Rory, Maddie, and Peter dive into the quirky world of 'Car World,' a comedic performance art project that satirizes car culture. They discuss the recent unveiling of Ferrari's electric crossover interior, designed with input from renowned designer Jony Ive. The conversation highlights the blend of traditional and modern design elements, with mixed opinions on the aesthetic choices. The hosts reflect on the implications of such designs for the future of automotive interiors, balancing functionality with style, and the broader cultural context surrounding car enthusiasts.
Move fast, break things, enter the Room that grants your deepest desire! We're flooding the Zone, baby! Peter and Rory contemplate the Ferrari Luce, the U.S. aviation industry suffers new humiliations, and we check in on our longtime frenemies.
Don't forget to keep up with Alloy, where you can read Peter's write-up about Bathurst here: https://alloymag.com/bathurst-12-hour-preview/
PRODUCTION NOTE: your producer pal Matty is back 2 school until May, so the upload schedule might be a little funny while routines re-settle. Thank you for listening to the show + supporting us! Another installment of Patreon Dunk Tank is coming soon!
Filter:
|
TechnicalToo Afraid to Ask
Car
Ferrari electric crossover
"...the big thing that happened in the broader car world that was like discussed this week is the Ferrari Johnny I've interior..."
Ferrari is making a new electric car that looks like a crossover SUV. This is important because Ferrari usually makes fast sports cars, and now they're trying something different with electric power.
Ferrari is venturing into the electric vehicle market with a new crossover model. This vehicle represents a significant shift for the brand, known primarily for its high-performance gasoline-powered sports cars.
"...which is notable for having been designed either completely by or with a lot of input from the guy that basically does..."
The inside of a car, or its interior, is very important because it needs to look good and be comfortable to use. The mention of Johnny Ive means they want it to be stylish and easy to use, like Apple products.
The interior design of a car is crucial as it affects both aesthetics and functionality. In this case, the design input from a notable figure like Johnny Ive, known for his work at Apple, suggests a focus on modern, user-friendly design elements.
"...that kind of like he was that was him yep that's super clean cute round sedan like from the odds or whatever 21 C yeah fucking rad 1999 that was really cool..."
The Ford 021C concept was a car design that Ford created to show what future cars could look like. It had a smooth, round shape and was made to be stylish and modern for its time.
The Ford 021C was a concept car designed by Mark Newsom, showcasing a clean and rounded sedan design from the late 1990s. It was notable for its unique aesthetic and innovative features, representing Ford's forward-thinking design philosophy during that era.
"...they got hyped by Ferrari I guess like in the process of doing this they delivered to Ferrari for like massive reference books that were like the entire kind of history..."
Ferrari is a famous car company from Italy that makes very fast and expensive sports cars. They are known for their bright red cars and have a long history in car racing.
Ferrari is a renowned Italian luxury sports car manufacturer known for its high-performance vehicles and rich racing heritage. The brand is synonymous with speed, style, and exclusivity, often producing limited-edition models that are highly sought after by collectors.
"...and have like a real physical gauge um but kind of mix that I think the gauges are digital but..."
Analog gauges are the traditional round dials in cars that use needles to show things like speed or fuel level. They are simple and easy to read, giving a classic feel to the dashboard.
Analog gauges use physical needles to indicate values on a dial, providing a classic and straightforward way to read information like speed or fuel level. They are often appreciated for their simplicity and directness.
"...and have like a real physical gauge um but kind of mix that I think the gauges are digital but..."
Digital displays are screens in cars that show information like speed and fuel level using numbers instead of needles. They look more modern and can show different types of information easily.
Digital displays are electronic screens that show information using numbers and symbols, rather than traditional analog gauges with needles. They provide a modern look and can display a variety of data, such as speed, fuel level, and navigation information.
"...it's not like they were they didn't do the Porsche thing and just kind of like go all in where it's like yep we're gonna fucking transfer our you..."
Porsche is another well-known car brand from Germany that makes high-performance sports cars. They are famous for models like the Porsche 911, which is loved by car enthusiasts.
Porsche is a German automobile manufacturer renowned for its high-performance sports cars, particularly the iconic Porsche 911. The brand has a strong motorsport presence and is known for its engineering excellence.
"...the world endurance championship hypercar uh ranks I didn't see who's out yeah Alpine is out..."
The World Endurance Championship is a racing series where cars compete in long races, sometimes lasting 24 hours. It's known for events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where teams race to see who can cover the most distance in that time.
The World Endurance Championship (WEC) is a premier sports car racing series that features endurance races, including the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans. It showcases manufacturers and teams competing in various classes, including the Hypercar class, which features the latest technology and innovations in automotive performance.
"...this is a uh this is a Renault thing new new Renault CEO does not give a..."
Renault is a car company from France that makes many types of vehicles, including electric cars. They also participate in racing events.
Renault is a French multinational automobile manufacturer known for producing a wide range of vehicles, including cars, vans, and electric vehicles. The company has a strong presence in motorsports, particularly in Formula 1 and endurance racing.
"...they're working on new regs for 2030 um just kind of streamlining them a bit between the the two classes that the LMDH and LMH uh kind of versions just bring those down into one spec um but I think I..."
LMDH is a type of race car that uses both electric and gasoline power. It's designed for long-distance races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, allowing different teams to compete together.
LMDH stands for Le Mans Daytona Hybrid, a class of endurance racing that combines hybrid technology with traditional racing formats. It allows manufacturers to compete in both the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
"...they're working on new regs for 2030 um just kind of streamlining them a bit between the the two classes that the LMDH and LMH uh kind of versions just bring those down into one spec um but I think I..."
LMH is a category of race cars that are very fast and use both electric and traditional fuel. They compete in major endurance races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
LMH stands for Le Mans Hypercar, a class of endurance racing that features high-performance hybrid vehicles. It is part of the FIA World Endurance Championship and is designed to showcase advanced automotive technology.
"...to get back and it's kind of get his Lamar one holding holding their feet to the fire a little bit I don't know how how uh how much of a difference it'll make but..."
Endurance racing is a kind of car racing that lasts a long time, like several hours or even a whole day. Teams need to make sure their cars are fast and can last without breaking down.
Endurance racing is a type of motorsport where teams compete over long distances or durations, often lasting several hours or even days. It tests not only the speed of the cars but also their reliability and the skill of the drivers.
"...but uh but Porsche will be back I don't know at you know at some point uh to top class endurance racing Alpine which is unfortunate because I mean that car has has shown some promise..."
Alpine is a brand that makes sports cars, and the A480 is one of their race cars. It's built to compete in long races and is designed to be very fast and efficient.
The Alpine A480 is a race car designed for endurance racing, specifically in the LMP1 category. It has been competitive in events like the 24 Hours of Le Mans and is known for its lightweight design and advanced aerodynamics.
"...I just thought an interesting the um uh Red Bull formula one wheels are now solid..."
Formula One is a very popular type of car racing where the fastest cars compete on special tracks. It's known for having the best drivers and the most advanced car technology.
"...when that became a thing in the early 80s um uh the the uh kind of flush uh oh disc yeah yeah yeah like I mean I'm thinking of like like go go image shirts a 1982..."
Aerodynamics is about how air flows around cars. Good aerodynamics helps cars go faster and use less fuel by making it easier for them to cut through the air.
Aerodynamics refers to the way air moves around things, particularly vehicles. In automotive design, optimizing aerodynamics can improve fuel efficiency and performance by reducing drag.
"...go image shirts a 1982 Transam like Pontiac Transam and they had like these fucking these great kind of bowling ball..."
The Pontiac Trans Am is a sporty car that was popular in the 1980s. The 1982 version is known for its cool looks and strong performance, making it a favorite among car enthusiasts.
The Pontiac Trans Am is a performance version of the Pontiac Firebird, known for its sporty design and powerful engine options. The 1982 model is part of the third generation and is notable for its distinctive styling and performance capabilities.
"...that um that the the tesla model s and model x is the x the x the the falcon wing one um are being discontinued..."
The Tesla Model S is a high-end electric car that can go very fast and has a long battery life. It's known for being one of the first successful electric sedans on the market.
The Tesla Model S is a luxury all-electric sedan known for its performance, range, and advanced technology features. It has played a significant role in popularizing electric vehicles and has received numerous awards for its innovation.
"...it bears remarking upon that um that that the the tesla model s and model x is the x the x the the falcon wing..."
The Tesla Model Y is an electric SUV that can drive long distances without needing gas. It's known for being high-tech and having a lot of space inside, which makes it a popular choice for families.
The Tesla Model Y is a compact all-electric SUV that shares many components with the Model 3 sedan. It has gained popularity for its impressive range, advanced technology, and spacious interior, making it a significant player in the electric vehicle market.
"...tesla model s and model x is the x the x the the falcon wing one um are being discontinued um end of an e..."
The Ford Falcon is a type of car that Ford made, especially popular in the past. It was known for being powerful and is remembered fondly by car enthusiasts.
The Ford Falcon is a nameplate that has been used for various models produced by Ford, particularly in the United States and Australia. It is significant for its role in the muscle car era and its impact on the automotive market, especially in Australia where it was a staple for decades.
"...upon that um that that the the tesla model s and model x is the x the x the the falcon wing one um are bei..."
The Tesla Model X is an electric SUV that has unique doors that open upwards like wings. It's packed with technology and is designed to be very safe, making it a popular choice for those looking for a fancy electric car.
The Tesla Model X is a luxury all-electric SUV known for its distinctive falcon-wing doors and advanced technology features. It offers impressive performance, a spacious interior, and a high level of safety, making it a notable option in the electric vehicle segment.
An electric vehicle, or EV, is a car that runs on electricity instead of gas. They are better for the environment and can save money on fuel.
An electric vehicle (EV) is a type of vehicle that is powered entirely or partially by electricity, rather than traditional gasoline or diesel fuel. EVs are known for being more environmentally friendly and often have lower operating costs.
Select text to request an explanation
I'm just going to go ahead and make a little and control B audio label in the
audacity project and check if any of this useable.
The scare quotes car podcast.
Make a super cut.
For people who understand that cars again in scare quotes are bad with your
friends Rory and Maddie and Peter.
What's been going on in in car world?
The William Banks thing.
Do you guys know about car world?
No.
What's that?
You really wouldn't talk about this.
This has the ring of something we've done.
I don't know.
I don't know.
Call it up.
Yeah.
Okay.
So there's a I think he's a comedian in I believe in New York who for the
last I don't know six, eight years has been doing this performance art thing
where he it's a cult and they he is he came from another planet called car world
and he's got a message for for regular world anyway there's like this huge group
of 20 people who pretends to be in this cult really funny but it is called car
world and it just keeps happening it's like I mean I feel like we kind of do
live in car world yeah that's I think part of the joke I to be honest I kind of
lost track of it after a long time but I keep seeing William Banks like he'll be
in a video where he's at the club with clavicular in jail for a long time he
wasn't seemed to be in prison for a while but it seems we're going really well having
to know who these people are I hate having to learn about a streamer it's
always the worst part of my week when I have to take in information about a
streamer from the internet or like an internet personality under the age of
25 it's always like psychic damage that I will never recover from I think the
the part of it that got gets to me is like the the sensation that these people
are being kind of spawned into the world now where it's like because I'm not
seeing necessarily like any rise and popularity yeah you're not there at the
at the ground level you just yeah you just there's a new guy that you need to
know about and he is being kept in a cage by Peter Teal and released to do
streaming and and to mug people at the club anyway it's like when it's like
when there's a Disney star who becomes like a chart person suddenly and you
have to find out from other people it's like no no they were big on Disney
Channel it's like oh for children okay but like I okay I'm 35 no reason for me
to know about that yeah I can't know what reason now if I had children I
might know what's going on in Disney Channel otherwise I do not have a
motivation to find out what's going on on the Disney Channel which is like I can't
I don't even me reading the trades I don't I don't get that stuff
you guys here people are mad at Michelle yo yeah she said she doesn't
understand American politics and doesn't care or whatever and if we everyone had
to be like wait a minute she's married to who and it's like hello come to Tired
Potter we could have told you that one strange isn't it yeah curious funny she
doesn't have a real really have any concerns about the Epstein stuff cuz he's
in there interesting funny quite a lot
um car world stuff you know obviously pedo stuff I think there's a lot of that
in the news lately but the I think the big thing that happened in the broader
car world that was like discussed this week is the Ferrari Johnny I've interior
yeah yeah so this is this is the Ferrari's forthcoming electric crossover
thing yep which we haven't seen but they did kind of unveil the interior of it
yes which is notable for having been designed either completely by or with a
lot of input from the guy that basically does I'm the I the iPod like every
other Apple like Apple shit from when Apple shit was like and you might be
thinking Dieter Rams and it's like no no no just the guy who copied Dieter Rams
entire aesthetic and career the Johnny who designed the who made the I mean I
know that he did like the the the iPod but what about like go go back further go
back to like the the original iMac the colored ones was that him was that Johnny
Ives or I don't I don't know some story that's a good question I think I mean
Johnny Ive to me is is like I said I associate him with that um Dieter Rams
ripoff style more so than let's see if I can look it doesn't look like he would
have done the oh wait yeah he did the translucent iMacs he did okay so so he
he's he's got a history that is that is both that both encompasses very clean
utilitarian design but also tiny touch of whimsy yeah so color jump
Jomney Ive he he left Apple in like 2019 I think and he's started this company
love from which is like a design consultancy this is I think the first
actual product I've seen from them I want to say it's him and a guy named Mark
Newsom oh he was he was at was new some Mark Newsom with a C right no yeah Mark
Newsom with a C was he was he at Ford was he one of the guys who did that that
Ford 021 concept or whatever it was do you remember that that kind of like he
was that was him yep that's super clean cute round sedan like from the odds or
whatever 21 C yeah fucking rad 1999 that was really cool but so they they have
this consultancy they got hyped by Ferrari I guess like in the process of
doing this they delivered to Ferrari for like massive reference books that were
like the entire kind of history and vibe and like aesthetic history of Ferrari
and like kind of like everything that has informed their understanding of the
brand yeah which also like I'd love to see that yeah I know it's like I'm way
more interested in that than the actual right product but it's it's I don't know
it's like one of those things where it's like the fucking budget for this
project must have been absurd because that's like a year's worth of work for a
bunch of people oh yeah just the books yeah and I will say like have you guys
seen the interior like the yeah I saw I mean I read that story and I saw I mean
I haven't watched the videos but I did see a bunch of the the pics and yeah I
mean you know and and setting aside the fact that like of course we're talking
about a fucking Ferrari that's gonna cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and
it's completely irrelevant to fucking the any of our lives or the lives of
anybody listening to this that aside just as as a kind of exercise aesthetic
thing I think this is this is cool I think I feel like this this and you know
possibly portends kind of like you know I think we've all been wondering it's
like at some point the fucking pendulum has to swing back from just like this
insanity of just screens and tech in cars but but this seems like a really
thoughtful way of kind of marrying kind of the best of what kind of you know new
digital technologies and interfaces can can can bring to to a car into the
experience of operating a car marrying that with kind of traditional tactile
controls and and and kind of in some forms that that were you know familiar
with because they were arrived at over decades of of refined men in common
sense and then maybe we don't need to throw the fucking baby out with the
bathwater entirely so I think it's it's I mean what I saw of it it's it seemed
like a pretty cool approach and and maybe a cause for for some some hope you
know in in terms of like you know could this influence other other projects and
and other car makers in terms of their ways I so I have a different I like I
really like a lot of the like the steering wheel is gorgeous and like is
one of those things that you look at and you're like oh this is going to be such a
joy to use just like you can you can see proportions wise and like everything
about it looks looks really nice and I think like the buttons and switches like
themselves look really nice and very like intuitive and like easy to use and
like that stuff is great there is a lot about the actual design that looks very
dated to me that's like of its time like there's a specific like the like
main screen is like a very Apple like yeah big aluminum bezel with glass in
the middle and like two little maybe red and yellow type buttons on the top that
just look kind of offensively of their time to me where it's like oh this looks
like a phone from 10 years ago and also like you know I think regular listeners
the podcast would say like what what object in Roy's life does he hate the
absolute most and it's like his phone constant source of torture for him so
it's weird because it's like I think from a functional use user standpoint like
it actually looks great and like it looks so so easy to use but it is from a
styling standpoint it's just like man does Jenny I have any other stuff they
know how to do or is it just I mean yeah I mean I feel you the the way I read it
is is that the kind of the insistence on those forms to me feels like like almost
just kind of like an assertion like yeah like like like they're basically like
want people to know that the Apple guy did this well and not even not even like saying
not even being so much as just like you know tying this to to Apple specifically
or whatever but but it feels almost like just saying flat out look this is the form
that works we all fucking figured this out in 2007 you know yeah it's like there's a reason
that your phone hasn't looked any different for the last you know 20 years now and your laptop too
and that is that that we've we figured this out we have solved this and to continue to try to
iterate it or or you know improve upon it in some way it's just like it's like trying to make
like a new version of the fucking paper airplane you know it's just like no this is this is the
version that works just fucking and and you know and just kind of take that as just for granted so
it's just like we're not gonna we're not gonna waste any more time on this and I guess like
it is kind of an extreme statement in that it's it's like it's very just kind of Bauhaus and
very just like there's an austerity to it in in in terms of just like we're not gonna do anything
you know we see no reason to do anything more fun or more kind of ornamental with this
where you know maybe you could have like like another approach would just be to integrate
that you know take those same elements and just kind of style them in a in a way that that
is a little less you know specifically kind of I mean I think like that some of the switches
and some of the switches and stuff are pretty baroque like the there's a couple like
yeah I mean that's there's like kind of like toggle switch type things and yeah and like with
it whatever the gauges I thought was kind of fun and because the way that they they combine
um both physical like actual like moving needles you know and and um you know physical like
dials and gauges but combining them with with digital displays in a way that like
you know for goes the the I mean obviously because it's a Ferrari so cost isn't a concern
so whereas you know in in a cheap car you know just the whole fucking dash is just going to be
a digital display but it's like um well no we can actually like spend some money and and and and uh
and have like a real physical gauge um but kind of mix that I think the gauges are digital but
they're the gauges are digital but they're in a binocle like they look well I think isn't isn't
like the the I feel like at least the the speedometer needle or maybe the tack too are both uh no
there's no because it's electric so there's no tack but but the isn't there's an animation of it
changing so like if you change modes it'll actually like change it just looks a lot like
oh I thought I thought it was driven I thought it was like an actual like gear driven
speedometer I thought that I read that somewhere I mean it if it is I don't know how they're doing
because like like I said that the the numbers change as you switch through the modes
you know what I mean so like the uh oh maybe the numbers but what about the needle the needle
itself is the needle not physical I think I think it is needle might be real but there's like the
launch button is this huge like plunger thing I mean a lot of it's really cool looking and I
think like maybe to me it's just like the like the one part that really struck me as offensive was
like the the main screen with the two little buttons just look like an icon from when Apple was
kind of doing its like skewmorphic design stuff where it's like everything is digital but is made
to look like it exists in 3d space and like that to me just seems very dated it's like it's almost
like a lot of this stuff now that I'm looking at it up close it's like if they just would have
like used black aluminum or darker aluminum in some of the places it wouldn't strike me
so much as like this is an apple product well maybe maybe you can get it um you know it's like
you can get you can get your you can get your laptop in you know the carbon gray or the or the
rose gold um so yeah you could also just take a sharpie to this too yep just wrap it and just
sharpie all of it yeah I just sent a a motor turn article and like halfway down there's an animation
that shows the speedometer and stuff changing or the background a bit changing okay um but yeah I
don't know it's like I don't I to me it's also like I have like uh like overall I think the the apple
aesthetic is it just feels like of its time like it feels like it you know what I mean like it feels
like it's from a different world a little bit and I think like even like the modern modern
phones and stuff just all feel like look again it's like uh um just like you were saying Peter
like the form hasn't changed much and like the this is like um you know like the little squirkel
kind of like it's like it just feels dated to me like it feels old and I think like that especially
that center stack in the Ferrari thing feels very like uh like something that would have looked
really fresh 10 years ago um but I don't know yeah I just think I think that they're banking on that
just being like I think that that will that will register that way to people right now
but it will just become so standard and commonplace that um like like kind of the same way that um
that in 1997 when you heard uh uh like an 808 drum machine yeah that would have sounded dated to you
then but but now like now that we've all been listening to fucking 808s for like 45 fucking years
or whatever like no that's just that's just drum sounds man yeah oh drums yeah oh normal drums um
that's just that's just electronic drums you know and and um I feel like like there might be a little
bit of the same dynamic going on with with that design language too that yeah I mean it this is
this is hitting the point then for me where it's like this sounds like the 808 in 1997 where it's
like fun ironically but um but otherwise seems old yeah if it's like an earnest the um the
the ferrari thing overall I think is like you know the ferrari made a huge show of like we're not
doing an eevee with luca de montezolmo uh back in the day and then they like decided to do that
they're like one of the companies that decided to do it and like now have this albatross of like a
hilariously expensive electric vehicle project that is like going to be thrust into a market
for eevees that like kind of doesn't exist yeah um well I kind of feel oh go ahead finish your
thought well I just I think this like johnny ive thing uh it's like all right like what do we got
you know what I mean like what can we throw at this thing to uh you know because I feel like you
know whatever it's a ferrari the new ferrari is going to sell out they're going to sell every one
of these they can make like that's just the way the way this this goes at this point but um
you got to be wondering what ferrari is like um internal but yeah I don't know like I like I was
going to say like I there's a point I think like all these automakers where it's like everybody
kind of understands the position they're in vis-a-vis the investment they've already made so like
nobody is saying like hey maybe we should think about this you know what I mean like maybe we
don't have to do this I think I think in the case of ferrari I feel I feel like they're kind of
uniquely well situated to I mean because because it's not like they were they didn't do the Porsche
thing and just kind of like go all in where it's like yep we're gonna fucking transfer our you
you know transform our entire product line it's like for for I mean it was kind of like this
understanding that it's like look what this fucking company is about you know like our entire heritage
and our continued appeal is based on this pretty traditional thing um yeah we are entertaining the
notion of doing something different to augment that product line um uh but you know but we're
absolutely you know we're we're not about like we're not going to pretend that we're completely
you know undergoing some sort of like seismic transformation um so so I think it's it's easy
for them just to be like well look this is just a thing that we're doing you know yeah it's this
electric uh flyer um yeah exactly and and it kind of gives them a little bit more freedom to
to kind of uh I don't know get a little crazy with it in ways that that uh
might end up producing better and more interesting results yeah I mean it'll be it'll be fine I think
it's I'm very interested to see like what the actual reception of the car is um yeah yeah
interesting to see I mean like like as opposed to like Jaguar right yeah like where it's just like
completely fucking all or nothing all the eggs are in one basket yes yeah it's like very small
and there's one egg man it's like you got one the egg is in one basket all your eggs which is one
egg is in one basket it's like don't fuck up that egg man take really good care of it fucking keep it
warm be very gentle Faberge fucking egg yeah yeah um yeah I mean Porsche too a bit but um
yeah did you guys see that there has been another um another defection from the um
the world endurance championship hypercar uh ranks I didn't see who's out yeah Alpine is out
announced that this will be that 2026 will be their final year competing in hypercar
um and this is a uh this is a Renault thing new new Renault CEO does not give a
shit about motorsports and also like I mean and this is another one where it's like they've gone
all in with fucking electrification and um um and things are not going so great so
so there's they're cutting a lot of stuff so I mean kind of not not uh not dissimilar from
from uh the the Porsche withdrawal uh from hypercar yeah and also probably less Obama I mean it's
like the Porsches were very competitive and competent didn't have a competition reason to
to not have confidence in their um yeah well and yeah I mean and it there is a chance that
the Porsches will come back at some point um possibly even before kind of the you know they're
working on new regs for 2030 um just kind of streamlining them a bit between the the two classes
that the LMDH and LMH uh kind of versions just bring those down into one spec um but I think I
think Roger is is very uh antsy to to get back and it's kind of get his Lamar one holding holding
their feet to the fire a little bit I don't know how how uh how much of a difference it'll make but
we'll see but uh but Porsche will be back I don't know at you know at some point uh to top class
endurance racing Alpine which is unfortunate because I mean that car has has shown some
promise I mean especially I mean they won a race last year last season um towards the end of the
this will be their last year but but lots more coming so
uh I just thought an interesting the um uh Red Bull formula one wheels are now solid
there's no opening at all for venting there's no opening for um for aero purposes it's one solid
piece which is really fucking rad I think like that's like a early 60s like pre-ero thing the last
time that's like like moon discs yeah yeah like I you remember like the the Lotus um
you know like the Jim Clark Lotus whatever the yeah yeah yeah it had those like kind of they look
like fuchs with no holes kind of mm-hmm they look like that that's really cool um sorry aside
gotta bring uh bring it back man I think I think you know like that was an early um
that was an early kind of like like aero thing like when when when when when aerodynamics went
mainstream when that became a thing in the early 80s um uh the the uh kind of flush
uh oh disc yeah yeah yeah like I mean I'm thinking of like like go go image shirts a 1982
Transam like Pontiac Transam and they had like these fucking these great kind of bowling ball
wheels that's what everybody called because they're just like these black discs with with like cutouts
for the lugs uh they look like a fucking bowling ball um and I mean they weren't particularly
good-looking but um um to me that was just like it was so avant-garde you know to 12 12-year-old
me uh it was like oh cool and then of course they just fucking you know they went away
yeah everybody's like yeah it's like yeah people don't like these um they just want the cooler
look you know they want actual good-looking wheels instead and um so we just kind of those kind of
fell by the wayside but I feel like um yeah it's fun it's fun to see some some aero wheels
getting back in there yeah yeah I'm stoked it's really good um what else is what else is happening
in car world I feel like not a ton we said do we talk about the um NHTSA AI thing no I don't think
you know what I'm talking about okay so it's like the the head of uh the national
it's actually not NHTSA it is um it's worse than that it's the department transportation well that's
not that's not surprising yeah uh so US department of transportation um is planning um the new head
of it is Gregory Zerzan um it is the first agency that is fully enabled to use yeah to use AI to
draft rules um so this is like this is the yeah I thought it was gonna be rules about
using AI like to regulate the use of AI in a car but no this is about using AI to write the
regulation cool say yeah this is about using AI to determine the processes uh and requirements
that keep planes from falling out of the sky yeah at any moment yeah so his notes uh this is a quote
from the head of the DOT we don't need the perfect rule on XYZ we don't even need a very good rule
on XYZ we want good enough we're flooding the zone I did see that quote and I guess I didn't it
didn't register what what the context was about aviation regulations that is um yeah that's
fucking awesome this is the most accelerationist thing I've ever heard we're gonna flood the zone
but for planes we're gonna we're gonna flood the zone we're gonna flood the zone with just
fucking shit it's like they don't need to be good they don't even need to be
it's they just need to be good enough it's like we're gonna get it wet let's get in I don't know
yeah yeah I mean I it is flood the zone flood the zone I this is uh this was like when I read this
this kind of like I think a a large feature in this era is like the stupidity is like remember
that column in the last just like really aggressive stupidity man it's like yeah but it's like remember
the column that was like uh the cruelty is the point where it's like the point is yeah yeah I think
this time like the stupidity is part of it's like we are but it's like I guess this kind of fell
apart for me because it's like um there would have to be some super smart person at the top who is
like oh we're tormenting them by doing all this stupid shit right um I haven't seen any evidence
of that per se but it does seem like the stupid shit the the degree to which everything is stupid
does seem maybe particularly aimed at making certain people feel insane when they come across the
stuff but it's functional that's a knock-on effect that we all go crazy but the the the the primary
effect is that things a lot of things go very wrong and the secondary effect is that we all
sit here and go insane about it yeah but it's a good yeah I don't know yeah it's like I don't
know if they actually are trying to torment us but it is like it's happening you wouldn't do it
differently yeah I mean it wouldn't do it differently it's it's taking it's taking that the philosophy
of of move fast and break things yeah um which which I feel like initially was was kind of like
developed as like as like bringing this kind of contrary in mindset into you know uh like
we got to shake things up we got to um you know we got to go into this fucking stagnant
environment and really just fucking like we know we got we got to disrupt right and this is and this
is and and by doing this this is going to be like the the engine of progress and and by breaking
things up like we are we are yeah like uh you know like making things more fertile for for
like new possibilities and and and for like improvement and and and new new new things
that that um for progress and and and moving forward what this feels like it's just like
taking it's just like stripping away any of that that context or intention and just
and just just like embracing just the the literal part of breaking things right just completely
like unmoored from any of that other stuff it's just like no the point is just to break
things right what move fast break things was was said by people whose job was like don't forget a
semicolon at the end of your line of code because then something will go this is like like in the
real world no the break the thing the thing that you are breaking is a real thing is a plane
it's a gigantic fucking machine that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars it will take
fucking weeks to take apart and repair i mean that's like that's the that's the the dot it's
like yeah this is a plane with 300 people on it um and i i think like the like maddie what you were
saying is correct like the move fast break things like mark zuckerberg said that about
early facebook which is like about the least consequential product exact and yes and also
of note turned out really bad for the world like it that whole process ended up really bad so it's
like in consequential product at the time it became consequential in a lot of very bad ways
you know a lot of a lot of a lot of it is because of that approach of like yes that devil may care
kind of approach to to developing or whatever but it's like yeah disrupting the social contract
which is always good to disrupt yeah it is like i i think in a lot of these cases too it's like
people of a certain age who who really got into tech people who are like running a lot of companies
now or of the age to be running a lot of companies now took all of those like they love saying move
fast and break things because mark with zuckerberg said it when he was 23 or whatever right but it's
that doesn't fucking apply to everything exactly it applies to very few things i would say a very
tiny proportion of things you will ever work on involve like move fast and break something
first most things in life are measured twice cut once i but i'd minimum like to start yeah
and it's like the you know it's like don't be afraid of fucking up it's kind of like the
easier way to say the move fast to break things thing but it's like
yeah it doesn't literally mean break things yeah and it's like yeah and and flooding the zone
it's a it's really bad and it's also just like um all of this is like that
Silicon Valley tech mindset uh-huh which is stupid to begin with and the product of a lot
of very shallow stupid thinking being absorbed by even dumber people who also are 20 years too old
to have gone through that process and learned any lessons from it you know what i mean it's like
it's like they they weren't there at facebook during the move fast and break things era where like
they could see the impacts and effects of of how that attitude kind of like played out in the
company they just like read about it in a book or saw it in a movie and they're like oh yeah we're
just gonna that's just a thing that like that's my uh that is my ethos that like defines my approach
to my work now um it's bad man i don't know like this is like it's bad it's bad it's all bad it's
so bad it's bad man it's going bad i think i i think like i said i i've said this before on the
pod but it's like um it's one of those things where it's like uh really testing my um cool
ironic remove uh approach to this stuff where it's just like okay this has gotten too stupid no
um i can't i can't be chill about it um yeah oh there's this huge thing on online this week about
chris haze you know there's like this huge like very obviously like coordinated um
pr push around ai they're doing the like oh is ai sentient is ai like uh is it a god or whatever
it's like you know it was in the atlantic was it like yes and like all these different yeah
but it's like um and then the people are being fed this like um and it and it's a response obviously
to like the hype train like to the fact that the market is starting to second guess
yeah yeah and it's like commitment to ai yeah and it's like now and it's funny because it's like
this is another one of those things but it's just like um we've talked about this on the pod too
but it's like the reason this stuff doesn't work is ultimately down to like just the basic functions
of capitalism where it's like you can't make money on this like oh it's not a business then it's like
it's so funny because it's like oh this is the moonshot this is like uh whatever and it's like well
there's one key difference uh between this in the moonshot and it's like if this starts to look
unlikely you'll run out of money um and like that's that's the difference like that's the system um
asserting itself but i think like anyway that's and that's why they're all insisting that that
i mean a while back you had uh you know like a few weeks or or months ago you had uh god who
was it was it uh was it teal or was it like one of those guys um uh basically saying i was like
well you know like um yeah we think we think it would be totally proper for for the the the
government to to damelman yeah yeah it was out yeah you're right it was it was altman like
basically saying like this isn't this is a national security issue and and ultimately um you know the
government is gonna have to underwrite our our um backstop this but it's like that's you want to
shake the confidence of the market start saying stuff like that but i think like the um and it's
like they probably they probably will get bailed out i mean i think like the trump administration
is deep enough in the stuff that they probably will use our tax dollars to take care of the situation
but um but anyway they're doing this pr push around like is it sentient is it like uh
you know is this going to destroy all jobs all white collar jobs or whatever and there was some
like like national pundit whatever who's got a high six figures job writing one column a month
and was like you know the left should really be invested in making a plan for what happens
if this all comes true and it all like wipes out all these jobs and it's like
to why is it our problem a that probably won't happen but it's like i don't have any
fucking power like i don't have any like you know what am i like i'm i am the most along for the
ride guys that there is like it's like like i could yeah i could make a plan like i have all
kinds of plans i could i think the only the only real plans that you could make for that
eventuality um or to forestall that possibility uh would be ones that would land uh anybody
involved uh in prison like terminator two type plans that those are like you could do that stuff
but it's like a even that wouldn't even change anything and b it's like but it's like uh
it's so funny to listen to like these people and i i mean i think in increasing like that
that like pundit class or whatever totally unmoored like totally like not and it's like
i don't know maybe their job and maybe they're like maybe they're in that position because
like they have to pretend that everything is like it's like well when we have the midterms
this fall we can vote about it or whatever it's like that's not what's happening here guys like
that's not what we're doing and it's also like the um that's day i think too is it's just like
what if this succeeds on its merit and replaces all uh whatever 50 percent of jobs and these like
uh yeah so then then what we'll probably want to do is have like ubi and then like a really robust
like social safety net for people who lose their jobs and like will retrain people and it's like
none of that shit's fucking happening like if that happens what'll happen is everybody will
be out of a job and that's it like that's just the end it's like yeah but it's like but it's like
bro we can't even fucking get health care together i mean we've been working on that for
fucking you know decades there are there are bridges collapsing i can thrive to sweep bridges
that are currently collapsing it's like but it's like yeah don't don't worry about what the plan is
dude like there's it doesn't matter do not trust the plan there's no plan don't trust anything
the not only is there no plan but there's no use for a plan like there's no like there's no reason
to have a plan it's like there's no there's no foundation around there are no variables which
i could base a plan around that i can feel any confidence well that but there's like there's
also no uh mechanism for me to enact any part of the plan no no no no no the smart goal is like
what like what's a measurable outcome i lay on the ground and uh i i hope that a car doesn't hit me
like too like it up too painful spot when it happens like there's no yeah there is no fucking
like department of labor has to pay to send me back to school for me to get a job because there's
jobs there's no job there's nothing that yeah it's so it's like um
the idea that like we as in like whatever blue sky users or whatever should be formulating some
kind of a plan to rescue ourselves in the in the case uh we're 50 of white collar jobs are destroyed
it's like it's just it's so offensive and it's also like you like you are so stupid to have that
thought like that that like that it's like what do you think is happening here like i don't know
like how does your brain or just like like game that out like what's like i said like what is
this circumstance under which like a plan having a plan would be of any use to you whatsoever and it's
like i don't know i guess the one thing to a plan that doesn't involve malicious yeah exactly
even that even that it's like that's what i'm saying it's like like how many would you have to
before you get to any meaningful impact here and it's like a lot a lot i think like um but it's so
it's so funny and it's like i don't know i mean i think like the and i got to go here in a second but
the the funny thing about this whole tech thing and like the whole like
there are all these instances where like
this like i remember like evie is a really good one evie is like probably a good thing on balance
that didn't happen but it was like evie's were being pushed very hard relative to other types
of products um there's a lot of momentum and there was a lot of talk i think like in the car
business and outside of the car business of like this is in inevitability this is happening um and
i think like um that was i mean there's still people who believe that and i think people who
respect and who know their stuff believe that but i think like um you know i can remember the
timelines i can remember like the um automakers making their kind of plans and pronouncements
or whatever but i can also remember them having like this sense of certainty around like about
how and when this was all going to happen and it's like ultimately consumers just said no
to it i mean i think like there's there's more to it than that but it's like um
people didn't buy the cars and it's like that was it's like for whatever reason like there's a lack
of investment there's like a lack of like support federally like all kinds of stuff but it's like
people just rejected the product and i think like that same thing is happening with the ai thing
happened with the blockchain thing happened with like the nfts and all that stuff where it's just
like people just didn't want it and it's like or metaverse is a better example where it's just like
we built this whole fucking thing and it's just like well and the thing that all of those things
have in common is that um ultimately they weren't even designed to be like fucking successful
products they were just these fucking ways of just gassing up the fucking stock value or just
like just give like basically being like a way for for people on the inside to um to just make
a bunch of fucking quick cash and then get out before that's fucking like that's the whole and
i think like that i guess like my part of the point here is like that is in the post facebook
like post silicon valley era right that is the whole economy and that is the whole like that's
the only way to make money it's the only way to is it's like these little um temporary ephemeral
projects that are like i raised a bunch of money investment money yeah i paid myself a massive
salary i got out yes and like and that's it like it doesn't have to ever like making it into a
product is somebody else's problem or it's nobody's problem it's just like uh or there's another
thing to move on to yeah but my point is to is it's like this ai thing has every earmark of
like a technology that is being kind of disregarded by the public in a in the sense that like it is
not being adopted a big enough clip um where you can ever hope to to make money making an ai
like that's just like you know you're whatever you're you're a half of half a trillion dollars
into it you plan to be a trillion dollars into it uh there's all this expense needed to get to the
point where you think maybe some people um would would sign up or like find this useful or productive
for like a you know helping their job or whatever but it's the first time where like i've seen this
at where you're like oh maybe they maybe there's enough desperation in this one now where it's
like they have to force it through like they have you know what i mean where it's like yeah the
metaverse thing which is like wow fuck it like we fucked up i mean it's the same thing yeah no it's
the same i mean it's it's like what i was just saying the other day about bitcoin where i i don't
i don't see bitcoin ever going to zero just because there's i mean it's there are too many people
invested in it and when i say people i mean just like like well no i mean like fucking people
in power yeah um uh that it's like no they they need this they need for this to to and so the
whatever it fucking takes um can we just finish with with uh just i mean a story from a couple
of weeks ago yeah um that i think just kind of underscores all of this and and we haven't
we haven't talked about about elon uh in a while um we've we've we've had kind of a nice a nice break
but um but i feel like it it uh it bears remarking upon that um that that the the tesla model s and
model x is the x the x the the falcon wing one um are being discontinued um end of an era um and
and um and the reason the the ostensible or the the purported reason that they are being
discontinued is because um because tesla is is committing uh 20 billion dollars and and and
they're yeah all of their their kind of energy into um into making optimus three human robots
that that according to elon musk will quote move the needle on us gdp
i i which um i don't know man it's just it's so fucking funny on its face um the idea that like
these these robots that are like humanoid robots that cost what like five thousand dollars or something
or i think like twenty thousand dollars yeah it's like this is good like well nobody's buying
nobody's buying her fucking shitty ten-year-old cars anymore um so um but but you're gonna love
our fucking um our rosy the fucking jetsons robot robots it's like the dream is real um i mean
and and then and then a week later um another story um uh tesla to a one hundred trillion
dollar market cap elon musk elon musk's response may shock you um no elon elon
barely elon thinks that that's that's totally ridi totally um uh reasonable expectation um
and it and i think like this is the thing that we i talk about like where you can learn a lot
about the world through cars but it's like tesla and elon have been such a huge part of my
like scales falling off the eyes thing because it's like if you need to demonstrate how fake
the economy and business and tech and all that stuff is it's like just spend an hour reading the
tesla wikipedia page and it's like the thing is it's like um like i read tesla model s model x
getting wound down and i'm like oh they're winding down the company like right because
those are like two very old products they don't have the money obviously or don't have whatever
desire or whatever to to replace them with another car and it's like model s like does the world
need another model like full-size e v sedan no um model x does make sense as a product like
more than some of their other stuff um but it's like whatever they're they were a piece of shit to
begin with they're now super old i mean it's like model x is 10 years old but it's built off of model
s architecture which is even older yeah like nobody nobody has a 10 year old e v like that's
just like ancient technology um but the humanoid robot thing and the eye thing it's just like
i mean we talk about all the time but it's just like the elon like how does he keep getting away
with this thing where it's like and i don't even think like obviously like the easy explanation
is like the market is very credulous but it's like it's not it's not just that it's credulous it's
that it needs to believe that our fucking entire fucking economy is it's dependent upon the the
belief yeah but even the thing is like even if you even if it's like the you have to assume
there's like a layer of like very savvy people at the most evil type uh funds and and uh banks in
the world and it's like um those people know that the meme stock thing at tesla is kind of immaterial
where it's like the fact they're never going to do any of this stuff they're never gonna land on the
moon no one wants a humanoid robot or whatever it's like yeah but can we right now create conditions
where the stock price goes up right and we make a bunch of money it's like sure yeah we can do that
like yep and that's like that's the thing that just keeps like that's the elon's whole life
is just this experience of saying dumb shit you know a large portion of the world being
credulous enough to believe him and then the actual like power brokers you know who who undergird and
kind of uh kind of organize all this stuff um just understanding that they can they can keep pumping
it and making making the money and but it's like it's um it's depressing man it's like
it it just like it's the old thing like how does it keep getting away with this thing but it's like
man it's just like it works every time and it like um
um yeah it's like uh there's there's no amount of him seeing dumb or high or out of it or like
deranged or irresponsible or strange online or living on another in an alternate alternate reality
yeah I mean it is I mean it like it's kind of it's very obvious obviously the point where no one
has remarked on it in the in the last year but like or the last whatever six months but like this whole
Epstein thing where it's like you do have to remember that like 15 years ago just being named
in something like this like you'd at least have to resign I know like you may not go to prison
but you'd be like embarrassed and be like oh I gotta okay I gotta like exit from public life like
a bunch of people who got like me too left their jobs or whatever quit on over last stuff you know
to mean like over less horrifying stuff um and some of them just roll back now too because they're
like oh people aren't going out for Epstein sure but like at least they had to take a break and
issue a public apology this thing is like uh yeah you're you're um implicated in the largest
global pedophilia and sex trafficking uh operation to have come to light in America in the last
50 years and everyone's like yep all right anyway uh building these robots yeah it's like we move this
along we're uh you know that's not really uh whatever like uh hey it's a who's who man it's like
I kind of feel like it's a demerit if you're you're not in in there I mean none of us are in
there which I think it just just evidence of how little fucking juice the one time that I tried to
go to uh they almost kicked me out they didn't want me there that's true exactly that's true I mean
was I able to ingratiate myself with them over time absolutely but at first they didn't want me
well this is the whole like Whitney web thesis though is that like you you you are more you are
you are a better asset to the elite the rest of the elite class if there is some horrible black
mailable thing they can hold over you to make you more easily influenced and more beholden to your
collective safety and interests of those things not being exposed like the whole idea is that by
being compromised you are a sure that you are more valuable to the political machine that can
then influence you and by being uh not uh sex criminal of some kind you are uh disadvantaged
in some way because you can't be into it yeah we're on that we're on the fucking outside looking in
yeah I can never run for office for many reasons but that's up there it's a yeah it is a very like
it's one of those things that like again it's like you're in the you're in the water now and you're
not recognizing the fact that you're in the water but it is like sometimes you're reading the
Epstein stuff and you're like it's crazy that no one's gonna get in trouble for this I know it's
like uh except porgas lane yeah just trying to carry on her father's uh legacy she just wanted a
post on reddit you know that's all she wanted to do but um all right I think that's a suitable
yeah we've ended our usual position it's a great one um all right I gotta I gotta
all right we'll see boys stay tired stay tired thank you stay tired
have fun with that
so
Request an explanation for:
5 cars
5 cars featured
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark.
Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
Report incorrect info
Suggest better explanations
Flag missing cars
More from Tired: The Car Podcast For People Who Understand That Cars Are Bad
