EP15 - Has technology ruined cruise control? Drew rides in a Waymo!

Tesla Autopilot. Hyundai Highway Driving Assist 2. GM SuperCruise. Oh, and a Waymo robotaxi. This episode has it all.

Joe and Drew talk about their experiences of each and ask the crucial question: what’s it all for?

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⬇️ Download Drew’s free trend report from CES 2024: https://www.studiophro.com/ces-2024-report-download-form

🤝 Connect with us on LinkedIn Drew - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewpasmith/ Joe - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-simpson-92863a2/

🔗 Links Dude, where’s my self-driving car - the latest from The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/24065447/self-driving-car-autonomous-tesla-gm-baidu A crowd destroyed a driverless Waymo car in San Francisco: https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/11/24069251/waymo-driverless-taxi-fire-vandalized-video-san-francisco-china-town

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

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Click ‘Read more’ for the transcript

EP14 - Drew reports on CES 2024: AI-powered interfaces, grid independence, and calm technology

For over a decade now, the Consumer Electronics Show has also been one of the most significant automotive shows in the world.

In January 2024, after the year in which generative AI changed everything, Drew’s hopes were high for a few radical new takes on what the car might become when fused with artificial intelligence.

What he found was lipstick on a pig.

Join Joe and Drew as they take a look at the lowlights from the world’s largest trade show, and, yes, find some cause for joy.

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

Click ‘Read more’ for the transcript

EP13 - CyberWTF?! - What the new Tesla says about the state of design, and humanity.

Back in 2019, Drew and Joe disagreed on what the Tesla Cybertruck represented. Has anything changed in the past four years?

In this episode, Drew and Joe take a look at what the most polarising car in living memory means as a piece of technology, as a piece of design, and as a cultural artefact.

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

Click ‘Read more’ for the transcript

EP12 - Why China has the most exciting car market right now. Joe reports from Shanghai.

For two decades, China has been the goose that laid the golden egg for Western automakers.

Now, it might just be the market that screws the pooch.

Joe heads to Shanghai after a few years away to see just how far the Chinese manufacturers have come.

We explore how automotive culture is developing, and paint a picture of the challenges ahead for both Chinese and Western automotive manufacturers in this critical market.

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

Click ‘Read more’ for the transcript

Looking Out - The Podcast: Ep. 11

The Tokyo Motor Show, now known as the Japan Mobility Show, has always been one of the most surprising on the circuit.

Historically the launchpad for some of the wilder concepts the industry has seen, Tokyo has also represented something of a forbidden garden, full of of pocket-sized delights that preview new Kei car models that are soon to hit the streets.

Once upon a time, we’d look at those cars and think “Cute…” and move on. Yet in a world in which automobility desperately needs new answers to the challenges of increasing urbanisation and increasingly limited resources, Japan’s tiny car and sub-car concepts look more and more relevant.

In this show, Joe and Drew survey the Japan Mobility show, covering the hits (Toyota’s IMV 0, Mazda’s Iconic SP, Honda’s CI-MEV and Motocompacto) and the misses (Handa’s new Prelude and every Nissan at the show).

They also look at the opportunity that micromobility represents for Japanese automakers, and why it might just slip through their fingers.

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!

Click ‘Read more’ for the transcript

Looking Out - The Podcast: Ep. 10

There’s been a flood of news these past weeks about the slowdown in EV sales.

Challenging market conditions and the high cost of funding the transition to EVs is giving manufacturers cause for pause. Tesla is halting work on further factories, and GM and Honda scrapping a partnership to produce affordable EVs, for example/

Meanwhile, Mercedes EQ models are sat unloved and unsold on dealer lots, and the Chinese are struggling with overcapacity.

So what the heck is going on?

Is this just the expected chasm between the early adopters and the early majority of consumers in the EV adoption curve?

Or are there more fundamental issues with the product, sales, and service being offered by OEMs that will make that chasm so much harder to cross?

Click ‘Read more’ for the transcript