Join us for another hour of insightful discussions on Drive Radio as we deep dive into the ever-evolving world of collector cars. Host Mark Guernsey and experts ponder over the cars that are gaining prominence in the market. From the upsurge of 2020 Corvette ZR1 to the unexpected rise in certain Ferrari models, this episode uncovers the factors driving their collectible status.
SPEAKER 07 :
Being an expert on general automotive knowledge, what would the correct ignition timing be on a 1955 Bel Air Chevrolet with a 327 cubic inch engine and a four barrel carburetor?
SPEAKER 15 :
It is a trick question. Watch this. Because Chevy didn’t make a 327 in 55. The 327 didn’t come out until 62. And it wasn’t offered in the Bel Air with a four-barrel carb until 64. However, in 1964, the correct ignition timing would be four degrees before top dead center.
SPEAKER 10 :
Get ready for another hour of Drive Radio brought to you by Colorado Select Auto Care Centers. Got a question for the experts? Then give them a call. 303-477-5600. Now it’s time to pop the hood and get our hands dirty. Drive Radio on KLZ 560 The Source.
SPEAKER 19 :
And we are back, Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Again, myself, Mark Guernsey, accountable up in Broomfield. And again, don’t forget the question of the day, up-and-coming collector cars. And we’re talking about Barrett-Jackson. Several text messages came over the top of the hour, by the way, saying that, yeah, there’s a nice appeal to young people now for those types of cars. And it’s everything from old collector cars to maybe something that their grandfather drove, or maybe it’s an exotic that they like, or whatever the case may be. And again, me… Personally, I don’t care. As long as there’s some interest there and they’re showing up and they’re learning and growing and getting into the industry and maybe even for some of those young people finding a career in the industry, hey, that would be fabulous if you ask me. I’m all for it. I know Mark would feel or Mark does feel the exact same way. Now, for me personally, what are up-and-coming collector cars? I try to look at that. as much as possible to try to determine down the road where those cars going to be i’ll tell you right now one car that will be for sure the corvette zr1 they’re not going to make that many of them it is definitely going to be a collector car its price is going to stay high it’s high to begin with will they bring what people are paying right now with the exorbitant rates uh you know the exorbitant up charges that a lot of the dealers are putting on that is yet to be But is that going to be a car that will bring money down the road? Absolutely. Now, another thing that came up in price and was shown recently not only at Barrett-Jackson but some of the other auctions is Ferraris. No one knows why. No one knows why some of them have taken the jump that they have. And, again, the more – The more special a model is, of course, the more money it’s going to bring. But, for example, there was a 48 Spider, 2017 year, yellow Ferrari at Barrett-Jackson. For a Ferrari, it had quite a few miles on it from a collector’s standpoint, about 15,000 miles. I think it was 14 and change. but had a Carfax with an accident. So it’s getting dinged. Heavy. In fact, I’m probably not exaggerating when I say that. That car probably took a 50 to 75K hit just for that Carfax report. But that car still brought like two and a quarter. So that car did really well at two and a quarter with a bad Carfax, and I consider high miles. So they’re doing well. They’re strong. The collector market on that end of things is trying to figure out, you know, why is that? What’s changing there to make them more collectible? Here’s the thing. Who knows? Again, Mark, it comes down to supply and demand. And what are people yearning for, wanting to buy? And as long as there’s less supply versus the demand there, yeah, prices are going to come up.
SPEAKER 20 :
Yeah, it seems like as soon as the car line is ended, prices start going up pretty quickly. And if it turns out it was a good car, people want them, and the prices keep going up. Mini Coopers are even on that list.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, and it’s funny. And this is where you start talking about, okay, what cars are going to do well on down the road based upon what’s out there today to buy? And again, for most people, most cars, by the way, most cars are depreciating assets. They’re not even assets. It’s liability. It’s a depreciating liability. I get that, okay? That’s just the way most cars are. And that’s true because if you’re driving a daily driver – Chances of it being worth more money down the road versus what it is today are extremely low. Every car is going to depreciate. There’s some exceptions to that with some of the trucks and so on that are out there. But typically speaking, the car you’re driving is going to depreciate. So what car do you own today that would potentially go up in value down the road? Guys, I wish I had that answer. I don’t have that answer. I don’t know. Dave and Thornton, go ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
Hey, Dave. Jackson, and then, of course. Hello? Yeah, there you go. Go ahead, Dave. Yeah, since you just came back from Baird-Jackson, and, you know, based on your experience, I’ve been getting on my feed a bunch of videos from, what’s his name, from Gas Monkey.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, Richard Rawlings?
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. He’s a cornball. Yeah, that’s his whole niche is, you know, flipping cars. Yes. And his opinion was, and several other guys that I was watching, was that the collector car market is crashing, specifically for anything pre-’60s, even into the 60s. It is.
SPEAKER 19 :
No, he’s right. In fact, I talked about that in the Extra Mile that played last week, and you guys can go back and listen to that on the website. Yeah, Dave, I talked about that, and I’ve had some arguments with some folks that would differ with me on that, but I’m— It’s turning out that I’m correct in that, and it’s, again, because of supply and demand. Even some of the early 60s, depending upon what the vehicle is, yeah, they’re diminishing in value. People thought forever 55 to 57 Chevys would be worth a boatload of money. They’re not. In fact, if you have one of those right now, and you’re thinking you’re going to make a lot of money on it down the road, sell it now, because every day you own it means it’s going to be worth less and less. So that is very true, Dave. That era, and the reason for that is because The buyers, again, as I said prior, the buyers are less. The inventory stays the same.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, yeah. And it’s just, sadly, you know, a demographic shift. I mean, we’re never going to go back to… Those days that I remember, you know, cruising on a Saturday night. No, we’re not. That kind of thing. We’re still sort of a car culture, but not the car culture we used to be.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, and really quick, Dave, the other thing that’s happened with a lot of those early cars, and I own some of those earlier cars. You know, the muscle cars, the mid-60s and up muscle cars are doing very well. Even some of the muscle cars like the Grand National, the Buick Grand Nationals, doing very well and probably will forever. an extended length of time. The question is, how long will those cars do well until the next generation doesn’t like them? But what’s happened, really, Dave, and I’m being very honest here, the people even like myself… where you could go buy a 32 Ford and have a lot of fun with it, and it’s great, and it’s a fun car, and so on. The reality is I can also go buy a 70 Chevelle that, honestly, is easier to drive, less to maintain. Everything works much better than what it did in the 30s. And the reality is, and by the way, it has a lot more horsepower, and the collectability of it is better just because of what you and I are talking about right now. So the reality is that’s where that shift is coming from. And why?
SPEAKER 03 :
car they work on yeah true and you know unfortunately I think it’s even a cultural shift where you know too many I think younger kids are being indoctrinated into this whole environmental farce you know that The world’s going to burn up tomorrow unless you start walking and braiding your clothing out of your own body hair. It’s ridiculous.
SPEAKER 19 :
We laugh, but you’re not far off. And reality, Dave, is… You’re correct in all that you’re saying. I think, though, the plus side that I did see at Barrett-Jackson was a lot of young people there that were interested in cars, which is really nice for a change, although I’ll still stand by what I’m saying. I don’t see those pre-’60s, you know, 60 and earlier cars doing much better than they are right now. Some one-offs, and Corvettes, by the way, they’re the one-off. You can still go look at a… uh you know an early corvette and they’re going to be worth money no matter what day that’s never going to change that’s an exception to what you and i are talking about there’s a few of those cars that are exceptions along those lines but typically speaking i mean i saw some really nice cars in that you know 30 to 40 you know 30s to 40s era and i’m not joking dave super nice cars i guarantee you had you know 150 grand in the build easy that we’re bringing 35 grand Wow, wow, that’s just crazy. Rich, if you just wanted to go have a car, to go to a car show and have fun and go to the Golden Cruise and do some things like that, go spend your $30,000, $35,000 on one of those early cars and have a boatload of fun. Just remember, it’s not going to be worth $35,000 in 10 years.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. Hey, do you think part of it had to do with, because I’ve been noticing that we’re not getting those car-related things
SPEAKER 19 :
Yes, I think you’re right. And I think the other thing, too, is we all know with reality TV, it’s not real. I mean, reality TV is definitely about as far from real as it can get. And I think to a large extent, Dave, some of those shows have reality. shifted some of that market around and what people actually want at the end of the day out of a car. Yes, I think some of those reality shows have shifted some of that around. And honestly, even shows like what Richard has have done some of that. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 03 :
All right, cool. No, great comments. You’re spot on.
SPEAKER 19 :
Dave, you’re right on the money. I appreciate it. Very good comments. And, again, it’s one of those things you’re always trying to figure out for a lot of collectors and things like that. What’s that vehicle and what’s it going to do down the road and so on? And it’s a hard question to answer because you never know what the market’s going to want. Now, there are some givens. If you look at not all new cars, but certain new cars where there’s a particular vehicle that comes out that’s something really special that sets that car apart from the rest of that product line… then, yes, that car is going to be worth some money on down the road no matter what. Mark was talking earlier about Acura NSXs. They’ve been worth good money for quite some time. They’re still staying strong. I don’t see them dropping off. There’s a nice cult following for NSXs. And, yes, in that particular case, that’s a car that you’re not going to lose any money on and you’ll do well to own. So, again, there’s always exceptions to all the things that we’re talking about. Mark and I will be back in just a moment. Don’t go anywhere. Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
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SPEAKER 18 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
Go ahead, Nick.
SPEAKER 05 :
Hey, John and company. How we doing? How are you guys doing? Good. Excellent. Another tropical Colorado winter. There we go. Bizarre. I’ll take it. I’m native. I’ve had 60 plus years of snow up your nostrils. I know you can relate, John. You know, on your question with future collectibles, the obvious to me, of course, number one is the if you get the first-year mid-engine bet. And I know you were close with you put on special order, didn’t you?
SPEAKER 19 :
I had a 2020. Yeah, I did. I traded that car off, and I have a Z06 now.
SPEAKER 05 :
That works, too. I just think, you know, you’re talking the aspects of collectability. That was rare. It was, you know, because it was the first year of a complete redesign. You know, and the delay with factory… factory shipments that if you got something in that you know first maybe 10 000 uh out of the factory uh with the mid-engine you probably i talked to a lot of guys that have them and they’re not necessarily the first production but they love the things uh they’re they’re super impressed by chevy’s engineers it’s a great driving car first time it’s amazing yeah these guys are very impressed with it I asked them, you know, did you guys have any problems with heat buildup or sending your neck airs, you know, with all that push behind them? No. And I guess they must have done a good job of instantly… Yeah, no, you don’t even notice it. That’s amazing because that’s a lot of heat generation there. So Chevy must have designed a pretty decent air cooling flow-through. Right. My second, a little less obvious, is those… The Demon Fat Fender, I don’t remember the exact, but it’s got the extra. Right.
SPEAKER 19 :
They’re not.
SPEAKER 05 :
And it’s funny.
SPEAKER 19 :
I think eventually they’ll come back around right now and saw some of those go through Barrett Jackson. They’re actually bringing less money than probably these guys pay because some of the dealers had such an absorbent, you know, you know, add on to those things that they’re not bringing what they were. originally because the dealers were adding $50,000 to $100,000 on top. So they’re not bringing that. They’re strong, but they’re bringing right now, Nick, about what sticker price was.
SPEAKER 05 :
I don’t think that’s going to last.
SPEAKER 19 :
I think they’ll go up as time goes by. You’ll see some guys wanting those again. And I think part of what’s happened there, just for everybody listening really quick, is a lot of guys bought those thinking they were going to make some money, flipping them back out into the market. So some guys, I think, did some resales earlier than what you would typically see on that car. I think as you see some of the resales slow down again, supply and demand comes back in, Nick, and I think, yes, you’re going to see some of those come back up.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. The last performance car, it may be probably the least likely. I’d like to say a saline Mustang, something like that, a special edition Mustang. They’re strong. They’re strong right now.
SPEAKER 19 :
They’re doing well. You’re correct.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yes. Yeah, I’m biased. I’ve got my mom’s original 65 Mustang. notchback 283 i mean 289 two barrel and it’s a sweet little car and it’s it’s got it just you know it’s it’s like the original the coot is the original camaros uh you know those are those are pure raw unfettered no electronics you know that’s what i think that’s right with them you’re right then the last i know you kind of hard on time the last specialty category i think will be like the Ford Raptor performance pickup.
SPEAKER 19 :
I think if you find some of those, but I think you’re right. Although I think the key to the Raptors are going to be if you get one that’s pristine, low mile. I mean, some of those guys just run them to death. And no, Nick, those are not going to be worth money down the road. But some of the guys that are really taking good care of them, keeping the miles off and so on. Yeah, I think just like a TRX, I think you’re going to see those be worth some money. on down the road. But if you’re riding those things to death and just wearing them out, they’re going to be like everything else.
SPEAKER 05 :
Oh, exactly. You know, if somebody has the audacity to put a lift kit even on top of the kind of stance they got, that’s just… You might as well be trying to bounce on the top of the Empire State Building on an Antel. You know, it’s that unstable. You’re right. You know, as it is, they’re a tall truck. They are. And the last maybe is, well, yeah, Dodge has their performance pick them up. I forget the Ram Chargers. The TRX. Is it? Okay. Okay, yeah, that’s the one. And then I know Chevy has a Z71 that probably is pretty possible.
SPEAKER 19 :
ZR2, although they built too many of them, it’s not going to do what the TRXs and Raptors did.
SPEAKER 05 :
Yeah, yeah, that’s well. That just kind of talks to the dependability and affordability of the Z71. That’s right. But, yeah, those are just some ones. Oh, great. The only last ones, like a Miata. Miatas, I think, will be a little niche vehicle. Potentially, yeah.
SPEAKER 19 :
Always are. There’s a cult following to those. So, yeah, you’re spot on, Nick. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 05 :
And that’s all I can say. You’re a good man. No, I appreciate it.
SPEAKER 19 :
Thank you for the input. No, you’re awesome. I appreciate it. We’ll get one more in before the bottom of the hour. Rob, you’re next. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 08 :
Hi, John. It’s good to talk to you again.
SPEAKER 19 :
You too.
SPEAKER 08 :
The advice she gave me about the charger was wonderful. He started on the first start. Nice. And then I took him down to the car wash and spray washed him. And that took $8.50. Remember how we used to put quarters into the machine? Not anymore. Use a credit card. How do I get up with 32 quarters into that? Yep. 34 quarters into that thing.
SPEAKER 19 :
Or a credit card, one of the two.
SPEAKER 08 :
I got the undercarriage, and I used all the pre-wash and everything else, and it cleaned up pretty well. Except that it was windy that day, so then it all got covered with dust again.
SPEAKER 19 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 08 :
At least the windows were clean enough that I was able to put the Raynex on them. Good deal.
SPEAKER 19 :
Good for you.
SPEAKER 08 :
And what I did is I trusted you, which is said that the charger would have enough trouble getting back and forth in the Colorado Springs. Of course, that was when the roads, then that cold weekend hit, the one that you were out in Arizona during. And I was pretty nervous because that battery on it is an AGM, and it’s not only an old AGM, it did something you once said was the death sentence for an AGM and went flat on me once.
SPEAKER 19 :
It died. Yep.
SPEAKER 08 :
So I’ve had it on the charger for about two years off and on now. Pretty much I keep it plugged in all the time, really.
SPEAKER 19 :
Good.
SPEAKER 08 :
And just to cover my bets, I have a battery starting pack, one of those solid-state power supplies. We’ll jumpstart a car. It’s got those red plug and everything else to plug it all in. And when I got it to the hotel, I had no trouble at all. The roads were dry and those Michelins were still in pretty good shape. I took the starting pack in with me inside the hotel. So it was going to be like 11 degrees that night.
SPEAKER 19 :
Good job. That keeps it nice and warm. Yeah, good. Perfect.
SPEAKER 08 :
It was a fallback position. Now, the other silly thing I did, and I’m not sure it was so silly because it kind of paid off, is I actually went to chat BGBT and said, what should I do to drive a 2008 Dodge Charger RT with a-wheel drive, Michelin, all-weather tires, a 5.7 Hemi, and on tomorrow’s weather, back and forth from Colorado Springs. And it said, don’t worry about your traction. You’ve got that on those Michelins as long as it’s not a solid sheet of ice, which was true. It was bad, but it wasn’t a solid sheet of ice. It said, run your defroster full out with the fan almost all the way up, but not the temperature all the way up, and point out the air outlets up at the ceiling of the car. Now, that charge has always had a terrible defroster. The windows fog up on me all the time. It’s really frustrating. So that’s why I was asking the AI what it thought about it. So what did I have to lose? I got the car down there. The roads were fairly dry. Then I was at a convention myself. And when that was over, I went outside, cleaned the car off with that classic, just what you described, the old wooden handle, green plastic brush and scraper. And it cleaned off the fluffy, dry snow that had landed on the car, and that was fine. There was no ice on the windows. I think that was part of the rain exit, the fact that it wasn’t too wet when I drove down the first time. Started right up. But it was very cold, and I left Pecan a little early because that storm that moved in this afternoon or last Sunday was coming in, and I didn’t want to play. So the car did fine, but it started going on Monument Hill, and I’m passing four dead cars on these. Six beautiful lanes, all-weather road. Wow. The visibility was like 20 yards, swirling snow everywhere, and just fun as hell to drive on. And just as I was just worried about the windows stay clear, they actually did stay clear when I was roasting inside the cab. So I tried turning down that vent, and boy, it fogged up almost immediately again. So I learned my lesson there.
SPEAKER 19 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 08 :
Got there, got home, got there, got everything in just as the second storm was in Denver. And so it’s silly to use an AI for that, but I had to admit it gave me pretty good advice about that defroster. And it’s just a word search, but it was getting into the manuals and the articles and things about 2008 chargers, and the thing did pretty well, all things considered. But I’ll tell you, I don’t ever take Monument Hill lightly. The last car I passed on the side of the road was a Jeep.
SPEAKER 19 :
Wow. Good for you, by the way.
SPEAKER 08 :
It was a fun experience, and I felt better about myself because the car steered well, it performed well. That 5.7 just hums in a beautiful sound when you’re driving at speed on it. And once I got off Monument Hill and got to the Greenland exit, the road was dry and the sun was out. And it was that way all the way until I hit Castle Rock, and then it fogged right back up again. Roads got icy again. And when I got into Denver, it was bad weather conditions again, and I was on C-470 just taking my time coming home from university. But you keep your brain. God expects you to use it.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER 08 :
When you’re driving, above all times, that’s a great time to use it. How close you are to death on an icy interstate is something I don’t think a lot of people want to think about too much.
SPEAKER 19 :
I hear you.
SPEAKER 08 :
I think about it and trust everything I can to minimize it.
SPEAKER 19 :
I hear you.
SPEAKER 08 :
And I want to thank you for your good advice.
SPEAKER 19 :
Well, I appreciate it. Nope, you’re a good man. Thank you, Rob. Nope, appreciate the feedback as well. Conrad, hang tight. We’re right at the bottom of the hour. We’ve got a review coming up, so hang tight on that. And Conrad, I’ll get you as soon as we come back. This is Drive Radio, KLZ 560. All right, that time of the week where we do car reviews, this is for Rush to Reason, and we replay this on Drive Radio on Saturdays as well. And, Richard, you recently drove a 2026 Lexus TX 550H. That’s a PHEV all-wheel drive vehicle.
SPEAKER 21 :
Yeah, quite the mouthful, numbers, symbols, all of the above. Basically, this is the TX. platform dad that lexus introduced i believe it was last year right as far as their their model goes and it is and i’ll just say it it’s a lexus highlander right so the highlander that is the an amazing suv a super high just a really great car vehicle lexus i thought you know what we sell a gazillion of those we might as well you know do it in a lexus kind of frame so that’s what they did right they they turned into that this specific model like you said the 550 plus PHEV, which is plug-in hybrid, and folks, what this means is you get about 33 miles of plug-in, or I should say of electric-only range, which is really good, Dad, because I think we’ve done it, and especially even here in Colorado, I believe the average number of miles driven on a commute is, I want to say about 20, is it 25 or 50? You probably know that a little better than I do.
SPEAKER 19 :
As far as miles driven for what, sorry?
SPEAKER 21 :
For a commute, right?
SPEAKER 19 :
About 50. It depends, but 50 is probably about right.
SPEAKER 21 :
Yeah, and so basically on this, Dad, you can plug in at home. If you have a level 2 charger, you’re going to actually be able to get about, well, like I said, I think this thing will charge in about two or three hours just based on the charger. But even if you don’t, if you’re just plugging into a normal 110, 120-volt outlet in your house, you have the ability to charge this thing overnight. And so if you come home after your commute, plug this vehicle in, it’s going to charge up to that 33 miles range overnight. And mind you, Dad, I’m getting 33 miles in cars in the garage, but obviously we are in winter here in Colorado, and so maybe the battery performance Isn’t quite what it would be, but I feel pretty confident that it would be in that 33 to 35 range. Outside of that, this car has got seating for six or seven, depending on the configuration. This one’s got captain’s chairs, so it fits six. And for my family of six, we were actually able to get everyone in this vehicle. Now, with that up, with the third row up, do you have a ton of room in the third row? Or behind the third row, I should say? No. Do you have a ton of room in the third row? No. I’ve got an eight-year-old that some people confuse for a nine-year-old. or 10-year-old at times. He’s pretty tall and lanky. Sitting in that third row, he was a little bit crammed, but nothing that’s crazy. Is this something that you could drive around town and, you know, be able to fit him in there without issues absolutely my four-year-old with the booster you know my seven-year-old with absolutely right there’s also the configurations on this car dad and how they’ve designed it fits any family really well i think the biggest knock on this vehicle and maybe the only knock that i have that is simply the price tag this vehicle with everything on it every bell and whistle and i’m not going to go through everything is about eighty five thousand dollars Yes, 85.
SPEAKER 06 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 21 :
Now, when you look at it with everything that you can get on this vehicle, it truly is luxury, right? There’s some suede, some soft touch material throughout the interior of the vehicle. It does a phenomenal job at having really nice luxury apportionments, heated and ventilated seats, front seats, tri-zone climate control. It’s got heated steering wheel, the infotainment, all of the safety aids that you could possibly need. It’s pretty much got everything you want, but it does come at a premium, and you’re paying for the Lexus badge on the front. And I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, Dad. I just think that if you are looking for other vehicles in this segment, yes, there is some competition that way. However, I will say this. I really enjoyed this car, and from the plug-in hybrid piece of it, Dad, which I know you and I will kind of talk about a little bit more, well, this segment, but then also, you know, later on this year, I think this is a category that is sort of prime for explosion. And what I mean by that is it’s really, it works really well for a lot of people to know that they don’t have to necessarily install a higher level charger in order to charge up their fully electric SUV. And in this case, when you combine the electric with the gas, you’re, you know, I think you potentially, I think 350, maybe 400 miles, just depending on, you know, all the different factors that are out there. I would, I just think that this segment and that plug in hybrid piece of it’s really nice. And in this case, dad, You don’t even have to buy a separate charger. Lexus actually includes one with the vehicle that you have the ability to, again, either use that 240 or 120-volt plug-in, depending on what you want to do. And like I said, I’ve got the level 2 or the higher charging output at my house. And so, again, you come in three hours. And in some cases, Dad, this means you can come home in the afternoon. Maybe you have an event in the evening. You can plug in, and you actually have a full battery to go to that event on battery power alone. you know, within, I guess I within two or three hours. So that is one of the features that I really like about it, but it does come at a, again, at a, at a high price point. Actually, I’m getting ready to plug this vehicle in now outside of that, dad. I really like the looks of this vehicle. Folks can check it out online and see what I mean. It looks really nice. It looks bigger than it feels on the inside, Dad, and I mean that in a good way. It doesn’t feel like you’re driving a really large SUV, and I think for a lot of people, when they get into the larger SUVs, they sometimes get intimidated by that. Well, Lexus has done a phenomenal job of making this vehicle… nice and big so it feels safe to me but it also doesn’t feel so big that you don’t feel like you can park this thing anywhere but the you know the nosebleeds right the sports reference you can actually kind of park this out you know park it close and do those things Outside of that, Dad, it’s got all of the other stuff that we’ve come to expect from Lexus as far as features go and the infotainment system and the lane keep assist and adaptive cruise and all those different things, ambient lighting, all of that good jazz. I was really impressed with this car. Well, you’ve seen this vehicle on the road, and I think you and I have kind of talked about it, that this is a really competitive market for this class of vehicle.
SPEAKER 19 :
No, very. And it’s becoming one of the larger segments, I guess you could say. So it’s that luxury SUV, which is essentially what this is. And you said it right. This is just really it’s the fancy version of the Highlander. Which, nothing against that. That has been a staple on the Lexus side for quite some time. So I’m not knocking that. And really quick, back to the third row end of things. You have to get into a really large car to have a comfortable for adults third row seat. None of them. I mean, even Suburbans. Yeah, you can sit back there, but they’ve never in their entire lifetime been made for full-size adults. It’s always meant to shove the kids or the smaller, you know, teenagers, whatever, back in that back area, Richard. That’s true, has been true, and will stay that way. But, no, this is a good-looking car. Nothing wrong with it at all. Works fabulous, as you said. At the end of the day, you know, highly recommend it. And, you know, bottom line, go test drive it and check it out.
SPEAKER 21 :
Absolutely. And I’ll just kind of piggyback on what you said on that third row. Yeah, that’s not a knock at all. For folks, if you’ve got a family of four or five, six, you may use that for transporting other kids that aren’t your kids. It is functional. And on some of these SUVs, Dad, that advertise a third row, you really don’t have a third row.
SPEAKER 19 :
That’s true. Good point.
SPEAKER 21 :
because it was able to fit our family of six. And as you know, that’s not an easy thing to do. Now, again, do you have as much row behind the third row as some of the other larger ones? No, but that’s the case for every vehicle in this class. It’s how it’s designed, right? That third row is designed to be used as you’re either people hauling or cargo hauling. But last thing I’ll say is this, there is still enough behind there to fit you know some groceries or do whatever you need to do in the back are you going to make a full costco run every single weekend probably not but could you go to the grocery store and do all the some athletic activities that you need to as a family absolutely so highly encourage people to check this vehicle out dad again 2026 lexus tx 550h plug-in hybrid heads your local lexus dealer when you do that let them know that john and richard rush from drive radio and rush to reason sent you
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SPEAKER 19 :
All right, we are back. Conrad, thanks for waiting. What’s going on, sir?
SPEAKER 04 :
Hey, John. I was just listening to all you’re talking about how the young people are starting to get interested in the car collecting hobby, and it is very heartening. I’ve experienced it myself. I go to different car shows of mine, you know that, and when they come up and ask questions, I just am so happy. Yep, absolutely. I was driving down the parkway. We used to live in Evergreen. Now we’ve moved out to Foxfield now, and There’s kids in the school bus come driving up beside me, and this kid sticks his head out the window and says, what year is that? And I told him, you know, so that it is encouraging. Yeah, it is. You know, our family, our car people, my wife’s brother-in-law, or I mean my brother-in-law, my wife’s brother, you know, the shop in Burlington, they restore cars down there. But I got a little story to tell you real quick. We moved out here to Foxfield, so we had Thanksgiving here at our house.
SPEAKER 06 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 04 :
So the family was all over here, and my youngest grandson, he wanted to go for a ride in the Torino. He’s about six years old. So I said, okay, Ashton, do you want to go fast? And he goes, yeah, yeah, I do. So we went out on Arapahoe Road here, and it was very light traffic, so I gave it the gun and shot. You know, got back to the house, and he says, Grandma, I don’t think I’m going to ride with Grandpa anymore. He drove too fast. It was kind of funny. I hope I didn’t warp the kid’s attitude about anything. But, yeah, that is so cool that they are starting to show a lot of interest in it, and I hope we can get a generation of young kids coming up.
SPEAKER 19 :
I agree.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah. The other thing is, I was at Cars Remember When on the other day last week there. Nice. I talked with Jeff and Dean there. Dean’s the service manager. And we talked more about that brake booster we’re going to put on there. And they convinced me, like what you and Jim Herzog told me, I should put the electric on. vacuum booster on there so i guess that’s what we’re going to go with and it’ll be a lot cleaner it will be so i agree that’s what we’re going to do instead of i mean i would be kind of cool to have it run off the power steering like a factory one did but you know they say it’ll it’ll be a lot cleaner it’ll be easier for me to get parts for it if something ever goes wrong so that’s that’s yep it’s going on with that agree and then good good choice i spoke with him he’s trying to do the pre-assembly on the engine now but you know it’s been like pulling teeth to get it done but i said are we gonna have this thing done by spring he goes oh yeah well i’ve done way before then so i hope he’s not pulling my leg well let’s hope so that’d be awesome yeah good oh yeah like i said again it’s great that the kids are getting involved yeah that’s awesome time out there really is i haven’t got i went back to 2011 i just loved it and i want to go again but It’s always during the NFL playoffs when the Broncos are in it. You know, I’ve got to be right here.
SPEAKER 19 :
I hear you. Nope, I hear you, Conrad. Good talking to you, man.
SPEAKER 04 :
Appreciate you.
SPEAKER 19 :
Keep giving us updates, man. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, bye.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right, talk to you, Conrad. Dave and Parker, you’re next. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, John, I’m calling on behalf of my son, and he’s having a problem with his vehicle. Okay. About six months ago, he bought a brand-new Toyota 4Runner hybrid from the dealer. All right. And maybe 5,000 miles on it. And yesterday, it wouldn’t run in lights on a day, et cetera. He had it towed in to the dealer, and they told him it was vermin chewing wires. And I guess my curiosity is, They indicated that it was a lot more likely on hybrids to have vermin do that.
SPEAKER 19 :
I don’t think it—not to argue with them, but to their—I mean, not to argue with them. I don’t think it really matters whether it’s a hybrid or not. The Vermins, yes, they can be a real problem. It’s worse on German and especially Asian cars because of the way they use more soy in the wrapping of their wiring and the coating and so on. It tends to attract— more, you know, rodents, rabbits, things like that, although it can happen on pretty much any vehicle. I don’t want to say it’s strictly to, you know, Asian vehicles, Dave. It can happen on anything. And I don’t know why you’d see it more on a hybrid than anything else. They’re just nasty little animals, and they do that.
SPEAKER 07 :
Right, there’s more wires. That’s what they indicate.
SPEAKER 19 :
More wires, yeah, to mark’s point. Maybe more wires is the only thing.
SPEAKER 20 :
Seems to have more to do with where you park the car, where the rodents are.
SPEAKER 07 :
Well, but he has several cars, and he’s never had that happen before. Okay. Anyhow. But the tab on it is two grand.
SPEAKER 19 :
Oh, yeah, I can imagine. And to Mark’s point, too, the other thing about the one thing that they might be more correct on is just there’s more wiring, period, in a hybrid than you would a regular vehicle. So there’s more attraction, I guess you could say, Dave, there than there would be. More to eat. Yeah, more food.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay, well, I just wondered, number one, if that hybrid thing sounds. if you’ve heard it happen more on hybrids.
SPEAKER 19 :
I don’t know about more. To Mark’s point, there’s just more to eat.
SPEAKER 07 :
Okay. Well, that answers my question.
SPEAKER 19 :
All right, Dave. Good question, by the way. Appreciate it very much. And rodents are nasty. We’ll come right back. Don’t go anywhere. Drive Radio KLZ 560.
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SPEAKER 19 :
We are back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Okay, Mark, on the whole conversation of rodents, we can finish off probably this hour with that. We don’t talk about this a lot, although this time of the year, and especially with the warmer weather that we’ve had, keep in mind that for some of you that park outside or you’re parking near, you might have… You know, a field nearby or whatever the case. In fact, sometimes it could even be you’re near a dumpster, trash receptacles, things like that. Remember, all of those things are attracting rodents, mice, rats, rabbits, things like that. So key is and the reason I’m talking about this now on a nice day like today, you’re going to find a lot of activity there. Because, believe me, they’re going to get out, try to eat, do what they can. When it’s a nice warmer day, they’re going to do those things. Because, believe me, I watch the rabbits and squirrels and so on around my place. And, yeah, they are very active when we have these warmer days. They’re moving around. That’s right.
SPEAKER 20 :
And then as soon as it gets colder, they’re going to find a place that’s warmer, which is your engine or your garage.
SPEAKER 19 :
Correct. So there are things you can do to try to minimize this, and we’ve talked about this in the past. I’ll just say it straight up. Some of you, you have your own home remedy. That’s great. Some of you mix up cayenne pepper and different concoctions and so on. Whatever works for you works for you.
SPEAKER 20 :
I do that for my Labrador to keep them off my cables.
SPEAKER 19 :
There are – Peppermint sprays and other types of things. And my advice on that would be, you know what? Try whatever works. And the reason why I say that is I am of the believer that depending upon the rodent you’re trying to get rid of and or minimize, different things work with different rodents. So at the end of the day, do what you need to to try to keep them away. And most of all, if you’ve got the ability… keep the vehicle moving around. So instead of having it parked in the same place day after day after day, move it around. Doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee. They’ve got noses and senses and so on, and they may still find the vehicle, but it’s kind of a game of cat and mouse. But the more you keep that vehicle moving and not in the same place, the better off you are. Keeping it parked in the exact same location for days or even weeks on end it just gives them that ability to to as mark said a moment ago to build a home i guess you could say and being in the industry as long as i have and i know mark can attest this man i have seen them do damage like you cannot believe and i have found nests and even live animals at times that you’re dragging out and so on and yeah i mean over the course of 40 plus years doing this uh yeah i’ve seen rodents do all sorts of things so this isn’t new is my point Yes, there’s more wiring and things to attract them today than there’s ever been. But, yes, the rodents can definitely be a problem, and you need to just do whatever you can to try to take care of it. Jeff, go ahead.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hey, good morning again. Good morning, Jeff. Good afternoon. No, it’s not. Not quite.
SPEAKER 19 :
We’re close.
SPEAKER 09 :
I’m confused. A couple of questions on the car show. First of all, selfishly, Did you see any SSRs go? And if so, what were they doing?
SPEAKER 19 :
I did not see any of those go. No, I did not. I didn’t look at the list either.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay. I’m just curious. And then as you were going around the show, we talked a little bit about with the Trump lifting the CAFE standards. Yes. That styling might change. Did you hear any scuttlebutt about that?
SPEAKER 19 :
No.
SPEAKER 09 :
Maybe car dealers or car manufacturers changing?
SPEAKER 19 :
No, didn’t hear anything on that line at all. Okay.
SPEAKER 09 :
Then two other things real quick. I remember we had a 60 Chevy, and it had a solenoid problem. We had an earlier caller talking about the solenoid in the starter. This was external, but we had a piece of the horn, and it had broken off, and that’s what we used to short out the solenoid to make it go. But there was a washer in there that the solenoid would move back and forth, and that would get pitted, and my dad would… When it first started, he turned it over so the unpitted side would make contact and it would still work. But he was too cheap to go out and buy a stupid washer for the solar main. It was frustrating. We can’t get the car started all because of a, what, at that point, two-cent washer. Frustrating. And then about kids growing up. You know, I think… If you look at post-World War II, starting in the 50s, I think, because you had a lot of kids who came into being in the 30s, and so the 50s is kind of their coming of age, and vehicles are finally being manufactured. And I think it was a lot of liberty for kids. I know it was for me. Yes, absolutely. And you had your license.
SPEAKER 1 :
100%.
SPEAKER 09 :
A lot of freedom.
SPEAKER 19 :
Yep, that’s exactly right.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yep. Nowadays, I think kids to a certain degree, not as beneficial because they’re not out and about and doing things and learning how to do things with their hands and all that. I think phones and devices are where they get their freedom. They can go to other worlds and other places and meet people without ever having to leave their bedroom.
SPEAKER 19 :
No, and I do think, though, what’s starting to happen is And I could be completely wrong, but I think what’s happening is kids are also starting to learn that while devices are great and you can go other places, it still doesn’t replace that one-on-one. Humans still need one-on-one contact. They need human touch. They need human interaction. And I think – I hope I’m correct in saying this, but I think I’m right, Jeff. I think – as generations come and then grow and get older, I think the new generation is, they are starting to realize that, wait a minute, we need this physical touch, physical, you know, physical contact. And to get there, I need transportation to do so.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes, I believe you’re right. Um, Because we have fake relationship now, fake companionship. How many friends do you have on Facebook? Well, you could have 2,000 friends on Facebook.
SPEAKER 19 :
In my case, I’m with the radio show, almost 5,000. But true friends, I don’t know, a handful.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, you know. Literally. They’re not friends. They’re folks who sign up for your page. And to call them friends is an illusion. That’s right. That’s right.
SPEAKER 19 :
They’re acquaintances and or, you know, people. And I say handful. I mean, in my case, more than a handful because I have quite a few friends and I’m very fortunate along those lines. But true friends, yes, you’re 100%. Do I have 5,000? No, Jeff, I do not.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, and, you know, somebody… And by the way, no one does. Yeah. No, if you can have five friends, real friends in your lifetime, you’re probably ahead of the curve. You’re probably right. You have lots of acquaintances. That’s right. And folks you call friends, but the true friends, the folks you can open up to. The definition of a friend I heard years ago was someone who knows everything there is to know about you and likes you anyway.
SPEAKER 20 :
That’s a good definition. The person you can call at 2 in the morning that will answer the phone. Yep. Yep. Because you actually need them. Absolutely.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yep. Or in the military, we used to say instead of calling them because you’re in a drunk tank, they’re probably there alongside you.
SPEAKER 19 :
Good one, Jeff. Top of the hour. I’m going to let you go, Jeff. I appreciate it. Always fun talking to you. You’re welcome to call back next hour as well. We have one more hour left. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Myself, Mark from Accountable, Charlie Grimes, and Larry Unger. This is Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 13 :
Still haven’t had enough? Go to drive-radio.com, email your questions and comments, download previous programs, and find lots of useful information, including your nearest Colorado Select Auto Care Center. That’s drive-radio.com. Thanks for listening to Drive Radio, sponsored by the member shops of Colorado Select Auto Care Centers. On KLZ 560.
