Why aren't you moving? The ambulances, beaches, and V8s changing our roads

Ever wonder why some people don't move for ambulances? Or what makes Port Aransas the perfect beach getaway? Or perhaps why the Dodge Durango still commands respect after 14 years with the same design? We tackle all these questions and more in this fascinating exploration of automotive culture and travel destinations.

We kick things off with a detailed breakdown of ambulance manufacturing and classification. These life-saving vehicles are constructed in two distinct phases by different manufacturers - from the initial chassis to the specialized emergency equipment integration. The four types of ambulances in the United States each serve specific purposes, from advanced life support to patient transfers. And yes, before modern ambulances, converted Buick and Pontiac station wagons served as emergency transport, with medics hunched over in cramped quarters. Our passionate reminder: when you see those flashing lights, move aside immediately - someone's life literally depends on your actions.

Looking for the perfect coastal getaway that isn't overcrowded? Port Aransas offers the ideal middle ground between massive tourist destinations and tiny beach towns. With 18 miles of drivable coastline on Mustang Island, exceptional birding opportunities, and surprisingly good marlin fishing thanks to the nearby continental shelf, this Gulf Coast gem has something for everyone. Family-friendly amenities include Roberts Point Park for the little ones, while nature enthusiasts will love the 1,250-foot boardwalk at the Leonabel Turnbill Birding Center. Just 3.5 hours from Houston, it's an accessible escape with both a ferry ride and beautiful coastal driving.

We wrap up with our hands-on review of the 2025 Dodge Durango RT. Despite maintaining essentially the same design since 2011, this muscular SUV continues to impress with its bold styling, bronze wheels, and powerful 5.7-liter V8 pushing 360 horsepower. With an impressive 8,700-pound towing capacity and comfortable SRT seating, it's clear why this three-row SUV still attracts buyers despite newer competition. Check it out if you're shopping for a vehicle with traditional American muscle and substantial utility.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 2 (00:04):
time now for jeff's car culture you bet this is
going to be informative for you.
We all you see ambulances goingdown the road, people sometimes
in the back of an ambulance.
No, sometimes they don't get outof the way and it's very
frustrating and it kind of ticksme off that somebody's in there
for a reason.
So ambulances are made all overthe world, with different

(00:25):
countries, different regionshaving their own manufacturing,
their own specifications.
Typically, ambulances are madein two stages.
The first manufacturer takesthe chassis, the second modifies
the vehicle to include thenecessary emergency equipment.
In the United States,ambulances are classified into
four types, each with differentspecifications and purposes.
Several companies manufactureambulances in the US, including

(00:48):
American Emergency Vehicles,Braun Industries and Horton
Ambulance, among others.
Those are the primary ones inthe US.
There's several across theworld.
These companies play a crucialrole in providing emergency
medical services with thenecessary vehicle, ensuring that
the patients receive prompt andeffective care during their
medical emergency.
The customization optionsoffered by these manufacturers

(01:10):
enable the EMS providers todesign ambulances that meet
their unique needs and theirbudgets.
The first stage of manufacturinginvolves the initial
construction of the chassis,which forms the foundational
structure of the ambulance.
This stage typically entailsthe fabrication of a light or
medium-duty truck, chassis, cabsor full-size van.

(01:31):
Reputable automobile companiessuch as Mercedes-Benz, Nissan,
Ford, Toyota are often chosenfor this purpose in providing
the reliable base for thesubsequent modifications.
The second stage ofmanufacturing involves modifying
the chosen vehicle meet thespecification requirements of an
ambulance.
This stage is carried out by asecond manufacturer known as the

(01:52):
second stage manufacturer.
Go figure, Mike.
They take the incompletevehicle lacking a body or
interior behind the driver'sseat and transform it into a
full-fledged ambulance.
This process can be donethrough two methods coach
building or modular systemintegration.
In the US there are four types.
Type 1 ambulances are mountedon a truck chassis with a custom

(02:14):
module on the back.
They're used primarily foradvanced life support and rescue
work.
They're available in four-wheeldrive and are a good choice for
difficult driving conditions.

Speaker 1 (02:24):
Oh my God, there's Danny's Dodge van that we all
used to go around in Danny.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
I love him.
He's a great guy.
Type 2 ambulances are typicallyvan-style vehicles with basic
patient care features.
They're used forhospital-to-hospital transport
and can also be used in a 911rescue work.
They offer better gas mileagethan the other types of
ambulances, specifically diesel.
These Type 3 are built using avan chassis, with the roof

(02:52):
raised.
Who hasn't raised a roof in avan?
Come on.
Type 3 ambulances are similarto Type 1, but use a van cutaway
chassis instead of a truckchassis.
Look at that.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
That one right there.
That's a short bus any way.
You look at it there you go.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
The cab and body are integrated, with a larger
opening between the cab andmodule, allowing for easier
movement in items and thepersonnel.
These ambulances are availablein two-wheel drive using regular
gasoline.
Now the fourth version, or theType 4 they're talking about, is
for patient transfers andsmaller vehicles For smaller
environments, small crowds andthings of like that nature.

(03:27):
But that's a Pontiac rightthere on the screen.
My favorite is this last one.
Check this out.
That's a Buick baby.
That's a Buick.
Now, for all intents andpurposes, be cautious around
ambulances.
Get out of the way when you seethem coming.
Leave your blood donation atthe Red Cross and not on the
highway.

Speaker 1 (03:44):
Very nice.
Well, I have to tell you thatback in my day it was things
like the Buick, the Pontiac, anykind of a station wagon, the
Cadillac.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
Yeah, you bet.

Speaker 1 (03:55):
The actual medic that's back there, of course,
the patient's laying down, themedic's all hunched over because
the roof is so low, yep.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Exactly, but be careful when you're out there.
A little bit of information, ifyou ever wonder, and just check
it out.

Speaker 1 (04:14):
Driving destinations.
Mr Mars, this is the secondweek and now we're going to go
way down the coast of Port ofRansas.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
Hey send your candidate hey, so candidate, hey
, hey, so yeah.
So I thought summertime, it'sbeginning of summertime, the
kids are out of school,everybody wants to talk about
going to the beach.
Sometimes you don't want to goto a big town like Galveston or
Corpus Christi, but you don'twant to go to a little town like
Surfside or something, so youmight want to look at something
like Port Aransas.

(04:43):
Now, this is located on theGulf of America.

Speaker 1 (04:47):
Now let me ask you something.
Pardon me for interrupting, butdid you name it Port A, or is
that their marketing thing?

Speaker 3 (04:53):
That's their marketing thing.
It is Port A yeah.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yeah, port Armstrong.

Speaker 3 (04:57):
Could be.
No, it's been like that for along time.
The first time I went downthere I picked up an assignment
for a magazine to go down thereto get some boats of marlin
fishing and I didn't know youcould do marlin fishing out of
Port A.

Speaker 1 (05:08):
I didn't know there were marlin in the Gulf of
America.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
Well, they're not big , like you see in Mexico on TV
and stuff, but they have themand they use them.
They're mini marlins, minimarlins.
So anyway, first thing you'regoing to notice and you're going
to think about, of course, isthe Port Aransas Beach.
It's located, actually, onMustang Island.
It's 18 miles long.

(05:30):
It is a drivable beach.
It's another beach that you canactually drive your car on, you
can rent golf carts, you can dobeach stuff, beach stuff.
Yeah, they actually have asandcastle building contest on
that beach down there, becausethe way the sand is with the
water and the moisture contentis really good for building sand
castles and doing things likethat building a snow fort,

(05:52):
that's right.
So, uh, the other thing ifyou're not really into the sand
stuff and you're a birdingperson, you want to go to the
leonabel turnbill birding centerin port orandas.
This is a big location, uh,it's on the centralway, so you
get to see a lot of differentbirds, including the rosette
spoonbill, the black-belliedwhistleduck and the cinnamon

(06:13):
teal.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Hey, you know what?
Do you know what kind of birdthis is?
You just shot the bird.

Speaker 1 (06:19):
I've seen that bird before.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
Yeah, the back of a car, yeah, and they got like a
1,250-foot-long boardwalk, ohboy, and you can see alligators,
along with other differentwildlife.
Now you can also go toFisherman's Wharf.
Now, this is, of course, aplace where they have a lot of
boats to go out deep-sea fishing.
This is where I was talkingabout.
I was surprised that you couldactually go out marlin fishing

(06:46):
Not the big ones, but there isplenty of marlin.
You don't have to go out veryfar because of the continental
shelf.
Deep water is a lot closer here.
Then you can go to the PortAransas Museum in the middle of
the day, when it gets good andhot.
This is housed in a 1900s kithouse.
It's got lots of history.
Is that the kit from Sears?
It didn't say which area.
It's got lots of history.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
Is that the kit from Sears?

Speaker 3 (07:06):
It didn't say which fair is from?
Yeah, but you know it's got alot of history about maritime
history, sport, fishing, localculture, and they actually have
a fourth-order Fresnel lens fromthe Lydia Ann Lighthouse.
That's a pretty big deal aboutit being that kind of a from
original lighthouses.
Now, if you really want to godo something out in the outside,

(07:31):
you can go kayaking and paddleboarding.
You can launch from thelighthouse lakes paddling trail
now this is texas firstdesignated paddling trail.
Uh, you can also go walkingaround and get this thing, but
it's about 6.8 miles that youcan cover in this area and they
also have a windsurfing contestdown here.
Then you can also go over tomustang island state park and,
uh, 3,950 acres, five miles ofcoastline really a nice place to

(07:55):
go.
I went there once to shoot somepictures of a truck and it was
a beautiful place.
Uh.
Then for playtime for thelittle ones, roberts point park
now this is in Port Aransas area, 50-acre waterfront park and
it's got playgrounds, it's gotfountains, it's got all kinds of
things that little kids can do.
So this is a really place.
If you want to go out and getout and you want to be in a town

(08:17):
smaller than Galveston Corpusor Corpus, then this could be a
good choice because it's rightacross the way from Corpus.
Yeah, it's about 30 miles andyou go over to the island
through Aransas Pass there's acauseway yeah, I didn't know any
of that the other end of it,coming in from Houston, which is
about 3.5 hours away, there's aferry you get to ride.

(08:40):
It's smaller than the GalvestonFerry, it's only about 20 cars
well, that's an interestingthing.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
Back in the day, that's what we did.
We didn't have a whole lot ofmoney and we wanted to take the
kids somewhere.
We always went to San Antonio.
It was a great place for us totake the kids.
Here's an option, a beachoption that's three and a half
hours away.
Easy drive, Easy drive.
A nice coastal drive too.
Hey, the In Wheel Time Car TalkShow will continue after these

(09:06):
brief messages.
You own a car Time now for thishour's car review.
I had a chance to drive the2025 Dodge Durango.
Final assembly location Detroit, michigan.
Ladies and gentlemen, comes inthese trim levels the GT, the RT

(09:29):
and the SRT.
I had the RT, 20th anniversary,premium, all-wheel drive 345.
It's a standard SUV Three rowsseats, six people.
Exterior changes from last modelyear.
It was all new in 2011.

(09:52):
2011.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, do you seehow old that is?
It's old, but you know what itstill looks good, I like it.
Exterior features Bold,aggressive, american muscle
style front fascia, built-inhood scoop with Hemi graphics
and 345 badging.

(10:12):
Bronze colored wheels set thisRT apart.
Shape of the rear lightingreminds of the Dodge Charger
design.
What I liked this is an SUVwith attitude.
Well, that's not the one that Idrove, but that's the basic one

(10:33):
, right, right, the one that Idrove has attitude and it's
funny what you can do with paint.
Oh, absolutely All right.
What could use improvement?
I would love to see an evolvedredesign.
I mean, this thing is what?
13, 14 years old?
Yeah, so there's the bronzewheels that I was talking about.

(10:54):
Interior highlights Even thoughit's a 14-year-old design, the
dash layout beats newercompetitors.
Steering wheel controls are thebest SRT seating with the 345
logo on the seat back.
Comfortable and supportivebuckets.
Rear volume Sorry, did I sayrear?

(11:18):
Yep, I didn't mean to say rear.
The radio volume.
And tuning knobs for thesuspension?
No, for the superior soundsystem is good.
I can't even read my ownwriting here.

Speaker 2 (11:33):
I don't feel so bad.
You know, you should pre-readthese before you go on the air.
I should.

Speaker 1 (11:39):
I want you to look at how I did that.
What the hell is that you know?
What that said it was uh,that's what it says, that's what
it does Cargo room, large.
What I liked about it comfortand the control functions, I
think, because I'm just guessingnow my fumble mumble you want
to borrow my glasses.

(12:00):
now I got glasses on.
That's not the problem.
Sight is not the problem, it'sbrain malfunction and clearly it
didn't transfer to thisright-hand writing.
Implement 5.7 liter V8, 360horsepower, 390 pound-feet of
torque, 8-speed automatictransmission.
Get this.
Tow rating 8,700 pounds, wow.

(12:20):
Haul rating 1,350.
Let's go camping, let's goracing, let's just go and do it
somewhere.
14 miles per gallon city.
Oh boy, 22 highways combined to17.
I actually got 18.7 because, no, kimberly, I did not burn the
tires off the back like so manyjournalists do.

Speaker 3 (12:40):
No hauling donkeys or anything.
No, none of that.
1,300.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
18.7 miles per gallon over 329.9 miles.
What I like the well-matchedpower with the drivetrain,
all-wheel drive with anindependent suspension, rocks it
Ride and handling smoothness.
It's good.
What could use improvement?
It's a little on the heavy sidebut it is big 5,313 pounds,

(13:05):
that's two and a half tons, myfriend.
Base trim price 54.
$495.
Price is tested.
Trim price $54,495.
Price is tested yikes $72,460.
You can get in the V6 versionfor $41,995.

Speaker 2 (13:22):
You had a nice one.
I've been seeing a lot more ofthem since you had that yeah.

Speaker 1 (13:26):
Competitors Ford Expedition starts at $57,025,
which which, by the way, is allnew for 25, but no v8s does have
440 horsepower.
The chevy suburban starts at615.
It has the 6.2 liter v8 with420 horsepower and the toyota

(13:46):
sequoia starts at 62425 with a3.4 liter hybrid V6.
But get this turns out 437horsepower.
Oh man, yeah.
So there are some competitorsout there.
I invite you to check them allout.
But good old American grunt,there's nothing wrong with that.

Speaker 2 (14:06):
And they make a nice interior.

Speaker 1 (14:08):
Even on the pickups they do, yeah, they do All right
front.
There's nothing wrong with that.
They make a nice interior.
Even on the pickups they do,yeah, they do all right.
That's my review of the 2025dodge durango rt.
Hey.