Looking Out - The Podcast

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Take a peak at the design secrets behind the new Tesla Model 3, also known as Highland, and how they give Tesla an incredible pricing advantage against legacy OEMs.

Joe and Drew also discuss a small French company called Lormauto, which is reinventing the origianl Renault Twingo as a EV designed for life.

And they take a looks at the interiors of the new Mercedes EQS SUV and E-Class, and the new Mini, to see what they say about the future of German car makers.

⏰ Time stamps
00:00 Pre-roll
00:40 Intro
01:49 The Tesla Model 3 "Highland"
02:49 The challenges of simple-looking design
05:07 Joe's real-world impressions of the new Model 3 - and design as mathematics
08:50 The new new hallmarks of premium
09:34 The Highland redesign gives Tesla even more pricing flexibility
11:16 Drew's impressions of the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV interior
15:17 Joe's impressions of the new Mercedes E-Class interior
16:38 The New Mini: the saving grace of Europe
18:41 Lormauto and circular design
19:42 EV retrofits as a fringe idea
22:09 Lormauto and the reimagined Renault Twingo
24:17 Renault's own initiatives in the circular design space
25:44 Circular design: a radical change for an old industry
27:40 Giving loved cars a new lease of life
29:38 Changing the incentives to enourage sustainability
31:12 Can circular design make the EV transition more affordable?
33:29 Shifting from units sold to vehicle miles travelled
35:09 Shifting from product to service to system design
36:53 Wrapping up

🔗 Links
Lormauto
Renault Refactory

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Joe Simpson
Drew Smith 

That's it for this episode! Thanks for listening.

If you like what you hear, please leave a review for us on your favourite podcasting platform. It helps other folk like you find us!

And you can sign up for Looking Out - The Newsletter, the sidekick to our podcast, here: automobility.substack.com

In this special episode, Joe and Drew take a look - both macro and micro - at the recent IAA, also known as the Munich motor show.
 
 The motor show itself:
This is the second coming of the biennial motor show in Munich. We talked about how it's evolved and what it means for brands who are compelled to show at the Messe, or exhibition grounds, and in the centre of the city.
 
 The Mercedes CLA and the state of Mercedes design:
Although sporting enough Mercedes badges to make a Louis Vuitton trunk blush, Joe's quite complimentary of the CLA concept. And the EQXX blows his mind with its intelligence and execution.
 
 The new BMW 5 Series:
 Sadly, the same can't be said for the new, €98,000 5er. A dog's dinner outside and evidence inside of just how hard BMW has had to work to make this new, electrified platform pay, all at the cost of customer experience.
 
 The BMW Neue Klasse:
It's not all bad news at BMW as the Neue Klasse shows a brand returning to form. From its delightful glasshouse to serene interior, it shows a promising future for the 3 Series.

The €45,000 Renault Scénic:
What was once a compact, family MPV has turned in to another crossover for the upwardly mobile. While beautifully designed (and better finished than the BMW 5 Series) it's up against the Tesla Model Y. Old world values versus new world tech: FIGHT!
 
 The geopolitical backdrop:
The Chinese brought it home to the Germans, and the Germans don't like it. The EU is investigating China's subsidies but it better be careful: don't bit the hand that feeds you, as the saying goes.

The death of European automotive design has been exaggerated:
But it is struggling. Automakers desperately need to find a renewed sense of focus, a greater sense of connection to a rapidly evolving younger market and, perhaps, consider a pivot to America in order to thrive.

Any other business:
Joe discusses the emerging AV clustercuss in San Francisco and how Volkswagen's desultory efforts to build an American charging network have driven their competitors to adopt Tesla's charging standard.
 
 Drew, on the other hand, is delighted by a company that's electrifying original Renault Twingos and announces our new Instagram account.

That's it for this episode! Thanks for listening.

If you like what you hear, please leave a review for us on your favourite podcasting platform. It helps other folk like you find us!

And you can sign up for Looking Out - The Newsletter, the sidekick to our podcast, here: automobility.substack.com

In this episode:

GM's post-CarPlay Culture
So GM's gone out on a limb and said they're ditching Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for their next generation of cars. To help them on their way, they've hired Mike Abbot, formerly head of Apple's (notoriously) flakey iCloud services.

But we reckon that hiring a big name from another sector won't be enough to fulfil GM's connected car ambitions. The company will need to fundamentally rethink their culture, and we offer a few ideas for how they might get started.

The Paris Scooter Ban
Despite a voter turnout of only 7%, 89% of those voters decided to ban eScooters from the streets of Paris.

In one of the cities we've previously noted as on of the most progressive when it comes to adopting micromobility solutions, one which has invested heroically in reducing the dominance of the car, it was a sad day.

Joe references some research that shows why Parisians might have felt so strongly about the arrival of the scooters (hint: it has to do with parking), and we talk about the long arc of change in our city environments, and how we might work with it, rather than against it.

Generative AI and Auto Industry Biases
As the world debates whether AI is going to kill us or save us, some automotive designers have taken to generative AI tools like DALL.E and MidJourney with unsurpassed glee.

But as Drew reveals, the tools are currently perpetuating the worst of the automotive industry's biases when it comes to gender diversity, representation, and inclusion.

It's a rapidly evolving space and a split is already emerging between designers who love the tools, and those who are against the creative theft that underlies the models on which they're based.

We talk about the need for car companies to consciously and intentionally engage with these topics to make sure they're not caught up in another Volkswagen/Xinjinang situation.

That's it for this episode! Thanks for listening.

If you like what you hear, please leave a review for us on your favourite podcasting platform. It helps other folk like you find us!

And you can sign up for Looking Out - The Newsletter, the sidekick to our podcast, here: automobility.substack.com

In this very special episode, Joe and Drew revisit Drew's interview with the father of micromobility, Horace Dediu.

This isn't the first time this interview's gone to air. You may have heard it first time around on Drew's other podcast, The Next Billion Seconds, or on Horace's own Micromobility podcast. 

It is, however, the first time we've sat down to discuss the many implications of what Horace shares for automotive design and strategy.

If you want to cut to our analysis, fast forward to these points:

• what does it mean for the industry to make a worse car, and where might we start? (starting at 24m 57s)
• how does looking down versus looking out change how we think about designing for automobility? (starting at 50m)
• and just how screwed are the economics of automobiles in a heavily urbanised future? (starting at 1h 14m 57s)

But of course, we'd love you to listen to the whole thing!

Show Links:

• Citroen Ami One - a worse but better car
• The Entrant’s Guide to Automotive Industry - Horace's perspective on how the auto industry works and the update.
• Confessions of a Capital Junkie - Sergio Marchione's pivotal white paper on the automotive industry

Looking Out:
Subscribe to: Looking Out - The Newsletter
Subscribe to:  Looking Out - The Podcast

Joe Simpson & Drew Smith
Joe on LinkedIn
Drew on LinkedIn
Drew on Twitter
StudioPhro.com

Show produced by: Chris Frith

That's it for this episode! Thanks for listening.

If you like what you hear, please leave a review for us on your favourite podcasting platform. It helps other folk like you find us!

And you can sign up for Looking Out - The Newsletter, the sidekick to our podcast, here: automobility.substack.com

In this episode of Looking Out - The Podcast, Joe and Drew discuss:

• BMW's i Vision Dee, why some folk find her scary, and what she says about BMW's future
• Joe's surprisingly normal Christmas run in an EV from Gothenburg to Leeds
• Why CES left us longing for a more systemic approach from the auto industry to the challenges we face

Joe also gives a preview of an upcoming piece for Looking Out - The Newsletter about the Tesla Semi, and Drew wonders what Apple's struggles in China might mean for the automotive industry.

Show Links:

• Drew's article about robots and BMW's i Vision Dee
• Ed Niedermeyer on CES
• How Apple tied its fortunes to China ($)
• What would it take for Apple to disentangle itself from China ($)

Looking Out:
Subscribe to: Looking Out - The Newsletter
Subscribe to:  Looking Out - The Podcast

Joe Simpson & Drew Smith
Joe on LinkedIn
Drew on LinkedIn
Drew on Twitter
StudioPhro.com

Show produced by: Chris Frith

That's it for this episode! Thanks for listening.

If you like what you hear, please leave a review for us on your favourite podcasting platform. It helps other folk like you find us!

And you can sign up for Looking Out - The Newsletter, the sidekick to our podcast, here: automobility.substack.com

Joe and Drew dive deep on the most popular topics from our recent newsletter.

In this show, they explore:

• why Hyundai is giving us reasons to be happy,
• what it means when design no longer matters to Apple, 
• and the future of Europe's small cars.

They also mourn the death of Twitter and explore how you might assess in-car subscription services.

Show Links:

• Measure of Success - Christopher Butt on Hyundai 
• Apple’s Industrial Design Chief Hankey to Leave Three Years After Ive
• Volkswagen Polo faces axe as Euro 7 rules drive price up
• Mercedes Makes Better Performance a $1,200 Subscription in Its EVs
• Mastodon

Looking Out:
Subscribe to: Looking Out - The Newsletter
Subscribe to:  Looking Out - The Podcast

Joe Simpson & Drew Smith
Joe on LinkedIn
Drew on LinkedIn
Drew on Twitter
StudioPhro.com

Show produced by: Chris Frith

That's it for this episode! Thanks for listening.

If you like what you hear, please leave a review for us on your favourite podcasting platform. It helps other folk like you find us!

And you can sign up for Looking Out - The Newsletter, the sidekick to our podcast, here: automobility.substack.com

Joe and Drew dive deep on the most popular topics from our recent newsletter.

In this show, they explore:

• the EV charging clustercuss, 
• why a car costs more than your house, 
• and cars in the cloud.

They also share some thoughts on the end of the age of abundance, and the emergence of AI art.

Show Links:
The Bentley Batur
The end of the age of abundance
Jeep's new EVs

Looking Out:
Subscribe to: Looking Out - The Newsletter
Subscribe to:  Looking Out - The Podcast

Joe Simpson & Drew Smith
Joe on LinkedIn
Drew on LinkedIn
Drew on Twitter
StudioPhro.com

Show produced by: Chris Frith

That's it for this episode! Thanks for listening.

If you like what you hear, please leave a review for us on your favourite podcasting platform. It helps other folk like you find us!

And you can sign up for Looking Out - The Newsletter, the sidekick to our podcast, here: automobility.substack.com

Joe and Drew dive deep on the most popular topics from our recent newsletter.

In this show, they:

• cast a critical eye on Apple's expanded CarPlay offer, 
• explore some of the challenges facing shared micromobility in Europe, 
• delight in the importance of getting a car name just right, exploring the legacy of the man who's created some of the most iconic names in the industry.

Show Links:
Nimbus One Micromobility Vehicle

Looking Out:
Subscribe to: Looking Out - The Newsletter
Subscribe to:  Looking Out - The Podcast

Joe Simpson & Drew Smith
Joe on LinkedIn
Drew on LinkedIn
Drew on Twitter
StudioPhro.com

Show produced by: Chris Frith

That's it for this episode! Thanks for listening.

If you like what you hear, please leave a review for us on your favourite podcasting platform. It helps other folk like you find us!

And you can sign up for Looking Out - The Newsletter, the sidekick to our podcast, here: automobility.substack.com