Automotive News Managing Editor Jerry Hirsch talks with TrueCar founder and CEO Scott Painter about the tension between his digital sales platform and dealers. They also discuss the potential for subscription car platforms. Plus, Shift Executive Producer Jake Neher and Automotive News Retail Tech Reporter Mark Hollmer discuss the biggest technology and AI trends out of the NADA Show 2026 in Las Vegas.

“Shift” podcast co-host Molly Boigon gets help from Alex Oyler, director of SBD Automotive, North America, to explain how the architecture of the vehicle has evolved over time.

She and Jake Neher, the executive producer of audio at Automotive News, discuss the differences between domain and zonal architectures and how they can enable new vehicle features.

Ozgur Tohumcu, general manager for automotive and manufacturing at Amazon Web Services, joins Automotive News reporter Molly Boigon on the “Shift” podcast to talk about how companies are using small language models on board the vehicle to enable better voice assistants.

He also explains how manufacturers will use satellites to keep consistent high-bandwidth connectivity for vehicle features.

George Lenyo, EY’s Americas automotive leader, joins Automotive News tech and innovation reporter Molly Boigon on the “Shift” podcast at CES 2026 to talk about how artificial intelligence is turbocharging the simulations used to train autonomous vehicles.

He also explains how automakers can charge consumers for the right subscription services.

At CES 2026, Amnon Shashua, CEO of Mobileye, joins Automotive News Managing Editor Jerry Hirsch on the “Shift” podcast to talk about how humanoid robots can fill labor shortages.

He also explains why it makes sense for autonomous technology companies to invest in robotics.

Plus, co-host Molly Boigon and Automotive News Reporter Laurence Iliff recap CES 2026 from the show floor in Las Vegas.

Gary Shaprio, CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, joins Automotive News reporter Molly Boigon on the “Shift” podcast to talk about how companies will be discussing trade policy, tariffs and manufacturing location changes at CES.

He also explains how uncertain trade conditions are diverting focus from product innovation. 

Itay Michaeli, senior U.S. automobile analyst at TD Cowen, joins Automotive News reporter Molly Boigon on the “Shift” podcast to talk about how industry experts increasingly feel that the arrival of autonomous vehicles is just a matter of time, a shift enabled by better and lower-cost hardware, improved software and lessons learned from past struggles.

Michaeli also explains why he is expecting new partnerships in the robotaxi space at CES 2026.

Ryan Falor, director of AV/ADAS data at GM, and Jason Ekelmann, manager of the advanced vehicle integration team at GM, join Automotive News reporter Lindsay VanHulle on the “Shift” podcast to talk about how the automaker is leveraging its shuttered Cruise robotaxi venture and Super Cruise hands-free driver-assist technology to build an eyes-off system for 2028.

They also explain why GM is taking a nationwide testing approach and using manual data collection, simulation and supervised driving to build and evaluate test the systems.

RJ Scaringe, Rivian’s CEO, joins Automotive News reporter Laurence Iliff on the “Shift” podcast to talk about how the automaker is spending more on R&D for autonomy than in any other area.

He also explains why the company is still focused on personal autonomy during a broader robotaxi boom.

RJ Scaringe, Rivian’s CEO, joins Automotive News reporter Laurence Iliff on the “Shift” podcast to talk about how Rivian reduced its tariff impacts from thousands of dollars to the “low hundreds of dollars” per vehicle. 

He also explains how Rivian is building a platform that will be prepared for autonomy to redefine vehicle ownership.