The Garage by Sonatus

In this episode of The Garage, host John Heinlein interviews safety expert Phil Koopman on the complex challenges of scaling autonomous vehicle fleets from hundreds to hundreds of thousands. Koopman identifies key hurdles, including mass software failures, broad safety definitions, infinite edge cases, and legal accountability gaps, stressing that machine learning's lack of common sense requires human oversight for rare events.

Recorded live at Auto Tech 2026, host John Heinlein interviews SAE International’s Tim Yerdon on how standards bodies unite industry competitors to solve billion-dollar challenges in software-defined and autonomous vehicles. The conversation highlights key initiatives like the Automated Vehicle Safety Consortium and SAE's efforts to balance open-source collaboration with technology differentiation.

Recorded live at Auto Tech 2026, this episode of The Garage features ZF North America President Ramiro Gutierrez explaining how software is transforming traditional chassis hardware like steering and suspension into dynamic, customizable driving experiences. He highlights how software-defined vehicles enable hardware reuse, over-the-air performance updates, and major innovations like steer-by-wire technology.

Recorded live at Auto Tech 2026, this episode features AutoMobility Advisors' Chip Goetzinger discussing the rise of software-defined vehicles, embedded connectivity, and changing OEM-supplier relationships. He also explores emerging automotive trends like vehicle commerce and digital identity, along with insights from his background as an amateur race car driver.

Recorded live at AutoTech 2026, host John Heinlein speaks with Stellantis's Mel Roberts on how AI and small language models (SLMs) are transforming the automotive user experience. They discuss the strategic deployment of AI in vehicles, focusing on local processing for low latency, predictive maintenance, and balancing physical controls with digital UX design.

Recorded live at AutoTech 2026, this episode of The Garage features Subaru's Amy Sgrignoli discussing how the brand prioritizes safety and customer experience in connected vehicle technology. Sgrignoli also shares her philosophy on servant leadership and introduces her new podcast, Learn to Lead Differently.

Recorded live at AutoTech 2026, this episode of The Garage features Sonatus host John Heinlein and Mobileye VP Nimrod Brickman discussing the evolution of ADAS and autonomous driving technologies. They explore Mobileye's growth into a comprehensive tier-one supplier, its advanced AI approaches, and how the integration of safety-critical features is making autonomous capabilities more accessible for lower-cost vehicles.

Recorded live at ACT Expo 2026, this podcast episode features Matt McLelland of Covenant Logistics discussing how the company evaluates diverse fleet technologies, from autonomous vehicles and electric trucks to data analytics. He highlights practical implementations like electric APUs and shares how combining data sources provides the context needed to proactively improve driver safety and wellbeing.

Recorded live at ACT Expo 2026, host John Heinlein interviews former UPS fleet manager Lawrence Bader on the evolution of fleet technology, including keyless systems, AI-driven predictive maintenance, and autonomous trucking. Bader emphasizes that to remain competitive, fleets must start small, iterate quickly, and integrate technologies across all operational departments.

In this podcast episode recorded live at the COVESA meeting, host John Heinlein interviews Roger Lanctot about how the automotive industry can leverage vehicle data to transition from a B2B to a B2C model, prioritizing driver personalization over data monetization to enhance customer engagement and loyalty.