic.
When you buy a car, the state charges a tax based on how much the car costs. This tax helps pay for roads and other things, and the dealer usually collects it for the state.
I mean, the diesel shows up everywhere, even in cars for high fuel.
And even in Neaterville.
Even in Neaterville.
We got one or two over here when the train comes through.
Then in 1901, the Osmobile started producing the curved dash runabout.
Now, this is important because it was truly the first mass produced automobile.
It wasn't just another car because it started the idea of using standardized parts and early assembly line techniques,
which obviously fed into Ford's assembly line and all the wonderful things that he created regarding mass production.
Now, then in 1915, this is important for you guys over there.
First electric traffic signal was put in Houston.
Now, they did have traffic signals, but they were manually manned,
literally guys standing in these little towers changing the light colors to control the traffic.
That's Don Armstrong in there.
He's waiting at all his fans as they go by.
Yeah.
It's like a toll booth.
Just about.
But anyway, so they brought in the electric lights and so this is what provided the consistency for traffic flow.
It would be better if we had that today.
That's not a bad idea.
Over there, where y'all have the little trains.
They'd run them over.
And so anyway, it also meant that they could also take all the officers off those street intersections and put them to doing other things that are more important than traffic control.
Then in 1953, the Watson Roadster was created and it showed up at the Indianapolis 500 in the 50s and became the dominant design of the decade.
Of course, if you didn't know it, it was built by AJ Watson.
Now this was a front engine layout, lightweight tubular chassis, low center of gravity, gravity, and it had the oftenhouser four cylinder engine that was so well run and well known from the Indy 500.
Now it won multiple Indy 500s and represented the pinnacle of the front engine race car engineering that flowed into other areas.
Here's this one for you, Jeff.
I found this one specifically for you.
In 2008, your heroine, Danica Patrick, had been on heroin in years.
So she won a major open.
She won her first open wheel race in North America, capturing the Indy Japan 300.
There you go.
She won it in Japan.
Well, yeah, but then she that was her first Indy 500 open wheel race that she ran and then she came over and of course went on to run some more in the United States.
She got in the NASCAR and she really, you know, she didn't really get as far as a lot of people thought she would, although she did win some races.
It was more important that she kind of created a path for other female drivers to kind of move into the sport slowly but surely.
Well, I met her years ago in Kansas because back in the day, open wheel used to run with the truck series.
We had a tent when I worked for Keystone.
We had a tent in Kansas, the new facility up there at the racetrack.
We were walking through the garage in the infield where the drivers are and she was coming up.
She was married to a real tall young man at the time.
And she said, hi Jeff.
No, she would, you know, and there was several of us in a group, you know, how they have group and they get autographs.
She walked right by everybody and put her nose up in the air and just like, you know, I don't have time for you and this whole group of fans.
So she lost me after that.
Just did not follow her and she's really, she actually dated Aaron Rodgers.
So I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to rub your story, Mike.
I'm not a fan.
Next.
What's next?
Well, that was this week in automotive history.
Jeff's comments right there is going to finish it up.
Way to go.
Well, obviously isn't a big fan.
So some of the stories making automotive news headlines, you know, we read the story about EVs and how these manufacturers are losing billions upon billions of dollars.
And Stalanta seems to be at the head of the pack for that.
Well, hourly UAW members at Stalanta's will not receive profit sharing payments this year.
The first time they'll miss out on the annual bonuses since 2011 after tariffs and lower sales pushed the automakers North American operation into the red because they don't have any cars to sell anymore.
The average payout for UAW workers at the Detroit three is about $6,200 this year, nearly 40% less than the 2025 average of almost $10,000.
Ford get about 6780 from profit sharing in March down from $10,200 while GM employees can expect as much as $10,500 extra in their February 27th paychecks, a 28% decline.
Stalanta's contract with the UAW pays $900 for every 1% of North American profit margin for 2025.
The company lost $2.2 billion in North America for a margin of negative 3.1%.
So what does that mean that they have to pay Stalanta's now because they didn't make the cut? I don't know.
It's terrible.
So in that vein, while you got your mindset on money and Stalanta's, Antonio Filosa, who took over as head of Stalanta's in June of last year, received $6.37 million in total compensation last year.
Compensation topped the company's earlier projection that Filosa would earn at least $4 million in his first two years as CEO. His pay could rise as much as $23 million a year from a 2028 including bonuses.
Former Stalanta CEO, Carlos Tavares, who sounds like some sort of musical group who resigned from the automaker in December of 2024, had a pay package of $14 million in 2025.
Tavares abruptly left the company after coming under scrutiny for slumping sales in the North American market and cutting the highest selling cars that Stalanta's offered, the Challenger and the Charger.
We're not going to make that anymore. Okay, fine. We'll go find somewhere else that makes horsepower.
I need to renegotiate my contract, Mike.
Who is it that sets these prices for these CEOs?
I don't know.
Why?
They're shareholders, the board. The board senses because they're all in on it. Come on.
I just want for you two for me. It just really ticks me off.
Anyway, a Minnesota dealership group and its used car dealership and an unlicensed broker face felony charges of engineering a long running scheme to cheat the state out of more than $350,000 in motor vehicle sales tax.
The complaints filed by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office against Walser Automotive Group in Bloomington, its Walser pre-owned sales subsidiary, and William Ward.
This program produced by William Ward follows a multi-year investigation that uncovered a Shell Montana Limited Liability Corporation, straw buyers and falsified bills of lading for vehicle deliveries according to complaints filed in Hennepin County's fourth Judicial District Court.
$350,000.
Walser, by the way, ranked 32 on Automotive News Top 15.
You're going to jail.
Don't stop. Don't pass go or whatever.
Yeah. Let's see. I really won't save you when I have time for it.
All right.
So I'm going to have to do a little editing here while on the fly. I hope you don't mind.
Not at all.
But you know, this is editing on the fly.
These are important times.
They are important times.
But I'm going to save these to next hour because I don't want to get into half the story and have to cut it short because you need to hear all these.
I spent a lot of time editing these.
We're starting to glitch, so we better get to a commercial.
You think?
Yeah.
Okay. Well, let's do that then.
Hey, I want to tell you that we'd love to hear from you. Just shoot us an email. The address here is info at inwheeltime.com.
We are back after this important message or two.
The Easter Bunnies coming.
To the tailpipes and tacos, cruise in at the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Max in Katie April 4th, 8 to 11 a.m., and you're invited too.
Bring the kids and grandkids. It's a cruise in like you've never attended before.
With a donation to Shirley's Kids, you'll get a free Loopy Tortilla Breakfast Taco.
There'll be coffee and adult beverages, plus chili pepper trophies for the best hot rod, best modern, classic, and best classic.
There's no entry fee and no registration. Just bring your ride and the kids.
Bad bunnies aren't allowed, but the Easter Bunny will be there, and he'll be full of joy to help make this Tailpipes and Tacos a very special one.
Photo opportunities abound.
The Inwheel Time Car Talk Show will be streaming around the globe, and you can be selected to tell your car's story to a global audience.
It's the Tailpipes and Tacos Cruise-In Easter Edition, Saturday April 4th, 8 to 11 a.m., at the Loopy Tortilla Tex-Max in Katie, located on 99 the Grand Parkway, just south of I-10, the Katie Freeway in Katie.
Make plans now. Loopy Tortilla.
He's pretty good.
Houston, get ready. Team Gilman is hosting a mega car meet at the North Complex, Accra, Mazda, Subaru.
We're collaborating with the car meet network, so you know it's going to be crazy.
And that's not all. We're going to be wrapping up six cars to be sold at $1,000 each. See below for more details.
You're not going to want to miss this Houston March 14th. We can't wait to see you here.
Keep listening, and we'll see you soon.
About this episode
The podcast dives into Subaru's recent recall of the 2026 Crosstrek Hybrid and 2025 Forester Hybrid due to a fuel tank fire risk, advising owners to park outside until a fix arrives. They also discuss Ford's massive recall of 4.3 million trucks and SUVs over trailer brake and lighting issues, plus other notable recalls from Nissan, Cadillac, and Lexus. The hosts then shift gears to a lively Hemmings.com car sales roundup, guessing prices on classic vehicles like Corvettes, a Ford Bronco, a Triumph TR4A, and a Packard Patrician, sharing insights and surprises about collector car values.
A fuel tank you shouldn’t fill. Trailer brakes that might not listen when you need them most. We start with straight talk on the week’s biggest recalls—Subaru’s hybrid fire risk and Ford’s 4.3 million-vehicle safety sweep—so you know exactly what to check, how to park, and when to expect a real fix. We cut through the noise around “over-the-air updates,” explain why module communication matters for lights and braking, and outline smart steps to protect your family and your tow.
From there, we take you inside the market’s mood with our “guess what it sold for” tour through Hemmings. A C3 Corvette punching to $42K, a C4 convertible slipping under $14K, a clean 442 stretching into the mid-twenties, and a ’68 Bronco commanding $52.5K reveal what buyers are rewarding right now: originality, presentation, and lifestyle appeal. We also spotlight a sleeper value—a straight ’85 GMC 2500 with dog-dish charm—and a ’73 BMW 3.0 CS that proves design never goes out of style. If you’re hunting a classic, we share the questions and documents that separate a good story from a good buy.
We keep the engine warm with a quick spin through the racing slate—NASCAR at COTA, IndyCar in St. Petersburg, NHRA’s Gatornationals on deck, and F1 launching in Australia—plus a lively lap through auto history, from Rudolf Diesel’s patent to the Watson Roadster and Danica Patrick’s breakthrough. Then we zoom out to the business lane: EV losses squeezing profit sharing at Stellantis, the optics of rising CEO compensation, and why dealership tax schemes land in court. It’s a full-spectrum look at safety, value, and culture for people who live cars, drive daily, or just love a good story on wheels.
Hit play, subscribe, and share with a friend who’s eyeing a classic or towing this weekend. Drop us a review with your pick: Bronco, 3.0 CS, or 442—what’s the smartest buy right now?
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
---- ----- Want more In Wheel Time car talk any time?
In Wheel Time is now available on Audacy!
Just go to Audacy.com/InWheelTime where ever you are. ----- ----- Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast provider for the next episode of In Wheel Time Podcast and check out our live multiplatform broadcast every Saturday, 10a - 12nCT simulcasting on Audacy, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and InWheelTime.com.
In Wheel Time Podcast can be heard on you mobile device from providers such as:
Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music Podcast, Spotify, SiriusXM Podcast, iHeartRadio podcast, TuneIn + Alexa, Podcast Addict, Castro, Castbox, YouTube Podcast and more on your mobile device.
Follow InWheelTime.com for the latest updates!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/InWheelTime
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inwheeltime/
https://www.youtube.com/inwheeltime
https://www.Facebook.com/InWheelTime
For more information about In Wheel Time Podcast, email us at
