Niall Motormouth Jenkins brings a lively mix of automotive tips, humor, and community updates from the Car Connection workshop. Highlights include the launch of a fleet maintenance video on YouTube, celebrating nearly 100 podcast episodes, and plans for a special 100th episode featuring essential vehicle ownership lessons. Niall also shares personal stories about harsh winters on Lake Erie and promotes the Car Connection merch store, which supports addiction recovery programs. The episode blends practical advice with engaging storytelling and invites listener interaction through Q&A segments.
Can you actually look stellar driving a minivan, or is that reputation permanent? In this Fun Friday episode, we break down confidence, presentation, vehicle pride, and why style has more to do with you than what you drive. From clean interiors to clean shoes, this lighthearted discussion looks at practicality, perception, and owning your role behind the wheel.
We're also gearing up for Episode 100 and launching our new Saturday one-hour Q&A show. Got a question? Send it in and join the conversation.
More episodes and...project Details & Links are available at Car Connection Business Network.com (ccbusnet.com) you'll find everything on our homepage if you'd like to follow the build/repair work we do, connect with our program partners click on their logo to meet them,Thank You!
Merchandise available at (ccbusnet.com) grab some Motormouth gear join the crew helping those struggling with addiction get to a Total Freedom Addiction Campus Canada & USA where a New Life awaits them there! Tnx A Bunch Friends,Nile Motormouth Jenkins
Tnx for watching & Listening, Like Follow Share, Comment, Subscribe, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, stevensvilleontheweb.ca click the businesses tab, IHeartRadio & all podcast platforms M -Sat
"So everything works together just like an automobile. We're going to be talking about minivans today. Yeah, it's Fun Friday. So we're going to have a little bit of fun with minivans. So if you're driving a minivan right now, yeah, that's okay. Stay tuned with us. We're going to have a few laughs. We're going to discuss, you know, the importance of the minivan especially to the"
A minivan is a car that can carry a lot of people, usually families, and has big doors that slide open to make it easy to get in and out.
A minivan is a type of vehicle designed primarily for passenger comfort and space, often used by families. It typically features three rows of seating and sliding side doors for easy access.
"Some of their vehicles, you can apply for extended aftermarket warranties and they're carrying some good warranties there."
An extended aftermarket warranty is like extra protection you buy for your car after the original warranty runs out. It helps pay for repairs so you don't have to spend a lot of money if something breaks.
Extended aftermarket warranties are service contracts purchased separately from the original manufacturer warranty, providing additional coverage for repairs and maintenance beyond the factory warranty period.
"...they fix all years, makes and models including light commercial vehicles. So that is Rainbow Motors and Garage"
Light commercial vehicles are small trucks or vans that businesses use to carry stuff or tools. They're bigger than regular cars but smaller than big trucks.
Light commercial vehicles are smaller trucks or vans designed for transporting goods or equipment, often used by businesses for deliveries or service purposes.
"I remember, I almost said when I'm not going to say remember when. Lee Iacocca, how many remember that name? You should because he was the one who was instrumental in creating Ford's Mustang."
Lee Iacocca was an important car boss who helped make the Ford Mustang and later helped the Chrysler company become successful again, especially with family vans.
Lee Iacocca was a famous American automobile executive credited with the development of the Ford Mustang and later revitalizing Chrysler in the 1980s. He played a major role in popularizing the minivan.
"... the one who was instrumental in creating Ford's Mustang. And then he jumped over to Chrysler because Chry..."
The Ford Mustang is a famous car that looks sporty and is fun to drive. It became very popular a long time ago and is still loved by many people today. Someone important who helped make this car later worked for another car company called Chrysler.
The Ford Mustang is an iconic American muscle car first introduced in 1964, known for its sporty design and performance. It played a significant role in popularizing the 'pony car' segment and remains a symbol of American automotive culture. The mention likely refers to a key figure involved in its creation who later moved to Chrysler.
"They were on the last ring in the toilet going down for the last time when he jumped in to Chrysler and saved them with the minivan, the birth of the minivan and the K car. And you know, I remember the K cars, they had the Plymouth Reliant and then there was the Chrysler K K car."
The Chrysler K car was a type of small car made by Chrysler in the 1980s. It was easy to fix and helped the company stay in business. Many other cars, like minivans, were based on this design.
The Chrysler K car platform was a line of compact, front-wheel-drive cars introduced in the 1980s that helped save Chrysler from financial trouble. These cars were known for their simplicity, reliability, and affordability, and they formed the basis for many models including minivans.
"I remember the K cars, they had the Plymouth Reliant and then there was the Chrysler K K car."
The Plymouth Reliant was a small car made in the 1980s. It was easy to fix and helped Chrysler stay in business.
The Plymouth Reliant was a compact car built on the Chrysler K car platform during the 1980s. It was one of the key models that helped Chrysler recover financially and was known for its affordability and ease of maintenance.
"I mean, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, PZV valve, the whole nine yards for a couple of hundred bucks."
The PZV valve is a small part in a car's engine that helps reduce pollution by recycling some gases back into the engine instead of letting them escape into the air.
The PZV valve (Positive Crankcase Ventilation valve) is part of the emissions control system that helps reduce harmful gases from the engine crankcase by rerouting them back into the intake manifold to be burned.
"Timing belts weren't bad to do on those. I could do it. You got to a point where I could do a timing belt in like less than four hours, start to finish. So you're done in half a day. Got that down to like an hour apart, an hour back together and setting everything up, setting the timing and everything else."
The timing belt is a belt inside the engine that makes sure parts move together properly. If it breaks, the engine can get damaged, so it needs to be replaced regularly.
A timing belt is a crucial engine component that synchronizes the rotation of the crankshaft and camshaft, ensuring valves open and close at the correct times. Regular replacement is important to prevent engine damage.
"...travel south anymore. So but they had that Dodge caravan grand caravan for quite a while. It was in stellar con..."
The Dodge Grand Caravan is a big car that families use to carry lots of people and stuff. It’s been around for a long time and is good for trips and everyday use. People talk about it because it’s easy to use and fits a lot inside.
The Dodge Grand Caravan is a minivan that was produced for several decades, known for its practicality and family-friendly features. It was one of the best-selling minivans in North America, offering versatile seating and cargo space. The vehicle is often discussed in the context of reliable, affordable family transportation.
"... in the minivan. It's been in there since it was born. So clean it, vacuum it, wipe the dash for Pete's..."
The Cupra Born is a small electric car that doesn’t use gas and is good for city driving. It looks sporty and has new technology inside. It’s a newer kind of car that helps people drive without pollution.
The Cupra Born is an all-electric compact hatchback produced by Cupra, a performance-oriented brand spun off from SEAT. It represents the brand's push into the electric vehicle market with sporty styling and modern technology. The Born is notable for combining electric efficiency with dynamic driving characteristics.
"I saw a minivan yesterday had running boards on it, I got to say, kind of dangerous, they were really low. It really took away the road height."
Running boards are like small steps on the side of a car that help you get in and out more easily, especially if the car is tall.
Running boards are narrow steps attached along the side of a vehicle, typically below the doors, to assist passengers in entering and exiting, especially on taller vehicles like SUVs and trucks.
Select text to request an explanation
Good morning Niagara, you're tuned in to Car Connection where the coffee's hot, the
tools are ready and the talk is always tuned up.
I'm your host Niall Motormouth Jenkins coming to you straight from the Car Connection workshop
where we mix a little humor, a little know-how and a whole lot of horsepower.
Here it's not just about fixing cars, it's about keeping you rolling, saving you money
and giving you the confidence to understand what's under that hood.
From the classics to the commuters, the weird noises to the what the heck moments, we've
got you covered.
So grab your coffee, sit back, join the crew because this is Car Connection, your Monday
through Saturday morning pit stop for stories, smarts and a few good laughs.
I'm Niall Motormouth Jenkins, shifting in to drive this morning, thank you for inviting
me into your world as I invite you into my own, you'll never be the same, but you might
learn a couple of things and you might hear a funny story or two.
I do tend to go off on a tangent, but it's, you know, you ever get those moments where
you have that flashback and you go up and then you totally forget it.
Like if you don't get it out immediately, it's like brain fart.
What were you going to say?
I don't know, I can't remember.
Well, our fleet maintenance video comes out on our YouTube channel, I want to do a little
promoting here for just for a couple of minutes, so bear with me.
If you're going through the drive-thru, you know the deal, double check your order, lock
it down in your cup holder.
We don't want any Friday speed laces on the passenger side, possibly the feet of the passenger
side attendant, yeah, that's the person you're going to hand the 16 pack of Crayola crayons
to and the folded leaf bag, which is a car connection workshop laptop to take some notes
while you're driving.
If you're not able to take any notes, you can grab any of our almost 100 episodes of
car connection.
Next week, we're going to be moving into season two, episode 101, so there's over 100 episodes
for you to tap into and we'll talk a little bit more about that later on the program today
because that's huge.
That's huge for us.
What are we talking about today?
Hang on, take it easy, we're going to get our swiggy done, then we'll do the weather,
then we'll jump into our topic, but it's fun Friday.
We have made it to the weekend, the last weekend of the mole.
And then we begin, yeah, we're heading for spring, baby, right on.
I haven't seen a robin yet, but on the south shores of Lake Geary, they come in just dribs
and drabs, just checking out, making sure their space is still reserved from here, then
they really show up.
So I'll keep you posted on that, I haven't had a sighting yet.
So today at 4.30, our fleet maintenance, car connection maintenance schedule video will
drop and I would highly recommend that you get on that if you haven't subscribed already
to our channel.
93% of you are watching the videos, so I know the algorithms are sending them out to the
motorhead, wrenching geeks and you're not subscribed.
How come?
What's going on with that?
That's like having a shower in the middle of July after cutting the grass and then putting
your dirty clothes back on, sort of.
Subscribe, like, share, comment, do the whole nine yards so that we can keep the ignition
on and continue to run on all eight cylinders and get our YouTube channel just smoking hot.
We have almost 200 videos up there, so if you follow this schedule that I'm unpacking
for you on our YouTube channel today, that'll go up again at 4.30 today.
It's Friday.
It's Friday, Friday.
Okay, better not get into the Friday song.
It's one of those earworms.
If you follow this schedule, you will dramatically reduce your odds of ever seeing a $5,000 repair
bill.
Just saying, just throwing it out there, you know, as your parents would say, well, do
what you will, but wait till your father gets home.
What?
Am I the only one who's ever had that discussion?
I'm fiddling here, so just stay with me.
There was something else I wanted to share with you that was very important.
Yeah, very important.
So you can email your questions in tomorrow, Saturday.
If you have any questions today for tomorrow, you'd want to email them in today, being Friday,
and I'll answer them on the air tomorrow when we broadcast tomorrow.
So just giving you a heads up on that as well as Friday on Fridays, make sure that if you
have questions that you want to hear an answer to on Saturday morning on our one hour program,
then I need to have your questions Friday.
If you could do that for me, that would be fantastic.
I'll peel them off.
And as we move forward, maybe we'll do a Friday thing where if you ask a question
and hear me read it out on Saturday morning, maybe you'll win something.
Yeah, I'm used to doing that for 31 years and we haven't for since we started on the
Digitals, but all right, is that it?
No, that's not it.
Cheapers, you know, all these little pieces of paper.
Yeah, I need Skippy here.
All right, here it is.
I found it.
I found it.
Yippee!
Here it is.
Make episode 100 a capstone episode.
Right, we are going to bust out 100 episodes next week.
As I just mentioned moments ago, we back up the tape.
100 lessons in vehicle ownership.
They never told you.
They, the they, do you have some of those in your life?
The they always seem to have the answers, but they suck.
Don't tell them that.
Yeah, tell them that it's good.
It keeps them sharper.
Just say you have great ideas, but they suck.
Okay, 100 lessons in vehicle ownership.
They never told you.
So, series, no, it's not a series.
We're going into season now.
Season two starts at episode 101.
And today we are officially on episode 98 for fun, our very first fun Friday.
That's cool.
That is so cool because 31 years in radio, I only broadcasted once a week
on Saturdays and the last 10 or 15 years we were only a one hour show, but for many years
we were two hours.
And one show a week every Saturday equals, if I do every Saturday is 52,
52 programs in a year.
And in 16 weeks we have done 100 episodes on podcast.
So remember, the biggest toolbox drawer we have is our website, carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com.
That's where you'll find all the goodies available to you to connect, follow, like,
share, ring the bell, get the notification, put a comment in there.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram.
Stevensville on the web, that's a website, our videographer Skippy created many years ago.
We have like 7,000 followers on there.
Yeah, if we could get them all to subscribe to our YouTube channel, we'd be smoking hot and we
would be able to buy the parts we need to keep other people's vehicles going for free and shoot
the videos and show you what we're doing.
So that's the whole purpose of everything that we're doing right now is, you know,
coming off of 31 years of radio and only reaching a handful of people.
Now we're reaching north, south, east and west around the world.
And you're going to get a really cool look at our world here on the south shores of Lake Erie on
Monday. Skippy and I are heading out to the frozen Great Lake, Lake Erie and we're going to show you
some stuff going on out there. The lake is completely frozen. It looks like Antarctica.
So we're going to share that with you. So all of you, wherever you are, share it with your family
and friends. We're going to videotape that on this coming Monday, which would be March the
2nd. And we'll get that up as quick as we can so that all, all of you can enjoy it and share it
along with your families, which I think is really, really cool. That is super cool.
So I thought, you know, that's the first time in probably two or three years, three anyway,
that the lake froze at all. It's always been open and that's why we were getting so much
lake effect snow. Last year, the year before, in three days we had 62 inches of snow.
Yeah, I had to burrow out and go around the homestead and dig the doors out because the snow
was halfway up all the doors around the house. Everything was completely buried or wood lot
and everything. It was, it was brutal. And then those in like Niagara on the lake, St. Catharines,
Hamilton, Stony Creek are going, what? You have how much snow? 62 inches. Oh, it's nothing here,
sunshine. Well, isn't that special? Yeah, it was, it was three days going into four days,
we're three days without, without electricity and the homestead was getting cold. And I had to dig
my way to the wood pile. Anyways, I digress. But yeah, this year is typical winter. And the first
time in a long time that the Lake Erie has frozen solid and there's some really cool ice sculptures
out there, there's caves and castles. And it just really looks, it looks mystical. Yeah, like it's
so quiet. It's crazy. So we're going to share that with you. So that's coming up. I'll let you know
what is the flight date for that to get on to our YouTube channel. We have almost 200 videos
on our YouTube channel now. We have a pretty decent merch store. So merchandise is available
at carconnectionbusinessnetwork.com. That's the long version ccbusnet.com. I always put all that
information in all of our descriptions of our YouTube videos and our podcasts and take a minute
to read the descriptions because they put a lot of detail in there and have a little bit of fun
with you as well at the same time. So and that's where you'll find any links, tools I'm using
and reminders that you can grab some merchandise on our website anytime of the night or day. You
can shop till you drop. And when you do that, you join the car connection motor mouth crew
and help us in helping those struggling with addictions to get to a total freedom
addictions campus for Canadian, for Canada and the U.S. where a new life waits them there. It's not
a program. It's a life change and you can't fight what you can't see. They provide an alternative
addiction program bringing healing and restoration to individual individuals and families that are
really deeply enslaved by cycles of addiction and destructive behavior. So if that's you or
somebody you know, the help is there and it's amazing what they do there. When I was heading
over to the U.S. all the time, a few times a week before the big C-19 hit. Yeah, we don't talk about
that one around here because that is vein popping and it takes me around 14 days to be able to calm
down. Spent a lot of time working with total freedom and meeting the people that are in the
program and on the campus and just getting to know them and you know, lives are being changed there.
So just keep that in mind. When you go into our store, you can safely purchase what you want,
pick the color, pick the item, get yourself a limited edition car connection, morning coffee mug
and pay for it securely online and it's freedom expressions that has put our store together
for us and makes the products on the campus and that helps keep those who are on the campus going
through the addictions program to learn how to work and hold a job and be responsible for their
position because they have a freedom automotive. They have a full blown automotive shop there now
on the campus. They have a takeout window and a big commercial kitchen. That's where all those that
are on the campus, living on the campus, staying on the campus, that's where they go to fellowship
hall and there's a takeout window there for people to show up and order food and what else
do they got going? The boutique, the candle factory and freedom expressions which does everything from
t-shirts to ball caps, you name it. They print it, create it for companies and put it out there. So
we're blessed to have them to put our store together so that you can pick what you like,
pick the color, pick the size, the amount and pay for it safely and securely and they send that out
directly to you so we don't have to get involved in that whatsoever. They completely take care of it
for us and if we request some other items to be put up, they put those together. So everything
works together just like an automobile. We're going to be talking about minivans today.
Yeah, it's Fun Friday. So we're going to have a little bit of fun with minivans. So if you're
driving a minivan right now, yeah, that's okay. Stay tuned with us. We're going to have a few
laughs. We're going to discuss, you know, the importance of the minivan especially to the
moms and dads with kids and gear and all that stuff. They have a real important place in this
world and, you know, I remember, I'm not going to say remember when. Yeah, I am older than a worm,
but not as old as dirt. Okay, take it easy. They're steady on. Let's keep moving. So that's
what we're going to be talking about today and you can also jump in on that. If you're driving,
heading to work, wherever it is, you're going today. Don't be that hamster on the wheel. Run,
run, run, run, run, run, run, get off like the ball, get a pellet, jump back on. It's Friday.
You can relax a little bit. Tell the boss I said so. Have an extra 30 seconds on your lunch today.
Live on the edge. Where was I going? Yeah, minivans. So if you have a question or you want to throw
your comment out about minivans for tomorrow's show for Saturday morning's program,
today would be the day you need to shoot that email off to me. All right.
So that's nyle at ccbusnet.com, N-I-L-E, no S, not like Niles Crane or Kevin or Bill or Jim. It's
Nile, N-I-L-E at C-C-B-U-S is in Sam, busnetnet.com. And all that information is in our description
box for our podcast and also for our YouTube videos so that you can see how you can find us.
Home page of our car connection businessnetwork.com website. That's what ccbusnet.com is the shortest
we could get because the character that has CCBN is holding it ransom because he knows that it
would be very useful to us, but he's asking thousands and thousands of dollars for it. So I go, no,
that's donut and coffee money right there, buddy. Not going to happen. So go to our home page, top
right corner of the home page is all our links, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Stevensville on the
web, click on the businesses tab. You'll see our beautiful profile they built for us there.
My parents live in Stevensville. I like to go and eat in Stevensville and there's some great eateries
and Skippy, our videographer put that, that I was saying that a few minutes ago and then I had a
brain fart. I haven't had coffee yet, okay? I have to wait at least an hour or so. Has everything to
with cortisol and getting a butt bigger than a, than a heifer. I'm just saying don't want that.
Trying to get in my Mankini for summer 2026. No cameras. Put them away.
Yeah, so that, that website has well over 7000 visitors and Skippy created it to join the community
and the business owners in that area together, kind of meld them together as a communal website.
How cool is that? That's a good word for me, communal website. And we also have our iHeart
icon is there. Click on there. We're on all podcast platforms, Spotify, Apple, Amazon and every
other one out there and I check it all the time to make sure if they've added any more.
Just put us in your search bar, car connection workshop, whatever and wherever you're pulling
your podcast from, you will find us there. So again, if you've got, you can't join us today
with your questions or comments. Tomorrow morning is the one hour program of car connection workshop
and we'll kind of pull it in, pull it in there. I don't know whether that was a burp or a hiccup.
I'm not sure. We'll have to, can we identify that? Can we get that in the lab? Thank you.
Yeah, I don't know where that came from. It was just like, anyways, let's have our swiggy this
morning. Sorry to keep you. But Fridays, I'm jacked up on caffeine by then 99. Motormouth runs on
Joe 99.5% boost, not a penny less. So I'm having my herbal tea, which is
supposed to be making me healthy. I do feel healthier. I really do. So on three, two, one,
let's have a swiggy together. Let's thank the Grimo family and Niagara Falls for building
Canada since 1931 Niagara block. You'll find them on our website, all the logos for program
partners that keep the ignition on right now, but we need more fireage. We got to get all eight
cylinders firing at the same time so we can run smooth. So we thank the Grimo family at Niagara
Block 5000 Montrose Rose Niagara Falls for bringing us our morning coffee, swiggy, building Canada
since 1931. And I've seen pictures. They've been there since 1931. I've seen black and white pictures
of Niagara Falls. There was nothing there. You could actually literally from their building
on Montrose Road see the falls. There was nothing between them and the falls.
It's crazy time, how it changes stuff. Building supplies, hardscape, landscaping materials,
that's what they provide. If you're looking to have a backyard up to create that outdoor living
space, that's where you're going to do it. They're going to connect you with a contractor
that can come out, design it, help you design along with them, pick out the materials you're
going to use and create that beautiful backyard oasis you've always wanted. So get on the radar,
marches a few days away, spring is going to be marching in. Well, here's another question.
What do you think? Is March going to come in like a lion or a lamb? Your thoughts? Send me an email.
You can also use my alternate email, not my alternate ego because I don't have one.
Is motormouth, one word, dot Jenkins as it sounds, J-E-N-K-I-N-S at gmail.com. So if that's
easier for you to remember, no problem. Motormouth dot Jenkins at gmail.com or Nile at ccbusnet.com.
Ready? Are you ready? Three, two, one. There we go.
Recording or not recording? There we go. Well, that was a glitch.
Yeah, if you hear a gap, that was me just gaffing on my morning beverage. Brutal. That was killer
there for a minute. One time I was at a party. I was just young jack gaffer in my early teens
and I was eating a slice of pizza and chugging down a great big freezing cold glass of Coca-Cola
and I don't know what happened but the next minute I'm coughing in a pepperoni, a piece of pepperoni
kind of blew out of where it shouldn't have and I'm like, what the heck just happened? You ever
had that happen? It was awful. It burned really bad. So I would not recommend that if I were you.
Definitely not to do that. So let's jump into our morning weather, see what we got for Friday.
I know the temperatures are going to begin to rise now. I've been looking at the
satellite system springs around the corner. It sure is. It's coming but it's not over
till she's singing, if you know what I mean. 21 degrees right now, mostly clear.
Wind is making it feel colder, about 19. Cloudy conditions from 8am to 10am this morning with
partly cloudy conditions expected at 10am. Today's temperature range is from 18 to 41
but feeling more like, because of the wind, 16 degrees to 37 degrees and yes, that is
Fahrenheit. The high for today, 41. Break out the shorts. Overnight low, back into the teens at
18 degrees. Any precip look on there? Well, it's showing possible chance anyway here
in the Niagara region, .05 of an inch of wet stuff. Nothing as far as a winter event, we're clear.
All clear. For now anyway, you never know, especially on the south shores of Lake Erie,
you just, you never know. It can get interesting, extremely fast and that's one of the main reasons
when it comes to winter around here on the south shores of Lake Erie. If you move into our area,
I remember my neighbor came over and said, have you lived here before? No. Sit down,
we gotta talk. And gave me a list of everything that I need to make sure that I have and prepare
for every winter, even if we end up having a mild winter. Because he said, in a moment's notice,
that can all change and catch you off guard and then you're scrambling and it turns into a nightmare.
So I'm giving you the heads up. We've lived here almost 150 years and he said, you need this,
you gotta have that. Make sure you keep this in the house. You got lots of fuel for your generator.
Oh, you don't have a generator. You better get a generator. Do you have a snowmobile? Yes,
good. Make sure it's in top drawer condition because that can be the only means of transportation
into town for a week. So that's what it's like down here. So even though you may have clear
skies, blue skies, sunshine out where you are, we can be getting hammered off the lake. But
we've kind of, we're kind of secure right now because the lake is completely frozen.
It's when the lake is open, it gets angry and sloshes and creates a ton of snow around here
at the drop of a hat. Thank you to Reed and Ramiz, Shenuta, the brothers up in Scarborough,
Rainbow Motors and Garage. Sales and service you can always trust. Been a part of car connection
for a number of years now. They took a little break. They're back with us and we certainly
enjoy them because they're way up there in Scarborough taking care of our car connection
listeners. So if you're looking for a vehicle, they do have a small car lot and they also have
resources to find that specific vehicle you're looking for. So take advantage of their connections
and their resources and save yourself a thousand feet, if you know what I'm saying.
Thousand footsteps. Sales and service you can trust. You buy it there. You can have its service
there. Some of their vehicles, you can apply for extended aftermarket warranties and they're
carrying some good warranties there. I'm familiar with warranty. And also they fix all years,
makes and models including light commercial vehicles. So that is Rainbow Motors and Garage
sales and service you can trust. Let's jump into our topic this morning. Hey, are you driving a
minivan this morning? There's a question. Well, I thought we'd have a little bit of fun with it,
not poking fun. Okay, so put your feeling in the glovebox this morning. Just cast that off and
just let your hair down and let's have some minivan fun. And you know what? I don't own a minivan.
I have fixed a lot of minivans and I have a minivan coming in probably sometime before the end of the
week or if not Monday morning. Yeah, it's Fun Friday, dual duty mode. That's what we're in right now.
Okay, here's our big question for Fun Friday. Can you look stylish in a minivan? And I got to say,
you know, I remember, I almost said when I'm not going to say remember when. Lee Iacocca,
how many remember that name? You should because he was the one who was instrumental in creating
Ford's Mustang. And then he jumped over to Chrysler because Chrysler was doing a swirly.
They were on the last ring in the toilet going down for the last time when he jumped in
to Chrysler and saved them with the minivan, the birth of the minivan and the K car. And you know,
I remember the K cars, they had the Plymouth Reliant and then there was the Chrysler K
K car. They were sister cars anyway. You could do a full tune up. I mean, plugs, wires, cap, rotor,
PZV valve, the whole nine yards for a couple of hundred bucks. You could do brakes. We could do
brakes on those K car series, including the minivan all the way around pads, rotors, calipers,
the whole nine yards for like $200 in parts. They were cheap to fix. Timing belts weren't bad
to do on those. I could do it. You got to a point where I could do a timing belt in like less than
four hours, start to finish. So you're done in half a day. Got that down to like an hour apart,
an hour back together and setting everything up, setting the timing and everything else.
But I'll tell you what, you couldn't kill those things. They were cheap. They were cheap little
commuter, the K car, the Reliant and the minivan. But there's something I have to admit about
that period of time was the 80s, mid 80s, when those all came out. I really had a thing for the
paneled minivan. Yeah, it looked like, you know, that sticky tack stuff you put in a drawer liner,
but it was wood. It was wood drawer liner on it and then had this fake looking wood molding.
Did anyone, anybody out there have one of those? Yeah, they came in red.
Most of the ones I saw were like a deep burgundy and then they had the wood grain
mack tack on there drawer liner with the, what looked like fake pine trim, but it was side moldings.
And I thought, wow, that thing, that thing looks so cool. Yeah, okay, then I woke up.
But that was the birth of the minivan. Lee Iacocca saved Chrysler with the mini coming
up the minivan and the K car series. If it wasn't for that Chrysler would be, they would have been
gone because they were swirling and going down for the last time. So, all right, fun Friday.
Okay. So, can you look stellar in a minivan? I don't know. Like I said, I don't have one. So,
that's where you can jump into the comments. Send me an email nile at ccbusnet.com or
motormouth.jankins at gmail.com where you can put a comment in our YouTube channel.
Leave me a comment. Yeah, so that's the question I have is, it's not, it's not the vehicle, it's
the presence I think with the minivan. Can you actually look stylish driving a minivan or is
that game over the second the sliding door opens? Yes or no? I don't know. This is where,
you know, we've got to get a little bit of interaction. So, if you want to comment on that
and leave me a comment, shoot me an email for Saturday mornings program. You can do that. So,
if you're driving and your co-partner is half asleep, one eye open, one eye closed and spilling
coffee on your nice fabric seat on that side, you might want to pinch them lightly so they don't
spill the whole beverage. You don't look uncool because of the van. You look uncool because
maybe you've surrendered. Confidence makes the outfit. The vehicle just carries you. Maybe
that might be the case. I don't know. I'm just throwing these ideas out. I just scratched down
some ideas. Thought I'd just throw some stuff out there because I don't know. In fact, not, not
mentioning any names in conversation last Saturday with my Eggman and Honeyman. Yeah, awesome honey.
They got their own bees. They got their own chickens and the honey is out of this world.
But anyways, I was, we were talking and I said, yeah, and you know, they asked me, you know,
how's it going? You know, I said, we're just about ready to bust 100 episodes on our podcast.
But we're going to start Fun Friday and talking about minivans. There was this slight hesitation.
Don't mention my name. I go, okay, I won't. He said, I, he says, what are you going to be asking?
Can you look stellar behind the wheel of a minivan? He said, you know, when, when my wife
and I got married, I said, we're never having, he said, I told her, we're never having a minivan.
Okay. How did that go? She was good with it. We had two kids. You know, we're not getting a minivan.
Then the third child came along. We've got to get a minivan. Well, I, I couldn't stop laughing.
So did you look cool behind the wheel of the minivan? Did you look stellar?
I don't know. But you know, he says that he said this, that thing was a grub grab getter,
the groceries, the kids camping, all the gear, the household pets, everything you could think of.
We crammed in there and down the road we went. It was a hauler. It was a truck. It was a trailer.
It hauled kids plus the household pets. He said, it was, and he's whispering. I go,
you're whispering. You don't want the neighbors to know you had a minivan. He goes, no,
it was really good. It was a really good vehicle. You could get so much done with that minivan.
So I never got an answer on whether or not he felt you could look cool behind the window of,
behind the windows of the minivan. But here's a couple of things you got to know.
Rock stars rent minivans on tour. Did you know that? CEOs drive practical cars. They drive
minivans. Parents drive minivans like it's a command center. I believe that. I really do.
I think it's the big toe of the household, the minivan. Personally, that's what I'm thinking.
So my parents got into minivans in their retirement years and that's what they used to
snowbird it for a couple of months. And they put, they built like a closet in there.
So you don't put all their garb hanging all up so nothing got wrinkled and then they have a spot
for their cooler for their frozen meat and their stews and stuff they'd created. They had the minivan
like super decked out like it was a machine unstoppable. And that's how they'd go every year.
You know, everything had its place in the minivan. Yep. And I drove Chevy minivans for a while and
then they got the grand caravan, the pooba of caravans. And they only got, well my mom passed in
2022 and pops got rid of the minivan a couple of years before because they couldn't travel south
anymore. So but they had that Dodge caravan grand caravan for quite a while. It was in stellar
condition. But again, you know, I was, you know, quite often a passenger in the minivan. Yeah,
I would hide. And so that's all I got to say about that. But yeah, you know, I see that there is
a special garb. I think there is. I think they have to have some some kind of style to be a minivan
owner. I think there has there's some boundaries. So this one, it came up with dark jeans or clean
work pants. Or how about a well fitted hoodie or jacket? neutral colors, black navy charcoal olive.
Yeah, not like a we don't really I don't think you need a runway fashion show to own a minivan.
You just need to be clean fitted and intentional. What do you think your thoughts on that?
And footwear. Here's what I came up for footwear. Here's another great way to I think begin to build
the minivan image a little deeper than it's not just a minivan. It's a machine. It is a tool.
Clean boots, sharp sneakers, casual leather shoes. What do you think?
The shoes really tell the story. If your shoes are wrecked, then the van isn't the problem.
If you know what I'm saying, so the shoes got to be important because the first thing out the door
pretty much you got to put your feet down. I think that's where, you know, people that don't have a
minivan are going to go, Whoa, that's they're happening. Like they they got their moves coming out
of that minivan. And number three, interior. The interior matters. That's what I'm thinking.
The minivan my parents had. It was comfortable in there. Nice seats, comfortable seats. You
didn't have the the DVD player. That sucked. Yeah, because if you didn't want to get in on the
conversation, you might as well watch a movie or something, right? Or documentary. This is where
we can, we're going to slide some motor wealth practicality in here. You want to look stylish
in a minivan. Here's what I'm thinking. Clean it, vacuum it, wipe the dash for Pete's sake. I've seen
minivans like quarter inch of dash in dust or quarter inch of dust on the dash. You could
scrape it with an ice scraper. And you know, I didn't think they put out any of the trash in the
minivan. It's been in there since it was born. So clean it, vacuum it, wipe the dash for Pete's
sake. And no french fries fossilized in the cup holder or muffin crumbs, or the like. Yeah,
that's gross. These are some of the things I remember working on minivans. They could be
extremely a gross factor 10. And when you open the sliding door, it's like this
waft comes out and you go, what on earth is that smell? There ain't no air freshener that's going
to help that. No, you got to, you seriously need to be nose blind to drive that van. And I had a
few of them come in the shop. They were grossness on a scale of 10, a 12.5 closer to 20. Here's
my point number four. You got to own the roll when you have a minivan. You got to own it.
Yeah, the guys maybe they'll add some accessories, you know, some more extra tinted windows, maybe
I saw a minivan yesterday had running boards on it, I got to say, kind of dangerous, they were
really low. It really took away the road height. And they looked cheesy. On a cheesy meter,
the needle was off the scale. And wrapping around the other side, it looked rough. Yeah,
super I gave it, I looked and then I looked away and I had to look again, I go that that looks
really super cheesy and a bit dangerous. You could get those things hooked up and really
rip the side of the part. Anyways, a minivan isn't a surrender, it's logistics, its capacity,
its leadership, your hauling kids, your hauling gears, your hauling groceries, and just a real
world real life piece of equipment. It's not just a van. Here's what I came up with.
It's not just a van, a minivan. That's a mobile operation center for mama,
moving the kids soccer, baseball, ice capades, synchronized swimming, you know, all those
really cool programs and noodle art and macrame classes. Okay, and paper mache classes. It's not
just a minivan. And I think that you can look sharp in anything if you're already sharp.
That confidence is the upgrade package. And there's millions of minivans out there.
I don't like being behind a minivan or in an intersection and there's a minivan. I need to
make a left turn and I can't see past the stink of minivan. Yeah, that's what I don't like about them.
Being a non minivan owner, I just find they block a lot of roadway. They really take up some geography.
But I really think here's a Q&A for Saturday.
If you think you can't look stylish in a minivan, email me and tell me why. And if you think you can
look stylish in a minivan, tell me what you're wearing and keep it non weird. Okay, non weird.
And you can email that to me and I'll answer those. I'll read some of those out on Saturday
morning, tomorrow morning, our one hour broadcast to car connection. I'll take questions. You email
me a question. Nile at ccbusnet.com can be automotive can be related to our fun Friday
topic minivans trying to, you know, do can you look stellar? Can you deck out a minivan and make
it look cooler, hotter, stylish? Your address code for being in the minivan? What does that look
like? Share it with us. Open to those emails and I'll share some of that on the air tomorrow. So
if you want a Q&A, Saturdays are going to be designed for Q&A. You have questions, fire it over
to me in an email and I'll address that on the morning show on Saturdays. I'll answer a pile
of questions. You give me the questions. I'll answer the questions and keep them good and nice.
No nasty stuff. You armchair warriors. I know where you live. That's right. Exactly. And we
won't give any arms or legs to anything that's nasty. I'll tell you that right now. It just
ain't going to happen because I said no to drama about 25 years ago. Yeah. So let's close it out
right here. You don't look uncool because you drive a minivan. You look uncool because you're
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