Some automotive failures aren’t about engineering—they’re about judgment.
In this segment of Drive Radio, the conversation turns to one of the most infamous flops in car history: the Ford Edsel. What was supposed to be a bold new direction for Ford quickly became a textbook example of how design misfires, internal conflict, and bad timing can sink a vehicle before it ever has a chance.
Listeners weigh in with real-world insight, pointing to the Edsel’s polarizing design and deeper issues within Ford’s leadership at the time. The discussion expands into how family-run dynamics and corporate decision-making can shape—or derail—entire product lines.
The
SPEAKER 21 :
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SPEAKER 19 :
There’s no such thing as a stupid question. This is Drive Radio. All of your automotive questions are just one phone call away. 303-477-5600. Drive Radio is made possible by the member shops of Colorado Select Auto Care Centers. To find one near you, go to drive-radio.com. Now, Drive Radio on KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay, our number three, Drive Radio, KLZ 560, Patch Night with me, Alltech Automotive up in Fort Collins. Larry Unger, of course, answering phones. And Charlie Grimes, our engineer. Buck in Cheyenne, you’re next. Go ahead, Buck. Good morning.
SPEAKER 15 :
Good morning. It’s a nice day. Maybe it’s going to rain up here.
SPEAKER 09 :
We can only hope. We hope so.
SPEAKER 15 :
I have a couple of comments about… major problems with the manufacturers. Larry said nobody’s mentioned Edsel, one of Ford’s biggest… Yeah, that was a big blunder.
SPEAKER 09 :
That was a design problem. That was an ego blunder.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yeah, it’s… And to this day, they had kind of a grill in them that looked like somebody sucking lemons.
SPEAKER 12 :
Uh-huh.
SPEAKER 15 :
And to this day, any car that has a grill similar to that I still hate the way they’re designed.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, that car just never, and even today, they’re not bringing a ton of money because, again, it’s the old supply and demand thing. We’re going to talk about some of that on the Extra Mile today at 3 o’clock, so make sure you guys tune in for that. But, yeah, that Edsel Buck, it never caught on with the public. And Ford, you know, Henry Sr., he was just convinced that that car was going to sell no matter what, and it just didn’t.
SPEAKER 15 :
But the Ford family wasn’t always as smart as Henry was, his siblings. Let’s just leave it at that.
SPEAKER 10 :
Nope, I think you’re right. Yeah, I can’t argue that. A little bullheaded sometimes.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, and you know, Buck, that happens in a lot of family-run or family-owned businesses along those lines. So it’s not just them. I think you can find that in a lot of situations.
SPEAKER 15 :
Well, I think any family-owned business, having been in one and then in and out, was in one and out of one for about 30 years, there’s a lot of internal friction that goes on there, and because you’re all kind of the same blood, you kind of gloss over those, and you may not always do the best for the company. Sometimes it’s better for you than it is. There’s a lot of problems with just strictly family-owned businesses. Some of the ones that really survive well, they hire outside management.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yep, yep.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, and the whole Edsel thing, if you look at the family and the hierarchy and where the name even came from and how they decided on that and just the internal squabbling that was going on and so on, Buck, it just, that one just, it was doomed from the get-go. Yes.
SPEAKER 15 :
Yes. One of the other blunders, if I can mention one more, is Chrysler lost their quality control in the 70s. The Chrysler products that were built in the 50s and 60s and their engineering and stuff was really good and they got into 70s and the problems with the fuel supply I think really hurt Chrysler, and that’s why they’re now part of Stellantis or whatever the hell it’s called.
SPEAKER 09 :
Stellantis. Yep, yep. So…
SPEAKER 15 :
With that, I will get off.
SPEAKER 09 :
No, you are fine. You are fine, Buck. I appreciate it, and always good to talk to you. And, again, OEM blunders, that is the question of the day, 303-477-5600. And, yeah, that last one on Edsel, and as you guys all know, there’s a great history there between – and I should have said Henry Ford II, not the first, because the first, of course, was passed by then – Just the family squabbling that was going on, what they were going to name that, the company at that point in time becoming a publicly traded company. And it was just, again, a huge blunder on the part of Ford Motor Company, not only in the name, but just the design of the car. They were trying to compete with the other manufacturers at that time, trying to come up with something new and innovative, and they just flat missed the mark on that car. just it just in it in it to this day i just looked them up uh used values and this is probably for some cars that have been restored and probably are really good cars 10 to 40 grand is all wow meaning they’ve never done much in the way of the resale sides of things because that means the car hasn’t really appreciated at all over all these years it’s just kind of run of the mail nothing special going back to buck His comment a moment ago, what’s on my list here, next up, I should say, is Chrysler’s transmission and quality woes during the 2000s. Yeah, they really struggled. Of course, then when things hit in 08, 09, they had to do bankruptcy, restructuring, all of that. They just struggled. In fact— And nothing against all you guys that are Chrysler fans, but they’ve always seemed to struggle to a large extent on that end of things. It’s just been one of the things that I think has haunted them for a very long time. I think even today, some of their quality control still haunts them. Not so much on the truck end of things, but sometimes on certain Jeep products, for example, that quality control they struggle with. And And not saying other manufacturers don’t, but it just seems to me, and Pat, maybe I’m wrong and I’m out of line in saying this, but it just seems like Chrysler itself, and now even being under the umbrella of Stellantis, they just have struggled in the quality control end of things for a very long time.
SPEAKER 10 :
And I wonder what’s really behind that because, okay, as a manufacturer, patriotic, red-blooded American. I hate to see that, right? The big three have been around for a long time. Ford, GM, Chrysler. So what’s going on with Chrysler? Yeah, I don’t have the answers there, but…
SPEAKER 09 :
I don’t know. And over the years, came up with some great things that really, when Iacocca came along and they invented the minivan and came up with that particular product, which basically saved them. I mean, they have done some things through the years that have really been phenomenal. The whole SRT program and what they did for the performance end of things, which, by the way, I think rubbed off into some of the other manufacturers. So I’ll give credit where credit’s due. Their whole SRT program, what they did with chargers and challengers and even trucks, the TRXs and so on. I mean, they’re still doing some of that to this day, which, again, rubs off on other companies. So I’m not trying to sell them short, but there are times their quality control just isn’t what it should be.
SPEAKER 10 :
I was going to say, it’s not enough to keep it together to give them a viable future, right?
SPEAKER 09 :
And even under Stellantis, which we only now have the big two because Stellantis is a foreign company that owns them. I don’t know. It’s one of those things they just seem to struggle with at times. Tom and Lakewood, you’re next. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 24 :
Yes. I wanted to mention about one of the screw-ups that, while they still teach today, after World War II, there was a tremendous demand for new cars, just unbelievable demand. And Chrysler let their dealers go wherever the market would bear, and Ford and General Motors went along with the waiting list. And by God, a lot of people paid a fortune for Plymouth and et cetera at that time. And later on when they bought another car after that, they remembered how much they had to pay the first time compared to a neighbor that bought a Chevrolet or a Ford. And it really just put a long-term dent in Chrysler’s sales.
SPEAKER 09 :
Interesting. I never thought of that, Tom.
SPEAKER 10 :
So they were overpriced in the market.
SPEAKER 09 :
No, no, and again, I say I hadn’t thought of that well. It was an era before me anyways. It was more of my dad’s era, Tom, and some of that you’re relaying to us because I don’t remember all of that exactly during that. I’ve heard stories, and I know different things were happening at that time, but you’re sharing something I really didn’t know.
SPEAKER 24 :
Yeah, well, it was about four or five years there. They didn’t build cars.
SPEAKER 09 :
I knew that. That I did know.
SPEAKER 24 :
Just a… Just a tremendous buildup of demand, tremendous. And Chrysler probably made a lot of money in that time, but in the long run it really hurt them.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, it makes sense. Tom, great, great info. I appreciate that greatly. Thanks so much for the phone call. Question of the day, OEM blunders, what’s your top pick? We’ll come right back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
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SPEAKER 09 :
Okay, we are back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. Myself, Pat Schneidt, Alltech Automotive up in Fort Collins. Mark, you’re next. Go ahead.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, good morning. Good morning.
SPEAKER 09 :
Afternoon now.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yeah, I’ve got, and I don’t know if I want to say blunder, maybe disagreement in design. So I’ve got this 1986 Chevy, which we’re moving on to a piece of land that doesn’t have water. And unfortunately, we’ve tried doing a well in the past, and the wells dry. Our neighbor a month ago tried to drill. They went down to like 500-some feet, couldn’t get any water. So years ago, I bought this truck. It’s a one-ton C30 and put a 350-gallon water tank in it. And I’ve been using that to truck the water out here. And that worked great until about a week ago. And it died. And I want to say it was about a month ago. I put some BG44K in there and drove it, and it seemed like initially it started running better. And then after a while, it started hesitating badly. I mean, it started surging like, oh, man, what’s going on? Like it’s not getting enough fuel pressure. And so I had replaced the fuel pump. I want to say it was like six months ago with a Napa pump. And it’s got a filter up by the carburetor that you can see, you know, whether there’s fuel in there. And so when it died, there was none. It was completely dry. So my blunder or disagreement, I guess, is, you know, I think that the pickup or the, what is that, the strainer in the tank has gotten so, you know, full of junk, that it’s no longer allowing the fuel pump to pull any more fuel through there. But why is it that almost every manufacturer on the planet decides to make it nearly a full-day job to remove the fuel tank to get the sending unit out to replace? But my real question is, should I pay the extra money to have this truck towed to a shop, which I’ve already paid a tow to get it here to the land? and have them pull the tank down and swap the sending unit, which is still going to have a 40-year-old tank with maybe debris in it, because I seriously doubt they’re going to rinse that thing and clean it. Or should I try to drop it out here in the grass field, slide that thing out, put a brand-new tank, a new sending unit in it from LMC, and then try to refill it and see if that starts working?
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, two things. First of all, as far as the tank replacement, all that goes, I would do what you just said secondarily. You wouldn’t need to go to a shop. You could drop that tank down, put a new one in, put a new sending unit in, off you go. Now, is that why it’s not starting and running? That’s a bigger question. I’m not sure that’s really the case as to why it’s not starting and running. I’ve never seen one of those old trucks like that get the strain or the screen that’s inside the tank gets so bad it wouldn’t suck fuel through it.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, that’s what I’m thinking, too. It sounds like we’re guessing a little bit, hypothesizing, if you will. It is a guess. I kind of want to see inside the tank and see what’s really going on.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. Again, Mark, I worked on a ton of those trucks back in the day, and I can tell you that I don’t know in all of the years of working on them I ever replaced a tank and or the pickup in it because of what you’re saying.
SPEAKER 10 :
I mean, it’s certainly possible.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I’m not saying that it’s not, but I never have. What year is the truck?
SPEAKER 1 :
86.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s the last year of non-fuel injection.
SPEAKER 17 :
And it’s got the dual tank system with a selector. And when I bought it, the owner said he was under advisement from a mechanic that the selector system didn’t work. And the other tank had never been used, so it was like rotten fuel. So I’ve never, ever flipped the switch.
SPEAKER 09 :
Now you’re telling me something all new. Where you’re headed right now may be your problem. I would probably put a new valve in it. And that other tank, go ahead and just block that one off or do whatever you want to if you don’t want to use it or if you want to replace it so you can use both tanks, do whatever you want to. But now, and or you could eliminate that and just, you know, go ahead and just, you know, put the line together and eliminate that selector altogether and see if it starts that way. But now you just brought something new in.
SPEAKER 17 :
Ah, okay. So maybe there’s like a hose.
SPEAKER 09 :
Those were very prone to go bad back in the day.
SPEAKER 17 :
Mm-hmm. Oh, the selector you said?
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, they would get stuck halfway in between. All sorts of things would happen with those back in the day. Oh. Yeah, if you could just take that out of the equation altogether. Is Pat’s mic on, Charlie, by the way? I don’t know that Pat’s mic’s on. I can’t hear him. There we go. That’s better. Thank you. So, yeah, I would eliminate that mark if it were me. If you’re only using the one tank, just eliminate that valve altogether, tee that back to, you know, not tee it, but put the line back together and go that way.
SPEAKER 17 :
right that’s yeah that’s what i did in the last truck because i just i didn’t even bother clamping and i just i think the tank was empty i just disconnected i think i ran new hose just to be safe you could do that sure and ran it from there to the um fitting going to the front line and then it was fine after that yeah ah okay well maybe i’ll reconsider um that but is there i mean other than dropping the tank is there any other way to get that done because i I don’t have small enough hands to get in there, and there’s like a shield in the way.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, that has the, well, not a skid plate, but a tank shield, I guess you could say. No, only way to do that is to take the straps off and drop the tank.
SPEAKER 17 :
Use a floor jack. Yuck. Okay.
SPEAKER 09 :
A floor jack and a two-by-six.
SPEAKER 17 :
I borrowed a motorcycle jack, I think is what I used.
SPEAKER 09 :
Again, use a 2×6 because it stabilizes the tank, and that’s how we used to do it.
SPEAKER 17 :
Yep, that’ll work.
SPEAKER 09 :
If you’re having to do it on the ground. Otherwise, use a transmission jack when it’s up in the air.
SPEAKER 17 :
Right. Yeah. Okay. I see what you’re saying.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay. You want to get that load spread out over the tank to make it easier. Right. Maybe just isolate that off. That’s right.
SPEAKER 17 :
Okay. Well, then maybe I’ll dodge a bullet by not having to replace the tank.
SPEAKER 09 :
You may not have to. Take that selector out and see what happens.
SPEAKER 17 :
Okay. Sounds good.
SPEAKER 09 :
All right, Mark. You betcha. Appreciate it very much. Rob in Monument. You’re next.
SPEAKER 11 :
Hey. Hello there, folks.
SPEAKER 09 :
How you doing, Rob?
SPEAKER 11 :
Good afternoon. Yeah, well… Confused, as usual, with cars.
SPEAKER 10 :
That’s all right. That’s all right.
SPEAKER 11 :
I got one John’s going to love, though. Okay. This is something that Ford did a wacky thing, but it was very neat until it doesn’t work anymore.
SPEAKER 08 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 11 :
Now, this is the 2011 Edge I bought brand new. Okay. And it’s loaded, limited, and loved it. I’ve got 73,500 miles on it. That six-cylinder, it’s the big six in it, and all that is fine. But in the center of the console, if you ever look in the loaded limited, you see a TV screen. That’s what it looks like. But there’s a screen in there, and that’s the Ford Edge. I… something. I can’t remember what it was. It’s the entertainment center that you… You can, besides, you know, your regular CDs or whatever they had back then, this actually is a computer that Microsoft was involved with, and Sony did the sound, and the sound is beautiful. I have a subwoofer in the back as well. But the problem with the thing is, you know, it’s for, you could use it for directions and all that if you have that part of it as an option. But mine’s just pretty much basic. But all of a sudden the screen doesn’t light up anymore. And they have an internal reset. I was wondering if you folks ever heard about that. Sometimes they have to go off and they’re looking for an upgrade and all this kind of stuff. But after all these years, I’m not too upset about it. That one is above my pay grade.
SPEAKER 09 :
That one I do not know. I’m sorry.
SPEAKER 11 :
I don’t know that one. Yeah, that are connected with Ford. Take a look at one.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, that is one I am not familiar with, Rob.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, I don’t have a solution either. I do know that they fail quite a bit, those infotainment systems, right? That center stack in the console. Yeah, that makes sense. They’re problematic.
SPEAKER 11 :
And you can get a navigation option as well, but I didn’t bother with that. Right, gotcha. I use my Garmin.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, a lot of times it goes back to what we were saying earlier in the show, the noise and the vibration and the harshness of that thing driving down the road, the connections, the integrity is not great, the circuit boards, the solder joints come loose.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yes, the stuff you can’t get at. And I’m an electronic guy. I worked for IBM in the past and the Navy electronic specialist and all that. So I understand it all, but you can’t get, like you said, you can’t get at it. I was sitting out in the garage messing around and restarting it, pulling it. pulling the power off. Their idea is to pull the power off and wait a little bit and put it back on.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, do the hard reset.
SPEAKER 11 :
And then the other thing is you have the relays. So I pull the fuses out, put them back in, pull the relay out and clean the contacts. It’s dead.
SPEAKER 10 :
What you’re talking about is a logic reset, you know, the hard power cycle. If you can do a logic reset, but if you’ve actually got a physical hardware problem, that won’t fix it. Right. Right, exactly. Good point.
SPEAKER 11 :
Right. So I just wondered, I figured you probably haven’t dealt much with that stuff. And I was wondering, I know you deal with dealers and stuff.
SPEAKER 09 :
And even in the shops and the dealership even, Rob, in that particular case, most technicians, shops, dealer included, are just going to pull it, send it. Right. They’re not fixing that internally. No one is.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right, right.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, and, of course, it’s not a good trade-in now where that screen isn’t working.
SPEAKER 10 :
It doesn’t help. No, and you might be able to search online, like on eBay, and find a used one that you can put in. We did that recently for a customer in a 2014 Toyota Sienna. Had to replace that center console, but that’s a little bit of a needle in a haystack.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yeah, that’s tricky because this is pretty specialist, you know, kind of strictly to Ford.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, oh, for sure.
SPEAKER 11 :
It is. It’s actually the Lincoln model in there.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right, yep.
SPEAKER 11 :
So it’s a top-of-the-line car. So anyway, along with that, I have the Edsel. I just wanted to remind you, I have an Edsel.
SPEAKER 12 :
Oh, you do?
SPEAKER 11 :
And we talked about the push-button drive. Oh, yeah. And that is the biggest thing that caused the problem with the Edsel, along with the design, especially the front. The 59 was nicer looking, but the 58 was really strange looking, but it got attention because you could see it about a mile down the street.
SPEAKER 10 :
Right, right. Very identifiable.
SPEAKER 11 :
So, but the… But the push-button drive, if you could find a picture, I was going to send you one, but I didn’t know where to send it. But it has the inside of the steering wheel looks like where the old cars had their horn, right? The center of the thing.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, I see it. I’m looking at a picture right now.
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, okay, yeah. So the old-timers, when you get an axle and somebody cut in front of them and they want to hit the horn, they hit the middle of the steering wheel.
SPEAKER 08 :
I can see that.
SPEAKER 11 :
And that’s where the buttons were.
SPEAKER 08 :
Yeah, I can see that.
SPEAKER 11 :
And fortunately, I’ve rebuilt a couple of those things. Now we can’t get the parts.
SPEAKER 08 :
I bet. I was talking with the club about that.
SPEAKER 11 :
The brushes for the motor that actually physically turn, which is the shift.
SPEAKER 08 :
I see that.
SPEAKER 11 :
The shifting mechanism is… Typically, you can do it with your hand if you crawl under the car, just like any many other. But that motor really has a lot of torque, takes a lot of current, and the buttons and all that all relays those so there’s no high voltage going through contacts.
SPEAKER 09 :
They call that the teletouch drive.
SPEAKER 11 :
That’s it. You got it. You win the prize. Nice.
SPEAKER 09 :
I never heard of that before. Teletouch drive.
SPEAKER 11 :
Oh, gosh. You got to see one, John.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s amazing.
SPEAKER 11 :
I wish I was closer because I… I have a beautiful station wagon. It’s very rare. They only make 770 of them. Wow.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay. There we go.
SPEAKER 11 :
Because it has the third seat. And the trouble with the third seat is that underneath it, they have to put a spare tire, and they have to have a gas tank. So things are kind of stretched there.
SPEAKER 08 :
I see.
SPEAKER 11 :
And I just went through a lot of problems with trying to get the gas tank.
SPEAKER 09 :
Sure.
SPEAKER 11 :
Well, I cleaned it all and everything when I restored the car, but I was having problems with gas flow, and it turned out the float, the descending unit, you cannot get one because the regular model is these companies do it and make the aftermarket repops, and those are okay. They’re for the sedans. You’re okay with that, but with the thirds, seat wagon, because of that, there’s a little difference, and it’s a different sending unit. Another thing to watch out for sending units, you probably know this, that some of them are brass, and they get little potholes in them. They’re tiny little holes, and they sink.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s right.
SPEAKER 11 :
I have a different material that’s made out of vinyl or something that floats.
SPEAKER 09 :
By the way, really quick, they call that the villager? Is that what that was called?
SPEAKER 11 :
The Villager was the cheaper one.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 11 :
Mine is called, look up a Bermuda, and you’ll see really nice.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay.
SPEAKER 11 :
You’ll see a little fall, you know, the wood paneling and all that, like Buick’s had. Yep.
SPEAKER 09 :
I see that. No, I just looked one up. I see that. It’s a higher-end version. Got it. Perfect.
SPEAKER 11 :
Yep, yep. Mine is a nice metallic light brown.
SPEAKER 09 :
Nice.
SPEAKER 11 :
All right.
SPEAKER 09 :
Hey, Rob, appreciate it very much. Thank you. Eric, we’ll come right back to you. Don’t go anywhere. Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 04 :
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SPEAKER 23 :
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SPEAKER 09 :
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SPEAKER 02 :
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SPEAKER 20 :
Looking for a shop you can actually trust in Colorado Springs? Check out Honest Accurate Auto Repair. These guys are taking diagnostics to the next level. They’re using a picoscope to troubleshoot vehicle problems. That means they’re not guessing. They’re actually seeing what’s going on inside your engine. The kind of data that can tell you the true health of your engine before small problems turn into big ones. If your car hasn’t been running quite right, this is the kind of advanced testing you want on your side. Thinking about buying a used car? Don’t skip the pre-purchase inspection. Honest, accurate auto repair can help you avoid costly surprises and give you real peace of mind before you buy. And if you’ve got a diesel, even better. They’ve got two gifted diesel techs on staff and are ready to take on your diesel truck’s maintenance and repairs. From routine maintenance to major repairs, they handle just about everything except body work. Honest Accurate Auto Repair in Colorado Springs. Call 719-638-1800 or visit honestaccurateauto.com and tell them Drive Radio sent you.
SPEAKER 09 :
We are back. Drive Radio, KLZ 560. And Eric is next. Eric, go ahead, sir. Well, good afternoon instead of good morning at this point. Yeah, good afternoon.
SPEAKER 07 :
Hey, so you were talking about dropping that fuel tank and replacing the fender and stuff. And when I did my Sienna, I was not happy with the standard floor jack. So what I did is I got one of the ATV, motorcycle ATV ones from Harbor Freight.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
And then I bolted two pieces of two-foot Unistrut. to extend the arms out, and that way it slid all the way under the tank, gave it a very flat. And I’ll be honest, I had more control lowering it than I do with a floor jack. It’s just kind of a thought on a more stable platform.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, and for me, it’s just always what I had, and I never went out and bought anything and just made it work. And once you have a rack and a transmission jack, of course, then it’s super, super easy. But I didn’t always have that. Even in my shop, the first shop I ever had, I didn’t have any lifts. I had to do everything on the ground, and you made do with what you had, and off you went. But let’s just say this for all of you listening. Changing gas tanks is never fun and easy, by the way. Right. It’s heavy lifting. It’s a pain in the rear.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, it is. Yeah. I’m afraid I’m going to have to get back under there again. I still haven’t got that thing to start even trying to check pressure of the fuel, the main rack up front or distribution.
SPEAKER 09 :
And that one doesn’t have an access point where you can take a cap off the floor or anything to get to it? It all has to be dropped?
SPEAKER 07 :
No, it all has to be dropped. Oh, that sucks.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah. Yeah. It’s a poor design.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. Well, yeah.
SPEAKER 09 :
I know what I would do the next time I dropped it. I’d be marking where I can cut a hole in the floor and build a cap for it, and that’s what I’d be doing. Believe me, I thought about that. Trust me, Eric, that’s what I’d do. Because that wouldn’t be that hard to do on that one.
SPEAKER 07 :
No, it wouldn’t. No. And I’ve already got the rear seats out.
SPEAKER 09 :
I’d put my own access point in is what I’d do moving forward. If you’re going to keep it, that’s what I’d do.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah, I’m still debating that. It needs a bit of work if I do keep it. But as my nephew pointed out, he worked for one of the alternative Toyota shops. He said, you know, people, they’re getting tired of all the updates with kill switches and start switches. They would rather go in and get a rebuild on one of these as long as the chassis is good. Just because in the long run, it’s going to mean less government interference and monitoring.
SPEAKER 09 :
True.
SPEAKER 07 :
You know? True. And also, the engines are kind of bulletproof, you know?
SPEAKER 09 :
Right. Yeah. No, you’re right.
SPEAKER 07 :
And that’s one reason I keep my Hilux. You know, that thing, it’s actually a pre-22RE engine on there, but very few differences. And 300,000 plus, the thing’s going strong. Awesome. Why would I want to upset an apple cart and go out and get something that is going to have more electronic gadgets and I can’t necessarily do it myself?
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, that engine is one of the most reliable engines out there.
SPEAKER 07 :
Yeah. But I did call into Larry earlier and comment, you know, you were talking about head gaskets. That is one of those that even with the factory recall replacement and other stuff, that thing just sprung a leak again. And it’s just something that you have to keep an eye on your oil levels and be vigilant, you know.
SPEAKER 12 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
The engine itself is bulletproof. Bad confession here. I’ve towed things heavier than I should have. It’s all right. I get it. And moving soil around, doing landscaping, rocks. That bed’s been fully loaded, and leaf spring’s been at their max.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, like I said a couple of weeks ago here, Eric, or a few weeks ago, people don’t realize, the landscaping material especially, man, that stuff gets heavy fast. It does, very much so.
SPEAKER 07 :
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Now, my neighbor was getting rid of some about three-inch river rock, and I wanted to get it down there for the entry gate for my cow hen property. And my son and I were loading it and got it down there. And it’s like, now I got to get this stuff out. And I did the cheat. I dropped the tailgate as low as it would go, taking it off its hinges, not the hinges, but the arms. Did the fast acceleration backwards, hit the brakes. And it unloaded itself.
SPEAKER 09 :
There you go. Good job.
SPEAKER 07 :
But, yeah, no, just a thought on just a slightly more stable platform. Yeah, good idea.
SPEAKER 14 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 07 :
And, you know, with my Ford 8N tractor and my Hendra tractor, when I’m doing maintenance on those, I’m still going to be able to use that. Oh, yeah. No, good point.
SPEAKER 09 :
Absolutely. Yeah, good point. Good idea.
SPEAKER 07 :
All right. Eric, thanks. I appreciate it.
SPEAKER 09 :
Thank you, as always. It’s always great to talk to you. James in the Springs, hang tight. We’ll come right back to you. Don’t go anywhere. Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 06 :
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SPEAKER 05 :
You listen to Drive Radio because you have a lot of questions about your car. You have questions about what kind of oil to use, what the best tires are, where to get the best parts. But have you ever asked what will happen to your car after you die? Did you know that if you don’t have a will that specifically states what will happen, a probate judge will order your family to split your car evenly. And because you can’t cut up a car into pieces, your family will be forced to sell it and just split the money. According to Michael Bailey, the mobile estate planner, it is estimated that two out of three people don’t have a proper will in place. And oftentimes, things like your favorite classic car are accidentally forgotten completely. Michael understands that the only way to be absolutely certain that all of your final wishes will be honored is to take a small amount of time to talk about it. 720-394-6887 720-394-6887 Call Michael Bailey, the mobile estate planner, right now to set up a free consultation and make absolutely sure that you don’t leave anything to chance.
SPEAKER 03 :
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SPEAKER 01 :
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SPEAKER 09 :
Myself, Pat Schneidt, Alltech Automotive up in Fort Collins. James in Colorado Springs, you’re next.
SPEAKER 16 :
Hi, how are you guys doing? Good, how are you? James. Doing well, thank you. I just wanted to comment on your new sponsor, Honest Accurate. They’re just wonderful. We’ve been dealing with them for years. Well, thank you. Awesome.
SPEAKER 09 :
Good to hear. I went down and met all the guys and just great individuals. For all of you listening that are in that Coral Springs area, yep, they are great people, great shops, two locations. And they think just like we do, James.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, they just treat people right.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yep. And this is not an exaggeration, and I told them this. From the moment I walked in the front door, I was, yep, this is going to work. I mean, now had a nice long hour-plus conversation with everybody, James, to really get a good feel for what they do and how they do it and so on. But, folks, I’m not exaggerating. One step in, and James already knew they were a good fit.
SPEAKER 16 :
Wonderful. They sure were. The other thing is how much good stuff you do on the radio. And one of all your ways of doing it. I was listening to your show last week, and you and your son were talking about movies. Yes. We just wrote one down that we didn’t know anything about that we wanted to see just because Jeremy Yarns was in it. Is that The Beekeeper?
SPEAKER 09 :
Oh, great movie.
SPEAKER 16 :
Fabulous. And you had a rant last week about people not giving their credit and all that stuff, buying a car and all that, being careful. Well, that movie exaggerates it, but it sure points it out.
SPEAKER 09 :
It sure does. Absolutely. A great movie, by the way, James.
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, yeah. Well, I just wanted to tell you.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, I appreciate that.
SPEAKER 10 :
Nice.
SPEAKER 16 :
And the other thing is, the first car I ever had was a 53 Cadillac. I hated it. I inherited it. So I went out when I worked hard and got enough money and got $2,100 bills. Went in and bought a brand new 67 Volkswagen and got $30 back.
SPEAKER 09 :
Wow. Wow. Good for you. How long did you drive that car?
SPEAKER 16 :
Oh, I drove it until I traded it for a Volkswagen van.
SPEAKER 09 :
Okay. All right.
SPEAKER 16 :
You know how it was back in the day.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yes. The vans today, as you know, they are getting to be worth a fortune. They are, too.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, I wish I were to.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, those are those cars that, yeah, most of them didn’t last. As you know, they rusted and went to the scrapyard. And so, man, they are bringing a good money, a good amount of money today.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, well, I wish I would have kept the 53 Cadillac.
SPEAKER 09 :
Well, that’s true, too. Good point.
SPEAKER 16 :
Yeah, we hated it so much that I had friends that were artists, and they drew big eight balls on the side of it, and then we put a racing stripe right on the middle. Oh, really?
SPEAKER 08 :
That’s funny. Good for you.
SPEAKER 16 :
Back in 66. That’s hilarious.
SPEAKER 09 :
Good for you.
SPEAKER 16 :
Anyway, I just want to… No, James, thank you.
SPEAKER 09 :
I appreciate that greatly. I know they do as well. So, yes, Honest Accurate Auto Care. That’s honestaccurateauto.com. There’s two locations. They’ve got an east and a west, kind of centrally located in Colorado Springs. So those of you that are down in that area… Two locations to serve you if you need anything at all. And by the way, they do it all. And, again, I had a nice, really long conversation with owners, advisors, and so on, technicians. And they think exactly like we do. We’ll get them on air here in the coming weeks, and they’ll be a part of what we do just like Pat is. And just good, solid guys. They really understand how things work. They’re there to take care of you. And their name says it all, honesty, accuracy, integrity. That’s kind of their motto, and it fits right into what we do on a regular basis. So we’ll have Pat all the way up north in Fort Collins and Honest Accurate all the way down south and everything in between. Going to cover the whole front range. Got her dialed. And we have been looking for somebody in Carter Springs for a very long time, and it’s been a really difficult thing to find. to find a really good, high-quality, honest shop that also wanted to participate in what we do here. I’m not saying there’s not other good-quality shops in Carter Springs, but you have to be able to, like Pat today, take time out and do some things as a part of participating and be with us and so on, which we appreciate greatly. And these guys have agreed to do that, and that means a lot, meaning that those of you that are in Carter Springs, you will not go wrong in visiting and seeing them. So we appreciate them joining us. Just like you.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, that was a really nice call, too. It’s a very positive call to end the show.
SPEAKER 09 :
It is, yeah. And no, and I appreciate that. And again, we’ve had a lot of fun today. I got a couple more blunders. So for those of you that were listening, we’ve done a lot of blunders. So DeLorean. Now, that’s another car that if you find one today in pristine condition, they’re actually bringing really solid money, which I would have never guessed because they were not a good car. Right. The car itself was kind of a blunder.
SPEAKER 10 :
A cool-looking car.
SPEAKER 09 :
Only thing that made that car, I think even today, have made it as worthy as it is today is the movie, Back to the Future. Yes, you’re exactly right. Had it not been that, I don’t know that that car would have ever done today what it really has done.
SPEAKER 10 :
It was the time machine.
SPEAKER 09 :
It was the time machine, exactly. And again, for those of you that remember those cars, they just weren’t… I don’t know. They just, well, they weren’t a good car to begin with. And as you all know, in the history of it, there’s books that have been written about DeLorean and all the problems that, you know, he had, you know, not only financially, but, you know, physically and mentally and abuse and drugs. And it just did some things that it just didn’t make very good decisions. Pat, let’s just say that, which. All right. And Pat and I can kind of finish this way. In the automotive world. I’m not trying to be rude here, but I grew up in this world. I mean, I started in the dealership. I mean, I can remember walking around and being very, very, very young and intrigued. And I started working sweeping floors in that when I was 11, 12 years of age. I was a technician’s helper when I was 14 years of age. Opel was actually the first car I worked on when I was a kid. Our Opel technician, I was his main helper. that summer and learned a ton, and I was very fortunate to learn from a lot of guys that really understood the whole industry. Now, all that being said, our industry, it’s not so much today, although there’s still some of this, and it is probably in every industry, but back in the day especially, oh man, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, All of that was very prevalent in our industry. I mean, it was nothing to have guys that were literally alcoholics and worked on your car every day or drug addicts and so on. And guys, I’m not exaggerating. It’s prevalent in our industry and was especially back then. It has cleaned up and it’s much, much better today. For years and years and years, we struggled with that.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yes. I think it’s part of the blue-collar stigma, if you will, of the late 1900s. It’s no longer in the industry, and I think the industry has cleaned up in a large way.
SPEAKER 09 :
It has. And by the way, it’s because of – I’ll take some credit for this – You know, myself, Pat, others, where we looked at it as a business. It wasn’t just a trade. It was our livelihood. I wanted to see the business in the automotive world grow and get better than what it was at that time. And a lot of us had a lot of influence in that world. And I think to this day did a lot to make the industry improve itself.
SPEAKER 10 :
Well, and I’ll say that’s a big trend nationwide right now. When I go to conferences, they talk about what are you doing as an owner, as a shop owner, to attract and retain great employees? What benefits are you providing? What benefits are you bringing? That’s a huge change in the conversation.
SPEAKER 09 :
And again, a lot of that has to do with not just the industry and owners like, you know, Pat and others. But I think for a lot of us, and I recognize this clear back in, I want to say mid late 90s, it became a mission of mine to improve the industry. I was tired of going places and you would tell somebody what you did for a living and they would look at you like, oh, you’re one of those.
SPEAKER 10 :
Yeah, like second class or whatever.
SPEAKER 09 :
Yeah, you’re a second class citizen. They look down on you. And I was tired of that, and I wanted to see our industry improve and not be that. And fortunately, it’s not that anymore. That’s correct. And for those of you that have young people that are looking for something to do in a career and they’re looking to get into things, I will tell you the automotive industry still is. has a ton of opportunity. If you are at all self-motivated and you’ve got any kind of technical skills or you’ve got sales skills and you can be on the advisor role, there is the ability to make a very good living in the automotive industry, not only for young people, but even people looking to shift careers and so on. It’s a blessing, by the way, to be in the industry, and I’ve felt that way my entire life, and I’ve always enjoyed it, and I always will, Pat.
SPEAKER 10 :
So this is a really good way to end the program. I 100% agree with you. This whole industry now is focused on customer service. If you love customer service and you can bring that to work every day, that is just a wonderful way to go. And you’ve got a great future because not everybody can do it. And people aren’t going to be as able to work on their own cars in the future either. So we’ve got a bright future in this industry. I’m very proud of that as well.
SPEAKER 09 :
Pat, give everybody your phone number so they can call you if they need to.
SPEAKER 10 :
Oh, thank you. 970-224-9718.
SPEAKER 09 :
That’s it for Drive Radio. Charlie, thank you very much. Our engineer, Larry Unger, answering phones. Guys, have a fabulous weekend. Enjoy the weather. We’ll see you next week. Drive Radio, KLZ 560.
SPEAKER 19 :
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.
