The Hyundai Santa Fe is a family SUV that can fit up to seven people. The 2026 version has different styles and a hybrid engine option that uses both gas and electricity to save fuel. It also has a newer look since 2024.
The Kia Sorento is a medium-sized car that can fit families and their stuff comfortably. It’s known for having a lot of cool features and looking nice, but it usually costs less than some other similar cars. People like it because it gives you a lot for your money.
The Toyota Highlander is a medium-sized car that can carry families comfortably and is known for lasting a long time without many problems. People often talk about it because it’s safe and roomy, but it usually costs more than some similar cars. It’s a good choice if you want a dependable car for your family.
The Toyota Corolla Cross is a small SUV that is easy to drive and park. It has enough space for passengers and cargo, making it good for everyday use.
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And we thank you for being with us today. Time now for Jeff's car culture. Regenerating
tire treads. What? What? What? Yeah. Uh, well, science has designed these things to regenerate
your tire tread. Regenerative tires signifies a major leap forward in automotive industry.
This groundbreaking technology is underpinned by the concept of self replenishing tread.
That can only be significant implications for driving safety, cost, effectiveness,
and the environment. You say, what's behind the science, Michael? Well, regenerative tires are
essentially self renewing with the capacity to continually regenerate their tread. This is
made possible by smart materials that have the ability to change their properties in response to
external stimuli. Sort of like you, Don. This fascinating field of research extends just
beyond tires with the potential applications of wide range in this industry. Several patents
have been granted in relation to the tire generation technologies, reflecting the
significant strides being made in this area. These patents cover a variety of technology
and materials. Who are the pioneers? Well, several companies are leading the way,
developing the regenerative tires. For instance, Goodyear has a recharge concept. It represents
a bold vision for the future of tire technology. There's a report out in popular mechanics that
these tires are designed to replenish their trends using a special compound that is released
over time. So Michelin has been making strides in this field also of regenerative tires.
There's a news article in Rubber News. Michelin researchers have won a patent. Wait a minute.
There's a publication called Rubber News. On Rubber News. Yeah. Yeah. Not the synthetic ones,
but not the ones that you get at the Shamrock Station. No, no, no. And those are extra large.
Michelin researchers have won a patent awarded in this innovative technology and uses special
tread blocks that expand the tire wear down by the maintaining the optional tread depth.
So that's pretty important because what you're going to do is when it gets lower,
it's going to regenerate more. The potential impact of this is main benefits of regenerating
tire potential to enhance road safety by maintaining optional tire tread depth.
These tires could improve grip and performance in a variety of driving conditions.
Environmental applications or implications, I should say, in addition to their potential
benefits, drivers regenerative tires could also save significant environmental benefits,
actually have be part of the significant environmental benefits. In other words,
what you're saying is that we could go from a 16 inch tire to a 22. No, good thinking, but no.
Okay. There are challenges, though. While the concept of regenerative tires is certainly exciting,
there are several technological challenges that need to overcome before they could actually become
a reality. So they're out there, they're doing all kinds of technology and engineering and it's
all good stuff. I don't see it in my lifetime, but go for it. Well, I think that they're trying to do
away with wheels, as we have known them, and the wheel is actually the tire. Yeah. And you know,
if we had flying cars, we wouldn't have tire problems. So there you go.
That's all right. I thought I was going to get ahead, Jeff, and I ended up getting behind.
Well, now's not the time because we want to go to take the Texas Blue Bonnet tour.
You know, you brought that up last week and I got to thinking about it and I got to looking at
the best time to do that. And it would be coming up in the March and April, typically,
but we've had a really warm winter and a lot of moisture up in the hill country.
Well, yeah, but that wasn't enough to really slow things down that much.
It slowed me down. It slowed me down a lot. So anyway, so I figured out that there was five
of the best places that you might go to find some Texas Blue Bonnets and obviously the
hill country is going to be where most of them are going to be found. The peak bloom is usually
late March to mid April, but you're going to have to do a little planning because depending
on where you're at and where you're going to have to go to go see this. Now, if you are going out
there to take pictures, keep in mind a lot of this is private property. They don't mind you
taking pictures of it. Some of them don't mind you actually having your children or whatever out
there in it, but try not to trample it because there's going to be people coming behind you.
And it really works better. Soft or light early morning, late afternoon, if you're going to go
do this. Now, the one that you will all look at is the Willow City Loop. Now, this is near
Fredericksburg. It's a 13-mile scenic road in the Texas Hill Country. It's one of the most famous
or the most photographed Blue Bonnet destinations because of the quantity and the rolling hills.
And it mixes really well with the Indian paintbrush, which is going to be the little
oranger colors. Now, this is usually the peak bloom in this area. It's usually late March
through early April. And again, stay on the public roadways and respect the private property in this
area because a lot of it is where you can go and they know you're going to come there to look.
So then, moving on down to Mule Shoe Bend. Oh, Mule Shoe, Texas. Yeah, yeah. This is the Colorado
River near Spicewood. Now, this is up around the Austin area. It's famous for its dense blue
bonnet fields that overlook Lake Travis. Now, the park's open meadows. They actually create this
really nice backdrop. You know, they've got the water in the background, the wild flowers together,
so it's great for families. Got some easy walking trails. And again, be careful with the
private property. There's a lot of parking along the roads and it really fills up on the weekend.
So the weekdays are a lot better if you're going to that area because of its proximity to Austin.
Now, you can also go down to Ennis, the Blue Bonnet trails there. This is known as the official
Blue Bonnet City of Texas. Now, they've got more than 40 miles of map. That sounds like a chamber
of commerce bunch of BS. Yeah, it could be. Well, it is PR. They got 40. First of all, Ennis is up
north. Yeah. Well, they got out of South of Dallas, South of Dallas. Yeah. Okay. So you said going
down to Ennis and I'm thinking, oh, depends where you're at. So 40 miles of map driving trails
through all of these wildflowers. And that's one because there's so much of it. Now it's located
South of Dallas and North Texas is a favorite when the bloom starts spreading across all the
pastures and roadside fields because it is pretty wide open out there versus some of the Hill Country
that's got a lot more trees and stuff in it. Now there is actually a Blue Bonnet trails festival
that takes place in April. Check the calendar for the exact dates for this year. Now you can also
go to Brenham over in Washington County, midway between Houston and Austin. Now this is got a
surrounding country side, creates a lot of really nice picturesque scenes that you can use with some
barns and some fences and a lot of sweeping Blue Bonnet pastures literally. Now this has got a
close proximity to Houston and it's not far from Austin. So you get a lot of traffic out there on
the weekend. So be sure and plan your trip to visit some of these. The last one I'd like to show
because there's a lot more of them is the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Now this is a
place that you can actually go in Austin that showcases the Blue Bonnet displays. Now they
actually set it up with plans for people to come in and look at these instead of just being out in
the natural hillsides and around. So it's very cultivated and it's protected so but it's great
for families and easy access for photography. So if you're looking for some of this Blue Bonnet
this spring there's lots of places you can go and see. This is a few of them that are more well
known so plan your trip accordingly. Well I think that most of us are ready to get out in the yard
but you know it's just not quite there yet. No it's really damp. Well it is today and it's
supposed to turn cold tomorrow and yeah it's just not just not really good right now. Not yet but
since you got to do a little planning if you're going to get out on the weekend because of traffic
and things. And that's a good point that you both made. Yes you got to get out there you got to
put your toe in the water of the yard work and to get all that and yes you got to put a plan
together so getting your toe in the water is making the plan. Your toe in the water. Your toe in the
water. You got shoes on. We got shoes on. Take them off. You don't ever take your shoes off. You
Okay time now for this hour's car review. I had a very nice experience with the 2026
Hyundai Santa Fe. Now it comes in several trim levels including SE,
SEL, the limited and the calligraphy. Oh I reviewed or am reviewing the hybrid calligraphy
all-wheel drive. This is a mid-size SUV although it looks like it is a full size. It does seat
up to seven including the driver so it does have a third row. Exterior changes redesigned in 2024.
This is a 26 and not much changes between the years since its introduction as a new vehicle
in 2024. Exterior features straightforward design with bookend daytime running lights,
edgy designed fender extensions, sloping roof line, horizontal body wide lighting on the lower
rear hatch. It makes it really unique. What I liked about it the boxy edgy design. It's just
different. It's not like all the other SUVs you see out there. What could use improvement?
Nothing that I can think of and I just put down here. Keep it coming. Bring more of this.
It's really cool. Interior highlights. Two foot, two feet of screen and a glove box.
Well look at the size of that screen. Okay it's two feet long and the glove box is there obviously
on the passenger side and yes it's a separate one at the top of the dash. Dual pad phone charger.
See it down there at the bottom? Dual pad phone charger. Loved it. Comfortable seating throughout.
The air conditioning gets a separate panel for its controls. Thank goodness. All of these manufacturers
seem to be doing to this minimalist design and if you're driving the vehicle now you've got to
take your eyes off the road and fumble out and try to find whatever it is that you're looking for.
Drill down through the screen. It's just not good. As a matter of fact I've got a story on that a
little bit later on. Cargo trunk room. Good. With the third row down. With you got the third row up.
Well it's tight back there but that's what it's designed for. What I liked the design and comfort
gets high marks on this vehicle. What could you use improvement? Give me a volume knob for the radio.
That there's one thing that it didn't have. Engine ready? 1.6 liter turbocharged four cylinder
hybrid engine that turns out 231 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque which is plenty for the
six speed automatic transmission and it will tow up to one ton mileage. City 35 highway 34 for a
combined to 34. I got 32.6 miles per gallon over 394.8 miles. Very good. What I liked about it
the mileage. Ride and handling very nice. Comfortable and compliant. Nice highway attitude I wrote.
What could use improvement? Nothing. It's all good. Okay so here are the prices for you. You ready? Yep.
The base trim price is 52,500. That's the base trim price. As tested 52,985 dollars.
Base model price 36,400. Competitors. Kia Sorento. It's cousin 38,690. Toyota Highlander 48,964.
Mitsubishi Outlander which I never would compare this to but it's close competitor 29,995.
So there's a widespread figure here for these different vehicles and my recommendation to
anybody that's out there looking for a car do your homework and shop, shop, shop. Absolutely. One
may be everything that you wanted but you can't find the volume, the radio volume control knob
because it doesn't have one. If that's an issue for you then go to something else because there's
too much competition. Right. Especially in this size SUV. Next week I'm going to review the Toyota
Corolla Cross which is kind of a itty bitty, not too itty bitty, not too teeny weeny crossover
but it's called a Toyota Corolla Cross. Give us an insight. Was it sporty? Did it drive well?
Give us a hint. It drove well. I'm not going to tell you any more than that. You'll have to
stay tuned for the review. Call you Bobby Sparkman. Well I can tell you that we're going to go to
Lueckenbach. You drove it all the way to Lueckenbach. I did not drive it to Lueckenbach. I can only
imagine what they would say. To the point of that review in what's sold for car review,
sold for cars, Hemmings. Yeah. The last vehicle that you said was Georgia's, it's sort of similar
to that one you just reviewed. Yeah. The 150,000. A lot of people were shocked. 86 years old or
text. I will tell you that this vehicle, you know, I drive a different vehicle every week and
it's impressive to see how far the automotive industry has come in general. But Hyundai, they
have come a long way baby in a short period of time. They are a serious contender and they sell
a lot of cars and for a reason. Yes. Because they hold up and they're priced right. Are they building
a factory here, a state-side? Probably. They all are. All right. Because of the tariffs. Well,
there's that. Not only that, just shipping. Yeah.
About this episode
The discussion covers innovative regenerative tire technology that can self-replenish tread, highlighting efforts by Goodyear and Michelin and the potential benefits for safety and the environment despite technical challenges. The hosts also explore the best spots and timing for viewing Texas Blue Bonnets, emphasizing respect for private property and planning for peak bloom. Finally, a detailed review of the 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe hybrid showcases its distinctive design, comfortable interior, strong fuel efficiency, and competitive pricing, with minor critiques like the absence of a radio volume knob.
What if your tires could quietly renew their own grip as you drive? We kick off with a clear look at regenerative tire technology, unpacking how smart materials might maintain tread depth, extend tire life, and improve braking and safety in wet and dry conditions. From early patents to bold prototypes, we highlight Goodyear’s recharge concept and Michelin’s expanding tread blocks, then get honest about the hurdles that stand between lab success and daily commuting: durability, heat cycles, debris, and cost.
Then we trade lab coats for landscapes and plan a spring pilgrimage across Texas bluebonnets. We share practical, photo-friendly routes with timing tips shaped by weather and bloom cycles. The Willow City Loop near Fredericksburg brings sweeping hills and Indian paintbrush accents; Muleshoe Bend near Spicewood frames Lake Travis with easy trails and family space; Ennis maps more than 40 miles of viewing with a festival vibe; Brenham’s barns and fences add texture to wide fields; and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin offers curated displays that respect the land. Think golden-hour light, weekday visits, and staying on public roads to protect fragile blooms.
To round out the ride, we deliver a grounded review of the 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid Calligraphy AWD. The boxy, modern design turns heads, while a two-foot display span, separate climate controls, dual wireless charging, and comfortable seating for up to seven make daily life simple. The 1.6L turbo hybrid returns strong real-world mpg with calm, composed handling, and the cabin feels thoughtfully laid out—though we still wish for a dedicated volume knob. We compare pricing and rivals like the Kia Sorento, Toyota Highlander, and Mitsubishi Outlander, and share straight-talk shopping advice so you can find the right trim at the right price.
Join us to connect future-focused tire tech with near-term road trips and a practical SUV you can buy now. If you enjoyed the ride, follow the show, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who loves cars and wildflowers.
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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