Beyond the Beaten Path: Car Culture, Getaway Destinations and the Alpha Romeo Tonale

Ready to hit the road for Labor Day weekend? We've got you covered with unforgettable Texas destinations that promise adventure, relaxation, and everything in between. From the Victorian charm of Jefferson in the piney woods to the artistic desert oasis of Marfa, we're exploring getaways that take you off the beaten path. Looking for coastal vibes? Discover Palacios, the "Shrimp Capital of Texas" where fishing, kayaking, and seafood create the perfect holiday escape. For cooler temperatures, we recommend the mountain scenery of Fort Davis or the crystal-clear waters of the Frio River at Garner State Park.

The conversation shifts gears as we explore six legendary American car names that left their mark on automotive history. We unpack the stories behind iconic nameplates like the Mercury Marauder, Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, and Plymouth Barracuda – vehicles whose names became as powerful as their engines. From muscle cars that dominated drag strips to controversial designs like the Plymouth Prowler, we examine how these memorable monikers helped define American car culture across generations.

Wrapping up our automotive journey, we take the 2025 Alfa Romeo Tonale for a spin and share our unfiltered thoughts. This Italian-crafted subcompact SUV delivers impressive performance with its 268-horsepower turbo engine, sporty handling, and distinctive European styling that stands out in a sea of look-alike competitors. Priced at $39,930 for our test model, the Tonale offers surprising value against luxury competitors from BMW, Audi, and Mercedes. Discover why this newcomer might be the perfect blend of practical utility and driving excitement for those who want something beyond the ordinary. Ready to explore new destinations or find your next dream ride? Tune in now!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
All right, it's Mr Marr's turn for Driving
Destinations, and let's talkabout Labor Day getaways.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Yep, labor Day is coming up.
It's going to be a little bitmore time off.
People are going to havethree-day weekends, so you might
want to go a little bit furthermaybe.
Look at a few different things,such as Jefferson, texas.
Now this is tucked away in theeast texas piney woods.
It's got a victorian charm andit's got a lot of history that
goes with it, with antique shops.
There's a scenic boat tour ofcaddo lakes, mysterious bios,

(00:35):
which I didn't even know it wasclose to caddo lake.
Uh, the jefferson historicalmuseum has ghost tours and the
whole labor day a weekend.
They bring a lot of peacefulatmosphere from big crowds.
It's perfect for a slow-pacedholiday that you want to get
away.
If you want to go a little bitfurther west to get a little
more adventurous.
Marfa Marfa Texas blends MarfaLights Exactly Marfa.

(00:58):
That's a minimalist art in WestTexas, desert Beauty and really
, if you look at it they've gotworld-famous art installations
that it's amazing that it's outthere like the Prada Marfa store
.
They've got scenic drivesthrough the Davis Mountains you
can do.
They've got hot springs,they've got the Marfa lights and
there's a lot of quirkycharacter there and it's out in

(01:20):
the middle of no place.
So a great Labor Day weekend ifyou're looking for something a
little different.
Palacios down south is known asthe shrimp capital of Texas.
Otherwise it's a quiet coastaltown, a matagorda bay.
You can go fishing, kayaking,bird watching along the
waterfront.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
You can also go to Amsterdam.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
Amsterdam.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah, see, it's right on that boat.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Oh, that's true, I didn't pay attention to that.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
You get a knock on the door it says Amsterdam on it
.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
You got shrimp down there.
You got boiled shrimp.
You got corn shrimp.
You got fried shrimp.
You got baked shrimp, you got.
And.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Bubba Bubba shrimp, lieutenant Dan.
Well, we're going to go backout west, out to Fort Davis, and
I out to Fort Davis.
I've actually been to FortDavis.
It's way out west.
Mountain scenery, got lots ofcool nights, a lot of old west
history.
Again, this is out in themiddle of no place and it was a
real fort that they used in theearly days.
You can go hiking in the DavisMountains scenic drives.

(02:17):
The McDonald Observatory isaround there.
But if you really want to gothere and do stargazing.
You've got to make reservationsabout a year, year and a half in
advance.
Really, it's really highelevation so it's a lot cooler
during Labor Day weekend Alsoout there.
If you're looking for somethinga little more active outside
Garner State Park in the HillCountry, You've got

(02:38):
crystal-flowing Frio RiverSwimming.
Now this is a real popularplace to go tubing and canoeing.
You can hike limestone trails,camp out on the starry skies.
The park actually has jukeboxdances during the summer at
night and it's a great place togo off-grid.
And of course, you can't gowithout saying something about

(03:00):
Granbury.
We go to Granbury and a smalltown Got a lake, Got places on
Granbury and a small town Got alake, Got places on the lake,
Got a lot of history there,Opera house, Labor Day weekend A
lot of things to do there.
And I want to finish up withTerralingua.
Now this is a former miningghost town.
I've been there down in the BigBend A lot of rugged beauty and
stuff down in there and ofcourse course, the famous

(03:22):
Terlingua chili cook-off.
I think it's called TerlinguaTerlingua.

Speaker 1 (03:25):
Not Terlingua.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
It depends on how much you've been drinking
tequila.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
But they've got a lot of.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
There's a mansion down there that's been restored
and turned into a hotel.
They've got a lot of uniqueplaces that you can sleep and go
to places to eat.
It's a really cool place todrive to, but it's way out there
.
West Texas.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
All right, Thank you, sir.
In real time Car Talk continuesafter this quick break.
Car culture Always look forwardto this.
Six cool American car names.
The names exist, but the carscertainly don't Right.

Speaker 3 (04:02):
Well, this is what we got, these American car names.
A pivotal part of any vehicleis, of course, its name names.
It can make or break a model.
Go ahead, mike.
It carry as much weight as theengine, the drivetrain
configuration and also the looks.
The first one we have here is amercury marauder, first
introduced in 1963, the sinisterone of the of these combined

(04:22):
muscle cars menace from the fordmotor company, the Mercury
Marauder.
Originally intended as asub-model in the three-sized
Mercury model align, it became astandalone model in 1966 and
acquired its name from a seriesof V8 engines that the company
first unveiled in 1958.
A Marauder is essentially apirate, an unsavory individual

(04:43):
who steals and plunders, sort oflike us.
It was a perfect name aperformance model aimed to
dominate the drag strip.
So there you go, that's agood-looking car there.
The next one we have here is aPontiac Firebird Trans Am,
introduced in 1969.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
The Trans Am is named— Breaker 1.9.

Speaker 3 (04:59):
There you go.
Its name came to define theperformance icon one loved over
generations for its styling andperformance.
Like many of the models on thislist, it's conceived during the
pony and muscle car glory yearsof the 60s, before coming into
its own in the 70s.
The name literally comes from amythological bird, bright

(05:20):
orange in color, commonly seenon fire in the media and in
folklore.
So that's where that name comesfrom.
Next one is a plymouth barracudamike.
In 1969 it was introduced.
Watch your vehicle to be awinner.
Name it after one of theocean's most iconic predators,
the barracuda.
When it was an open secret thatford was designing the car, the

(05:40):
wood this would become themustang, plymouth decided to get
in the action and created asporty car based on the Valiant
and its compact dubbed theBarracuda.
The first two of a sporty carbased on the Valiant.
The generations were fine.
I'm sorry.
They were fine cars, but thethird that showed the Barracuda
could do when it was bare asteeth.

(06:00):
Sharing the e-body platform ofthe Dodge Challenger, the
Barracuda was a smidgen smallerbut featured a unique styling to
separate it.
Next one, Michael, is a MercuryCougar.
I like this car.
I wish I had one back in theday when I had my Nova.
This was introduced in 69.
A friend of mine had one ofthese.

Speaker 1 (06:16):
You know, everybody thinks that that is an absolute
remake of the Ford Mustang.
It is not.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
No, it's not.
No, it was actually designedsimilar to it, but it wasn't.
It actually wasn't as manyenthusiasts, many enthusiasts,
what their favorite car name wasall time the Mercury Cougar
Eliminator.
Everything about the name isawesome, starting with the
Mercury brand name, which is agreat starting point.
Adding the Cougar to the lineupwas a great choice because it

(06:45):
gave the brand an attractivecousin to the Ford Mustang.
It was only a cousin.
Then, of course, tracking theEliminator in 1969 to donate the
high-performance variant Reallytook it over the edge.
It's Cougar, eliminate theCompetition.
So there you go.

Speaker 1 (07:00):
Was it the XLR?
Yes, was that one of them?
Cougar XLR.

Speaker 3 (07:05):
That was the fancy, high-end version of it.
Right, the Eagle Talon.
You wouldn't figure this onewould be one, but in 1990.

Speaker 1 (07:11):
I remember going to the car show.
I remember going to the carshow and that was the first time
I saw that we went.
Wow, that really looks cool.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
The first couple of generations of the Mitsubishi
Eclipse put the car on the tunermap, but not everyone knows it
was also sold under a jointChrysler-Mitsubishi partnership
under the Eagle and Plymouthbrands.
While the Plymouth Laser nameis also pretty sweet, the Eagle
Talon just fits too well.
It's the perfect description ofa car with performance.
Though two generations.

(07:40):
The car looked and soundedawesome when it optioned for the
TSI trim with optionalall-wheel drive.
That's great stuff.
The last one, not my favorite,but here you go.
It's introduced in 1997 as thePlymouth Prowler.
I think you drove one, didn'tyou?

Speaker 1 (07:55):
Don I did when it first came out.
My dad loved that car.

Speaker 3 (07:58):
This Prowler is easily one of the most
controversial American cars evermade a hot rod for then modern
age.
It had styling inspired byclassic hot rods of the 30s and
when the concept car wasunveiled in 1993, the world
immediately fell in love with it.
However, as we all likely know,the result was a vehicle that
left a lot to be desired.

(08:19):
The design was tamed, uglybumpers were added and the hope
of real performance was squashedwhen they put an automatic V6
in the vehicle.

Speaker 1 (08:27):
Just awful.
And you know, the funny thingabout that was the car looked so
good.
The interior even was reallycool.
The problem was with the out oftop on it, the body flex on
that thing.
It would just take off from astop sign, not even fast, yeah,
and you could feel the twistingbody.
Yeah, and that V6 engine.
It was so lame and all I couldthink of is the Chevrolet SSR

(08:51):
Remember that thing.

Speaker 3 (08:52):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, looked really cool.

Speaker 2 (08:59):
What a weak, limp piece of yeah and there wasn't,
and there wasn't even enoughbones there to to hop up like
the v6 on this.
It really wasn't.

Speaker 1 (09:04):
Don't forget the top and that bizarre top that did
all this manipulation andfolding and everything, and they
went back behind the back seatsand you couldn't open the back
trunk well, which would havebeen the bed, because the lid on
it wouldn't open far enough.
What was the purpose of that?

Speaker 2 (09:23):
There was just a lot of things.

Speaker 1 (09:25):
Who said, yeah, let's build that.
No.

Speaker 2 (09:29):
Sometimes it looks like the car comes from the
engineers without any input fromthe marketing guys that really
are going to sell it.

Speaker 3 (09:36):
I think they're in a meeting and said, said we need
something different, we needsomething over the top, off the
edge, and that's what they cameup with.

Speaker 1 (09:41):
My opinion, you know I talked to a chevrolet guy
about that and he said you know,we spent a lot of money on
stamping those fenders becausewe hadn't used that technology
since the 1950s.
If remember, the fenders werevery round.
Yeah, big bulbous fenders,almost like the rear fender of a
motorcycle yeah.
Yeah, and you know, we weretalking about the Firebird a

(10:05):
minute ago.
Mm-hmm, I was talking to BillSeitz this week and Bill Seitz,
longtime friend of mine, and wewere talking about old school
cars longtime friend of mine andwe were talking about old
school cars and Bill Seitz,ashamedly had a.
Sunbird.
Do you remember the PontiacSunbird oh?

Speaker 3 (10:29):
Was it his or his wife?

Speaker 1 (10:30):
Well, both of them Either way, because they had two
Corvettes and they needed thedaily drivers, so they bought
the Sunbird, sort of similarlyshaped kind of.
No, no, it was not, it was whatwe like to refer to in the
business as a turd.
Oh.

Speaker 2 (10:46):
An opus.

Speaker 1 (10:48):
And it had a four-speed manual transmission
and a not weak but a wateryfour-cylinder engine in it.
I don't even know how it got upto 60 miles an hour.
Oh, wow, yeah, Honey X Sunbird.
All right Time now for thishour's car review.

(11:10):
I had a chance to drive the2025 Alfa Romeo Tonale all-wheel
drive.
Now the final assembly locationis Pamigliano d'Arco, Naples,
Italy.
Wow, how did I do?
Can you spell that?

Speaker 2 (11:28):
Terribly.

Speaker 1 (11:29):
I can spell it, but it won't do any good because it
doesn't make any difference.
I can spell Tonio Pomigliano.
Available trim levels Base,intensa, tributo and Italiano.
There you go.
I had the base model.

(11:50):
It is considered a subcompactsuv, but in our language it's a
small suv.
Still seats five people, allnew in 2024, so this is a
relatively new vehicle.
It's got a great shape.
Love the distinct sporty shapewith menacing headlights and

(12:10):
Alfa's Scudetto grille.
Bet, you didn't even know that,did you?

Speaker 2 (12:15):
No.

Speaker 1 (12:16):
It's called a Scudetto grille.
Unique wheels with round spokes.
Rear taillights emulate theheadlight design, big dual
exhaust tips with a rearsunshade over the rear glass
what I liked?
The Tonale gets high marks forits killer design.

(12:37):
In my opinion, what could useimprovement?
Nothing Don't jack with it.
Here's why.
Because so many SUVs look thesame the taillights.
If you took the name of thevehicle off of it, I hear you
wouldn't be able to tell thedifference between no offense,
yeah, a buick, right, or youknow an audi any of those yeah,
I agree exactly.

(12:58):
Interior highlights start stopbutton is on the steering wheel,
right there, see it.
I loved it.
Uh.
Unique, uh wheels.
I told you about that with theround spokes.
We're doing the interior now,don Good, nice dash layout.
Huge paddle shifters Huge.
If you're into paddle shifting,this is the bomb.

(13:19):
Mike's into paddling.
Spanking Seat materialAttractive and cool Dash and
footwell, accent lights.
Sweet Cargo room.
Small, but this is a small SUV.
What I liked about it mosteverything.
We like the wetsuit-stylefabric on the seats Cool, I

(13:41):
don't know how else to describeit.
We could use improvement.
Small infotainment screen thatwas a little slow to react to
touch inputs.
A 2-liter turbo 4-cylinder with268 horsepower, which is a lot
Torque.
295, 9-speed automatictransmission so that's how they

(14:03):
could get away with a little bitless horsepower in, basically,
a sport SUV.
Miles per gallon 21 city city,29, highway for combined to 24,
believe it or not, I got 29.7miles per gallon over 461.5
miles.
Wow, that's pretty darn good,that's really good, but I like
plenty of power to throw itaround corners.

(14:23):
And I say that in a sincere way, because you want to what?
Because you?

Speaker 2 (14:27):
want to.
And Well, because you want toand it can, Because it can.

Speaker 1 (14:30):
Because it can, and that's the one cool thing about
it that most SUVs don't have inthis category.
What could use improvement?
Start-stop was annoying andcouldn't turn it off oh wow,
maybe I just couldn't figure outa way to turn it off.
Well, that's true.
Parking brake automaticallyengages when you put it in park.
Turbolag in some situations.

(14:55):
Ride and handling thesportiness is what I really
liked about it.
What could use improvement?
If you don't like a sporty rideand handling, then buy
something else.
Don't buy a sports car.
Yeah, because that's what thisis it's a sports car SUV.
The base model price is $36,495.
The base trim price wait aminute, I've got that.

(15:17):
The base trim price is $36,495on this because it is the base
model.
Total price with a couple ofoptions, including the
destination charge $39,930.
Really, I know $39,930.
Really, I know I was impressednot only by the price but the
hot rod ride, the hot rodhandling.
I'm all in.

Speaker 3 (15:37):
Two things I'm noticing in that is that you
don't see or you don't hear ofthe Alfa Romero Romero very
often getting recalled foranything.
No, you don't.
That I remember.

Speaker 2 (15:47):
I hadn't thought of that and the other thing is, you
keep saying toenail.

Speaker 1 (15:51):
I'm going to have to make a pedicure appointment.
I didn't have to say toenail,you said toenail.
I didn't say that.
Keep saying it.

Speaker 3 (15:55):
I'm going to have to have my toes done.

Speaker 1 (15:58):
Actual competitors are the BMW X1, the Audi Q3, and
the Mercedes-Benz GLA, and allof those are more expensive.

Speaker 3 (16:06):
Well, I was going to say those are, so this is the
better bargain out of all ofthose.

Speaker 1 (16:10):
I think so, and if you're into a small SUV and you
want to have kind of a hot rodthing going on and something
different that doesn't look likeall the rest of them, go check
it out.

Speaker 3 (16:21):
And you're in the Euro phase, the European vehicle
, you know.

Speaker 1 (16:25):
Italian, and I bet you you'll find one at an Alfa
store that's already beat thetariffs.
Yeah, just saying so, the 2025Alfa Romeo Tonali all-wheel
drive, perfect, yeah.

Speaker 3 (16:39):
Nice car.

Speaker 1 (16:39):
All right.