In Wheel Time Podcast: Your Go-To Automotive Talk Show Nov 15, 2023

Revving Up: A look into Car Batteries, Types and Their Brands

Annotations will appear as you listen

0:00

30:00

Car

Dodge Ram

LIVE

Welcome to another In Wheel Time podcast, a 30 minute mini version of the In Wheel Time car show that airs live every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am, central On the Smoke and Mirrors Network.

Welcome to the In Wheel Time car talk show.

Veterans Day edition Coming up.

Conrad's going to have this week in auto history.

We'll get you caught up on the stories making news headlines this week and we're also going to talk amongst the men.

Get out the beer cooler.

I wrote that down here, Did you?

Yeah, I did.

I didn't like it, you didn't Well, I mean, it could be good if it were a little bit later, but if you're drinking beer at 9.30

in the morning, you need to go see a counselor.

You need to call us.

Yeah, invite us over, we'll do a remote there.

Switch to tequila yeah, and then we'll do the switch to tequila about the last hour of the show.

Or Michelladas, where it's a beer and a Bloody Mary.

No, a frozen margarita.

Oh, that's the one they put in the beer.

I guess that's what it is.

I've never had one.

It doesn't seem appealing to me.

Does it have that Neaterville?

mic.

Beer and margarita thing Mark why are you asking me?

I'm thinking I think I've seen that.

Yeah, I've seen that You've never had one.

Though have you why ruin a perfectly good margarita with a beer?

I don't know.

Apparently.

You never heard.

Jimmy Buffett sing about Michelladas, that's right?

Well, he can't sing about anything anymore.

What's the word?

with a beer chaser.

One margarita, two margarita, three yeah.

I like mine with the Grand Marguerite hopper.

There you go.

Can't go wrong with that.

But you can if you have four of them, it's like candy Candy.

Candy.

Yeah, yeah, it does.

It's really good, especially out there at loopy tortilla.

Oh my goodness.

You know any Mexican restaurant or any restaurant really?

No, no, no, no Margaritas, they are frozen margaritas, they are different.

They are different, yeah, and that's reason I don't drink them much, stan Stan uses real limes, yep, real limes.

Frozen lime juice that you buy at the H-E-B.

Nope, it's all fresh.

Yeah.

Can you?

put a beer in one of the rocks, that would work.

I guess you could.

Yeah, I don't know.

I don't know Because I'm drinking them on the rocks.

Anyway, it is Veterans Day and we've had several open segments of the show today.

It actually turned out pretty good, as they usually do.

Mars gets all uptight about it because we don't have a guest.

I said don't worry about it, there's four of us.

If we can't figure out something to talk about about cars, we can wing it.

We can wing it.

The reason being is we're supposed to be on a remote today, whether permitting.

That's where it works.

So Mike's generally getting the enthusiasts of the car show, of the driving on the guest list, correct, so that's what he does.

So, because that didn't work, he's got to scramble a little bit and he's very proud of what he does.

He actually does a very good job about it, absolutely Thank you.

Can I get?

that in writing.

No, you can't.

No, not at all.

And when it screws up, I was going to show my wife.

And when it screws up again, you're going to, we're going to give you so much hell you'll never walk through the door again.

It wouldn't be right if we didn't do that he's open, he's open.

Kind of like you know.

And if you knew what we were going to be doing out at Lupita Ortiz, which is in conjunction with God's Garage, and you're interested in making a donation to God's Garage, I'm going to post up their page to make a donation.

Well, you know, it's not really just about the donation part of it.

It's what they do in regards to the community.

Yeah, and single mothers that are in desperate need of some transportation and, matter of fact, kathy has donated.

Jeff's wife has donated her old car to them.

It was not necessarily old.

I mean, it was a car that needed Used car.

Yeah, okay.

That's what I'm saying.

Instead of trading it in, she donated it, right yeah.

Yeah, and why not?

And you know, that might be something for.

Katie to do, it'll find a new home.

Yeah, exactly, absolutely Hope yeah.

Either that or Katie got all the dents fixed.

Oh yeah, no, dad got all the dents fixed.

Dad got the dents fixed at the time that she wasn't.

She wasn't employed really anywhere to make the money to get the dents fixed, so it fell on me.

Yeah, I don't.

And now she's a rocket scientist.

And dad sitting in his in his old garage with us.

Doing a radio show.

But you know what?

I'm proud of that and I'm proud of her, and I'm good.

Oh yeah, no, it should be.

It's all good, all right.

So Jeff has got a extra feature that he has brought to the table today, and it's the battery worst to best?

Yeah, the batteries, car batteries, and you know before you go, let me just jump in and say this.

So I had been and still am really a big believer of those AGM best Of those AGM batteries that Optima makes a GM absorbent glass mat and we've got a yeah, yeah, talk about that.

So I had one in the Corvette and didn't realize that I had this draw, constant draw on the battery from a bad connection in the seat of all things the electric seat and so took it down to Richard at Apex Auto Works.

He got that fixed and he said you're going to have to buy a new battery.

I said I just bought a new battery.

He says yeah, but it's been through too many cycles where it has gone dead and it's not going to hold a charge like a new battery is going to.

So with that in mind, I think that I'm going to go back to an AGM battery I have yellow top or red top, red top.

I don't, I don't, I don't need anything above that.

You know they make a blue top.

I know that they do, and that's the new, new, new, new technology.

I don't need all of that.

This is just a regular car that has regular stuff in it and it doesn't have, it doesn't even doesn't have, you know and in a C5 Corvette you need to have a good battery, because the original batteries GM put in had their own problems with leaking acid.

And there are these two big 25 way connectors that are mounted under the battery.

Well, I guess we just did that segment.

Oh, oh, never mind, no no, go ahead no but you're right.

That leaking battery created.

Well and in my case you know, the rats ate into the wiring which was underneath the batteries.

Where that all Rats are possible.

Well, it could have been any of the above.

I didn't.

I didn't take a picture of them when we were down there.

Knowing on my wiring for that day.

We walked in here and there were a lot of grass in with you know other animals.

Anyway.

So anyway, that's our lead in for Jeff in the worst to best category of batteries.

There it is.

You're going to start Well.

Number 10, because we're going to do 10 of these.

Number 10 is Everstart.

Everstart is a Walmart store brand.

Everstart is affordable.

It's a lead acid variety, but buyers have encountered unreliable and short lifespans with it.

However, they're well reviewed on Walmart's website and Everstart has a fairly wide variety of battery sizes.

So it's 10.

We're starting at the worst.

And I would say that that I just put one of those in one of my granddaughter's cars.

Well, and because I've had good service out of them, but mainly because Walmart's everywhere.

So if she's back in San Marcos or he's there in some place and she needs a battery, we've all used to get one Good.

Number nine is Interstate.

The green label and occasionally green topped interstate batteries are available at many independent shops and at their own interstate all battery centers and also Mike through Costco's.

I did not know that.

The reliable battery replacement is an interesting history.

Interstates are available in a large number of group sizes and applications.

So that's number nine on the list.

I thought that they were good.

I had one one time many years ago.

It worked out okay.

No, we have an interstate store there in Beaumont.

Those guys are great to work with.

The one that I did not know is this is number eight.

I didn't know it was in high on the worst list because Motorcraft I thought was a very comparable brand.

But the Ford Motor Company House brand of batteries is available at all four dealerships as well as O'Reilly auto parts, allowing folks who want to maintain the OEM parts on their vehicles to access replacement batteries almost anywhere.

That's why O'Reilly has it.

Typically, the warranties are also accepted at all facilities.

Here's the point with Motorcraft.

The benefit is that the decision was made that Ford knows what battery goes in each car.

So if you'd have it done by the dealership, they know it's right.

If you have it done by an independent and they put the wrong battery in, ford's not going to warranty anything because they know what battery goes in it.

As an example, the battery for a like a 1996 Ford Ranger whatever it is small vehicle is like 250 bucks through the dealer.

So keep that in mind when you buy these things that you can get get to get what you pay for.

The next one on this is a GM brand.

It's an AC Delco, available from third party retailers and directly from GM.

The AC Delco batteries come in a variety of group sizes and performance ratings and are competitively priced.

They offer a standard warranty range of group sizes designed to fit GM vehicles and a few AGM options, which is the assortment that they do that.

While they're officially recognized by General Motors as the only batteries recommended by GM sort of what Motorcraft does for the vehicles they don't offer any spectacular things when it comes to options and features.

And again, the absorbent glass matt is a fiber.

They're fiber layers between the positive and negative plates in the battery, so that's where they come up with that and the Corvette went to an AGM battery in production.

Yeah, Yep, is that what they have now?

Yeah, they do, so I could buy one for my 01.

You could probably pay a top dollar for it, you're going to pay top dollar or anything.

Yeah really, the number six on this list is a Bosch.

Bosch lands in the middle of this ranking for a good reason.

They're a brand that provides a dependable, well regarded battery at a good price.

From their affordable one year warranty up through batteries, Mike, they come with four year full replacement coverage.

Bosch runs the gamut of both quality tiers and group size German.

Yeah Well, there you go.

That's the quality.

Here's one that I did not know even existed.

It's called an anti gravity battery Be me up Scott Anybody?

A recent addition to the car battery market is anti-gravity batteries.

Their niche isn't in providing the most power, like competitors, but providing a greener solution to automotive power with lithium-ion batteries, the same kind of rechargeable batteries, using products all around the house.

Anti-gravity batteries are primarily used in motor sports, not in passenger cars, as their batteries are significantly lighter than the AGM-led acid batteries.

So there you go, so they're going to produce the same amount of juice power reliability green power.

Well, and you've got to remember, in a battery that measurement is called cold cranking amps.

So it's the ability of the battery to create power at a certain low temperature that cold cranking amps.

And each car, depending on what car you have, has a level of cold cranking amps that's required in the battery.

So that's why the battery price kind of moves up and down, because the higher the cold cranking amps, the higher the price of the battery.

Right.

But that particular battery, the anti-gravity, yeah, anti-gravity.

Yeah, anti-gravity.

If it doesn't have the lead plates and things in it like a normal battery does, how does it produce?

Good question.

I've never heard of it, but that's part of this whole go green thing.

Pixie dust, yeah, pixie dust, there you go.

It probably costs twice as much as anything else.

Pixie, dust and unicorn.

There you go.

Number four on my list is XS Power.

Xs XS Power is a newer automotive battery brand Cool logo.

It's the one that made its mark in the industry with some wildly overpowered batteries.

In fact, some of these batteries might even have excessive power.

Their batteries feature light gray design with aggressive labeling and unique connection terminals for users connecting these batteries to expensive audio and electrical accessories.

Oh so these?

are the guys that have the boombox.

Oh, forgot about that.

Yeah, so there you go, but that's number four on the list.

Four of the hydraulic systems, exactly, you're right, yeah, number three on the list is Odyssey.

Odyssey batteries have a number of features that have pushed them high on the rankings.

This is number three, and their commitment to overengineering has given them the battery reputation of reliability.

They claim a longer life service, longer life cycle and a shelf life too, because that's important, with the battery sitting around In the event of a failure.

Odyssey offers a four-year full replacement warranty on several of their battery lines, at least one year for most of their products.

So Odyssey is number three.

Never heard of them.

Number two you heard of this next one.

It's a diehard, not the movie.

Mike.

Not the movie.

It used to be the Sears brand, yep, and this battery is the one that your dad told you to put in your first car when you bought it.

Yeah, diehard remains the great aftermarket option, even after Sears sold the brand to Advanced Auto Parts back in 2019.

However, the new ownership it didn't affect the actual product, because, whether the diehard was purchased from a Sears Auto Center or from an Auto Zone, the battery was still manufactured by Clarios.

So you can get this Wait a minute.

Clarios is the same company that makes.

Go ahead, Go no you Go.

That makes optimum, see ya.

Yeah, there's, and in the industry there's probably just a few manufacturers that are all branded differently.

AC Delco and Die Harder, made in the same factory on the East Coast.

Back when I was with XL parts they.

That was one of the things that different lines, not uncommon, not uncommon, okay, drumroll Conrad.

And the number one battery is Optima.

Optima batteries use several unique design choices that move them to the top of this list.

The six pack design and spiral wound cells are used in both the lead based and AGM Conrad.

Very unique design Versions of the batteries, lead or, I'm sorry, lead, leading to an instantaneously recognizable and wholly unique battery.

In a world of heavy plastic boxes.

They are not inexpensive, nope.

The most affordable option for a 1996 Ford Ranger is $250.

Yep, the reliability is trusted.

They have a good warranty backing the product on your red top, yellow top and blue top batteries.

So there you go.

Where can you get those?

Now, though Optima in a lot of places.

You can actually buy them directly from the factory from about the same price that you would pay at any retailer and they will mail it to you.

Hmm, did not know that.

I did not know that either.

How do you mail a battery?

They do A lot of stamps.

Well, I'm a fan of AutoZone's battery.

They use a Superstart.

Now I've had that in my Yukon and a couple of years ago the Yukon was having I was having what I thought was battery trouble and I took the battery out, brought it back to AutoZone to buy a new one because I like their battery, and the guy looked it up.

He goes oh, this is still under warranty, here's your new one for free.

I didn't even realize how long the warranty was on it.

It was probably almost three years, take your battery, the date you bought it, and then when you get in there doing your work and it's like, oh, I'm going to take it back, just before the warranty was out and keep the receipt.

Yeah.

And that's going to lead into my segment is keep the receipt there you go.

So what would you like to do?

But batteries are something that need to be, especially in Houston because of the heat.

You know heat one of the things that damages battery.

It's cold.

And then deep cycling a battery or taking it down to zero is very damaging to the battery.

So the more often it goes down to zero.

The less the life of the battery.

There are marine batteries too.

Marine batteries are a different animal.

They certainly are.

We used to use the diehard marine batteries in boats, like trolling motors and things like that, just because they would cycle so long.

Well, and the other thing is, they don't, they're not used very often, so the battery kind of sits there unused in storage longer than a car does.

They weren't so much about the cold cranking amps as there were.

It's how long you're building them.

And I'm always a believer of.

If your vehicle's calls for a 680 cold cranking amps, what's the next cold cranking amps up?

Yeah, that's 20 or whatever.

That fits the box, that your car battery is Go ahead and bump up a little bit, never hurts, it doesn't, it won't ruin the computers.

No, no, no, no.

Cold cranking amps is just about the power you have at a certain temperature.

When you first hit the key, you know to spin the engine.

A dry start, a cool start.

All right, well, that was fun yeah.

You know, the others were real quick raining wipers, change wipers, get your wipers down at least twice a year.

Yep Agreed, and for me, you know, always, for some reason I guess it's my old school way of thinking always want to go and buy the replacement blades without the actual metal part, the arm, just the arm.

Don't what a total pain in the butt that is.

And what do you have to say?

And it's all the same.

Three bucks Exactly.

And it takes you two hours to put it on.

Yeah, so just buy the whole day.

Well, you know a lot of places, a lot of these parts, places they'll come out and put the wiper on for you and because they do it so often, they do it in about 30 seconds, where you might still spend a half hour trying to figure out how to unclip and reclip.

Yep, it's a really good point because we've been through this drought.

You know it hasn't rained much Exactly.

I just I just replaced mine when it changed the oil and and because hadn't used them.

You know they, they dry out.

That's what the problem is.

Or they start streaking when you do it Glass.

So now that we got a little bit of rain, I'm really glad that I did it.

You know, I got the sensors.

The rain sensor when you get a little sprinkle, it automatically goes off.

Well, the rear one does it too.

When the rear one goes, it goes.

He gets this.

Time now for this weekend.

Auto history on the end wheel time car talk show.

Conrad has that for us.

So George B Selden first filed a US patent office patent for the internal combustion engine on May 8th of 1879.

It included an application for the device of a four wheel vehicle.

So Selden, who was a patent attorney this week in 1895, patented his automobile.

He called it an, a four wheel engine, he didn't call it an automobile, and it allowed him to collect royalties for nearly every car built in the United States until Henry Ford challenged his patent.

And so you know, for years this, this guy, was making royalties for him.

Well, it lasted, Thank God he wrote it on hisimbap.

And then in 1938, ford Motor Company debuts Mercury the brand.

It unveiled the new mid-priced automobile brand Mercury in 38 at a public showing at the Gross Point Michigan car show.

Champion by Edsel, ford Mercury sought to fill the gap between Ford and the luxury Lincoln's kind of that tweener car.

And if you look at the other tweeners that were out there in the industry on the GM side it was between Chevy and Cadillac.

The tweeners would have been Buick, pontiac and Oldsmobile.

The market for this type of car has been proven by those competitors.

But in its debut year they sold 66,000 Mercury's for Ford and then actually there was a Mercury pickup truck in the late 40s as well.

So interesting thing In 1980, this week was the passing of Steve McQueen.

Why is he in a?

They're not.

Never mind, I'll talk about this one.

The first Polish victory lap by Alan Kulwiki, who is of Polish descent, out of Wisconsin, and he won the NASCAR Winston Cup back in the days when it was Winston Cup and in his win he drove the first Polish victory lap which was driving around backwards on the track.

Is that the car?

No, not the car that they did In reverse, in the opposite way.

The opposite way on the track where typically they're all turning left, and he was all turning right.

And created quite a stir, and it's now created.

That Polish victory lap is done in other motorsports as well, but Alan Kulwiki was the first one to do it and it's a tribute to him too.

And then, hopefully, my Steve McQueen picture is here.

Okay, so Steve McQueen passed away this week, in 1980.

Several of his movies, including the most famous chase scene through the streets of San Francisco, a bullet McQueen conducted much of his own driving stunts.

In one scene of the Great Escape he can be seen chasing himself.

Thanks to careful editing which is because the director said it was too hard to find skilled motorcycle riders as McQueen.

But you know, to me Bullock's one of the best chase scenes in automotive history, one of my favorites to watch.

And then in 1989, this week, infinity was launched, nissan's luxury car division.

Infinity launched the same year that Toyota launched its upscale Lexus brand.

The original Infinity lineup was really just two vehicles the Q45, the big four-door sedan, and the M30, which was the little two-door coupe.

Is this one here the M30?

That's the M30, right?

Infinity had a wheelbase about two inches shorter than its Nissan President or Japanese domestic market vehicle that the Q45 was built off of.

The Q45 originally offered a 278 horsepower four-wheel steering, active suspension car Aimed at Mercedes S-Class, bmw 7 Series, jaguar XJ and Cadillac Fleetwood.

Do you ever drive any of the original Infinities?

Don, no.

Were you doing cars then?

No.

But that ugly round thing just was not my cup of tea.

That was the J30, that catfish looking thing yeah.

I hated that thing that's this week in Automotive Pistol.

Thank you, sir.

Nearly half of dealers queried by dealerships sell side firm Kerrigan Advisors indicate they have no trust in Ford Motor Company, making it the least trustworthy brand among dealers, while nearly three-quarters of those same dealers find Toyota the most trustworthy.

48% of dealers said they have no trust in Ford.

That outcome consistent with the expectation of a decline in future Ford franchise profitability due to the OEM's EV future retailing strategy.

Kerrigan Advisors thinks that the negative sentiment regarding Ford revealed in the findings could impact the franchise's future blue sky values, which is the value of a dealership, including goodwill.

It's kind of an odd kind of thing to think about, but if you're in the market for a dealership Ford, not so much Now would you ever think that?

I would have never thought that, especially with the Ford F-150.

And what are they?

45 years with the number one selling vehicle with the F-series trucks.

Apparently, they don't get along too well with the Ford company.

Three of four full size pickups evaluated by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety earned poor ratings.

In an updated crash test that now considers backseat safety, the 2023 F-150, Chevy Silverado 1500 and Ram 1500 crew cab pickups were rated poor.

The Institute's revised moderate overlap front crash test, with only the 2023 Toyota Tundra crew cab earning a marginal rating.

However, the Institute's updated side crash test, three of the four full size pickups the F-150, the Ram 1500 and the Tundra all received good ratings.

Silverado earned an acceptable rating.

Thought that was interesting.

You don't think about the ratings for pickup trucks because of the stupid bumper thing that pickup trucks get away with.

All the time you ever seen a pickup truck, A pickup truck gets in any kind of a small fender bender.

The whole front end of the truck is just ruined.

There's no integrity in the front bumpers of pickup trucks and I don't understand why does somebody doesn't go.

You know that's not right.

It's not right Because they're using the old style steel bumpers.

Well, they don't have the two and a half or five mile an hour bumper rules anymore.

I understand that, but you don't do that on a car.

You don't have that kind of damage on a car.

The dissipation of energy when you crash something.

That's the whole point.

Yeah, crumple zone it just.

It makes no sense.

It's like when you look under the hood of your car you see those little ridges on the fender where it's bolted to the side of it.

Those are the collapsing points when it's designed to bend.

It's the collapse point.

Right, all right Time now for a quick break.

You're on the in wheel time car talk show another hour to go.

We invite you to stay tuned with us.

Houston's finest cars are invited to another Gulf Coast Auto Shield car social, saturday, december 2nd, and you're invited to show off your personal pride and joy, or just stop in to see the likes of Lucid Lamborghini, porsche, ferrari and more.

Gulf Coast Auto Shield is your one stop shop for paint, detailing, coatings, window tint, clear bras and wheel repair.

The car social is your opportunity to get a tour of this state of the art facility, located at 11275 South Sam Houston Parkway, just south of the Southwest freeway.

It all takes place Saturday, december 2nd, nine to noon.

This is the perfect opportunity to connect with other car enthusiasts, from BMWs to mentally, corvette's to McLaren's.

The car social is a different kind of show.

Talk to the owners, see Gulf Coast Auto Shield's facility.

You'll be amazed.

Put it on your calendar now the Gulf Coast Auto Shield car social Saturday, december 2nd, nine to noon at 11275 South Sam Houston Parkway, just south of the Southwest freeway.

The in wheel time car talk show will be there too.

We'll see you then.

Hey, houston, america's greatest hot rod tradition is back Thanksgiving weekend, the O'Reilly Auto Parts, auto Ram at the George R Brown Convention.

Center Four action packed days of hot rods, customs classics trucks and performance cars.

The ultimate low rider showcase sponsored by Shorties Hydraulics, See Lone Star Throwdowns, Texas sized truck spread.

And don't miss the traditional rod and custom section Friday, Saturday and Sunday see wild, high flying freestyle motocross stunt shows.

Shop, the swap meet and women's world all weekend on the celebrity stage presented by Nick's auto repair and classic car restoration.

Friday meet AEW Tag Team superstars to Lugea Bro.

Saturday it's Noel G Hector from the Fast and Furious.

Sunday it's Lou Ferrigno, the original incredible halt.

The O'Reilly Auto Parts Auto Ram.

November 23rd through 26th at the George R Brown Convention Center.

Discount tickets at a Riley Auto Parts Part of the summer racing equipment show car series.

See auto-ramacom for more info.

The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants will have you telling your family and friends just what the original recipes mean when it comes to the best fajitas in Southeast Texas.

Founder Stan Holt invited you to visit the original loopy tortilla near I-10 and Highway 6.

Here's the original house that inspired the design of all the rest and the original charm that helped make loopy tortilla the go-to destination for Houston Tex-Mex.

Speaking of original, nothing can compete with the original lime pepper marinade that everyone will agree makes loopy tortilla award-winning beef fajitas, the best anywhere.

Loopy Tortilla Katie is another location that gives you the same quality and service Houstonians have come to expect at loopies.

It's located just off I-10 of the Grand Parkway.

At Kingsland Boulevard in Katie, find yourself an Aggie Land.

Head to the loopy tortilla in College Station, located just around the corner from Kyle Field, it's a great place to enjoy those famous frozen margaritas before or after the game.

Head to East, to Louisiana.

Stop in at the loopy tortilla in Beaumont.

It twos on I-10.

You can't miss it.

The original group of loopy tortilla restaurants invites you in for the best Tex-Mex anywhere.

That's it for this podcast episode of the In Wheel Time Car Show.

I'm Don Armstrong, inviting you to join us for our live show every Saturday morning 8 to 11 am Central on Facebook, youtube, twitch and our InWheelTimecom website.

Podcasts are available on Apple Podcast.

About this episode

Delve into the world of car batteries as the In Wheel Time crew ranks them from worst to best. The discussion covers various brands, including Everstart, Interstate, Motorcraft, and the top-rated Optima. Listeners will learn about the unique features of AGM batteries, the importance of cold cranking amps, and the implications of battery choice on vehicle performance. The episode also features light-hearted banter among the hosts, making for an entertaining yet informative listen.

BMW 7 Series Cadillac Fleetwood Chevrolet Corvette Dodge Ram Ford F-150 Ford Ranger Infiniti J30 Infiniti Q45 Jaguar XJ Mercedes-Benz S-Class Toyota Tundra

Original notes

What if you were handed the keys to demystify the world of car batteries? Well, that's exactly what we're doing in this episode! As your hosts, we dish out on our favorite Mexican food joints, anticipate our upcoming car show guest list, and even dive into Don's own Corvette’s brush with AGM batteries and a faulty electric seat. We also give a heartfelt nod to the exceptional work of God’s Garage, a community-focused organization deserving of your support.

In our discussion, we pit heavyweights like XS Power, Odyssey, Diehard, and Optima against each other, laying bare their strengths, weaknesses, and what makes them tick. We dig into the nitty-gritty of lead and AGM batteries, exploring their life cycles, shelf lives, warranties, and even unique design choices. But that’s not all - as the icing on the cake, we share nuggets on how to prolong your battery life and where to hunt for the best deals.

But don't be fooled - it's not all about the present. We take a nostalgic trip down memory lane, revisiting the evolution of automobiles, from George B Selden's 1895 patent to Ford's introduction of the Mercury brand in 1938. We pay homage to Steve McQueen’s legacy, celebrate the launch of Infiniti by Nissan in 1989, and reveal shocking survey results about Ford's shaky standing with dealers. We also put some famous full-size pickups under the microscope, scrutinizing their crash test ratings.

So sit back, buckle up, and enjoy the ride!

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

The Lupe' Tortilla Restaurants
Lupe Tortilla in Katy, Texas

Gulf Coast Auto Shield
Paint protection, tint, and more!

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

[email protected]