A lively discussion about the joys and frustrations of car culture, parenting, and the latest automotive news. The hosts share personal anecdotes about their children’s surprising fascination with garage smells and car-related activities, while also diving into the recent Munich auto show highlights. They critique new models from BMW, Mercedes, and Ferrari, debating design choices and the impact of technology on driving experiences. The conversation is filled with humor, nostalgia, and a critical look at the evolving automotive landscape.
Rory brings news from the shop, we return to our frustrations with Car Technology, and Peter highlights some items of interest from the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung in Munich.
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(And check out the guys he made it with: https://popfilter.bandcamp.com/album/trade-place-tape / https://snowynasdaq.bandcamp.com/album/the-apartment )
Your producer pal Matty, who writes these, has nothing to plug except of course, our Patreon paid tier where all our extra-fun episodes go. support my wonderful co-hosts ty ty ty ˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺˖
"...I brought the 911 back to the washers. That was awesome. That was really a good kid moment."
The Porsche 911 is a famous sports car that many people recognize. It has a unique shape and is known for being very fast and fun to drive.
The Porsche 911 is a high-performance sports car that has been in production since 1964. Known for its distinctive design and rear-engine layout, it has become an icon in the automotive world.
"...breathe deeply, inhale the, because that smell is gutted sob interior, motor oil, gasoline, WD-40, you know,"
A gutted interior means that most of the inside parts of the car, like seats and carpets, have been removed. This is usually done to make the car lighter and faster, especially for racing.
A gutted interior refers to a car's interior that has been stripped of its original components, such as seats, carpeting, and trim. This is often done for racing purposes or to customize the vehicle for weight reduction and performance enhancements.
"The one, the BMW iX3, which is our first like actual look at a road going production car incorporating their Neue Klasse kind of new styling..."
The BMW iX3 is an electric version of BMW's X3 SUV. It uses electric power instead of gasoline, making it more environmentally friendly.
The BMW iX3 is an all-electric SUV that marks BMW's entry into the electric vehicle market with a production model based on the X3 platform. It features a modern design and advanced technology, aligning with BMW's commitment to sustainability.
"...t a road going production car incorporating their Neue Klasse kind of new styling and kind of whole just direct..."
The BMW Neue Klasse is a new line of cars from BMW that focuses on modern looks and new technology. They are working on making these cars more electric and environmentally friendly. It's talked about because it's part of BMW's plan to change how they make cars in the future.
The BMW Neue Klasse refers to a new generation of BMW vehicles that emphasize modern design and innovative technology. This initiative aims to redefine BMW's approach to electric mobility and performance. The mention of the Neue Klasse indicates BMW's strategic shift towards a more sustainable future in automotive design.
"Yeah, like evocative of like a 2002, you know? You know, 60s BMW is just very clean, simple, elegant, the thing that they kind of made their brand with originally."
The BMW 2002 is a small, classic car made by BMW in the late 1960s and 1970s. It's known for being stylish and fun to drive, helping BMW become popular for making sporty cars.
The BMW 2002 is a classic compact car that played a significant role in establishing BMW's reputation for sporty, well-engineered vehicles. It is part of the '02 Series' produced from 1966 to 1976 and is known for its simple yet elegant design and engaging driving experience.
"you know, for your various suspension, engine, differential, whatever. Which I mean, that shit is great,"
Suspension is what helps your car ride smoothly over bumps and turns. It includes parts like springs and shock absorbers that keep the car stable and comfortable.
Suspension refers to the system of springs, shock absorbers, and linkages that connects a vehicle to its wheels. It plays a crucial role in handling, ride comfort, and stability.
"engine, differential, whatever. Which I mean, that shit is great,"
A differential is a part of your car that helps the wheels turn at different speeds, which is important when you're going around corners. It makes sure your car stays balanced and doesn't skid.
The differential is a mechanical component that allows the wheels to rotate at different speeds, especially important when turning. It helps maintain traction and stability.
"...rcedes had been made by making something called a GLC for, I guess a while now, that that's kind of lik..."
The Mercedes-Benz GLC is a fancy SUV that is comfortable and has a lot of cool features. It's a good choice for families because it has plenty of space and a smooth ride. People talk about it because it mixes luxury with everyday usability.
The Mercedes-Benz GLC is a compact luxury SUV that combines comfort, style, and advanced technology. It has been well-received for its spacious interior and smooth ride, making it a popular choice for families and professionals alike. The GLC is often discussed in the context of luxury SUVs due to its blend of practicality and premium features.
"...to me, GLC, that's taken. That was, and it stood, it's the Mazda, like in the late 70s, early 80s, the kind of first little baby Mazdas that they sold in the US,..."
The Mazda GLC was a small car that Mazda made in the late 70s and early 80s. It was one of the first cars Mazda sold in the US and helped the company grow in popularity.
The Mazda GLC was a compact car produced by Mazda in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was one of the first models the company sold in the United States and contributed to Mazda's early success in the American market.
"... sold in the US, which I guess would be like your Mazda 3 equivalent now, kind of evolved into the 3T3 and ..."
Mazda is a car company that makes reliable and enjoyable cars, like the Mazda3, which is a small and efficient vehicle. They focus on making cars that are fun to drive while also being practical. People mention Mazda because they are known for their quality and sporty feel.
Mazda is a Japanese automaker known for producing reliable and fun-to-drive vehicles, with the Mazda3 being one of its most popular models. The brand emphasizes sporty handling and fuel efficiency, making it a favorite among compact car buyers. Discussions about Mazda often highlight its innovative designs and commitment to driving enjoyment.
"...the most notable thing about it is this new grille treatment that it kind of has like,..."
Grille treatment is how the front grille of a car looks and is designed. It's important because it can make the car look more attractive and can remind people of older car styles.
Grille treatment refers to the design and styling of the front grille of a vehicle, which can significantly impact its aesthetic appeal and brand identity. In this context, the speaker mentions a new grille treatment that evokes classic designs.
"...it's supposed to kind of evoke, like look like the old kind of like 50s Mercedes grilles,..."
50s Mercedes grilles refer to the style of the front grilles used on Mercedes-Benz cars from the 1950s. They often had a unique pattern that made them look classy and luxurious.
The reference to 50s Mercedes grilles highlights a classic design style characterized by a crosshatch pattern, which was common in that era. This design is often associated with luxury and elegance in automotive history.
'Lit up' means that the grille has lights in it, which can make the car look more modern and help people see it better at night.
'Lit up' refers to the use of lighting elements in the grille design, which can enhance visibility and add a modern touch to the vehicle's appearance. This feature is becoming increasingly popular in contemporary automotive design.
"...illuminated LEDs. And I don't know, man, it's just, it's very,"
LEDs are small lights that use less energy and last a long time. Many cars use them for things like headlights and decorative lights.
LEDs, or Light Emitting Diodes, are a type of lighting technology that is energy-efficient and long-lasting. They are commonly used in automotive lighting for headlights, taillights, and decorative features like illuminated grilles.
"...this has like full dashboard with screen like LCD. So the entire fucking dashboard is lit up..."
LCD is a type of screen that shows information in cars, like speed and navigation. It's known for being clear and using less power.
LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display, a technology used in screens for dashboards and other displays in vehicles. It provides clear visuals and is energy efficient.
"...I could never drive a Picani because it would just, I would, it would fucking kill me. But it's just, it seems like..."
Pagani is a brand that makes very fast and expensive sports cars. They are known for their cool designs and powerful engines, but they are not very common on the roads.
Pagani is an Italian manufacturer known for producing high-performance hypercars, characterized by their unique designs and engineering excellence. Their cars often feature advanced materials and powerful engines, making them some of the most exclusive and expensive vehicles in the world.
"...I do think it's also like, it's interesting. The big surprise to me was I was like, I think like, I wanna say it was like Kia Soul was like the first car to have like a changeable LED..."
The Kia Soul is a small car that looks a bit like a box. It's known for being roomy inside and has a fun design that many people like.
The Kia Soul is a compact crossover known for its distinctive boxy design and versatility. It has been popular for its spacious interior and unique styling, appealing to a wide range of drivers.
"I was looking at the Tog, the Turkish car. Turkish EV startup, Rubell, the new sedan."
Tog is a car brand from Turkey that focuses on making electric cars. It's part of Turkey's efforts to enter the car market with new technology.
Tog is a Turkish automotive brand known for developing electric vehicles (EVs). It represents Turkey's growing presence in the automotive industry, particularly in the EV sector.
"It seems like an insane time to have a Turkish EV startup. No, I weren't just throwing some spaghetti at the wall."
Electric vehicles, or EVs, are cars that run on electricity instead of gasoline. They are considered better for the environment because they produce fewer emissions.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are cars that are powered entirely or partially by electricity, offering an alternative to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles. They are often seen as more environmentally friendly due to lower emissions.
"Turkish EV startup, Rubell, the new sedan. Tog, car."
Rubell is a new car company from Turkey that makes electric cars, including a new sedan model. They're part of the trend of new car companies focusing on electric vehicles.
Rubell is a Turkish startup focused on electric vehicles, aiming to introduce new models to the market, including sedans. It reflects the innovation and growth of the EV sector in Turkey.
An EV, or electric vehicle, is a car that uses electricity to run instead of gas. This makes them better for the environment and can save money on fuel.
EV stands for electric vehicle, which is a type of car that runs on electricity instead of gasoline. EVs are known for being more environmentally friendly and often have lower operating costs compared to traditional vehicles.
"...rm sharing with the forthcoming Porsche, Boxster, Cayman, EV, which by the way, they just admitted that, y..."
The Porsche Cayman is a sporty car that is fun to drive and has a powerful engine. It's known for being well-balanced and great for people who love driving. The discussion about it relates to how Porsche is planning to make electric versions of their cars in the future.
The Porsche Cayman is a mid-engine sports car that offers a balance of performance and everyday usability. It is significant for its sharp handling and powerful engine options, making it a favorite among driving enthusiasts. The mention of the Cayman in the context of future EV models highlights Porsche's commitment to evolving its sports car lineup.
"just staunchly pulling a Dodge Challenger on us or Charger, whatever the fuck that is."
The Dodge Challenger is a big, powerful car that looks like the classic muscle cars from the past. It's famous for being fast and stylish.
The Dodge Challenger is a classic American muscle car known for its powerful engines and retro styling. It has a strong performance reputation and is often compared to other muscle cars like the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro.
The Dodge Charger is a big car that can be fast and sporty, similar to the Challenger but designed as a four-door sedan.
The Dodge Charger is a full-size sedan that shares its platform with the Challenger. Known for its muscular design and performance-oriented variants, it combines practicality with the spirit of American muscle.
"...did you guys see that new Ferrari Testarossa that they unveiled? So this is a, it's the new kind of top range topping serial production Ferrari."
The Ferrari Testarossa is a famous sports car from Ferrari that was made in the 1980s and 1990s. It has a unique look and is known for being very fast and powerful.
The Ferrari Testarossa is a classic sports car produced by Ferrari from 1984 to 1996. Known for its distinctive side strakes and mid-engine layout, it became an icon of 1980s automotive design and performance.
"I mean, they just kind of unveiled that, that F80, which is like their kind of hyper car. This is m..."
The BMW M3 is a fast and powerful version of a regular BMW car, designed for people who love speed and performance. The F80 is a specific model that came out a few years ago and is known for being really fun to drive. It's often talked about because it's one of the best sports cars you can buy.
The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, known for its powerful engines and sporty handling. The F80 generation, which debuted in 2012, is particularly notable for its turbocharged engine and advanced technology features. It often comes up in discussions about performance cars due to its reputation and racing heritage.
"This is more like the successor to the SF90, mid-engines, hybrid, I think V8, super expensive, super fast."
The Ferrari SF90 is a very fast and powerful car that uses both a traditional gasoline engine and electric motors. This combination helps it go faster and be more efficient.
The Ferrari SF90 is a hybrid supercar that combines a V8 engine with electric motors for enhanced performance and efficiency. It represents a significant step in Ferrari's evolution towards electrification while maintaining high performance.
"Good job, Ferrari, we'll take one. Yeah, send it, send one over to us."
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 success in racing.
Ferrari is an iconic Italian automotive brand known for its high-performance sports cars and racing heritage. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1939, the brand has become synonymous with speed, luxury, and engineering excellence.
Select text to request an explanation
All right.
Well, should we get into actually talking
about stuff that we can talk about?
Yeah.
On what, our show?
On our show, Peter?
On the podcast.
Yeah.
Welcome to Tire, the podcast for people
who understand that cars are bad.
With your friends, Rory Carroll, Matthew Riley, Peter Hughes.
It is the first week of October.
We made it through some more months.
You never know.
I couldn't shop out over the weekend.
It's good.
That's got to feel nice.
First time since.
Did you, what did you like, get rid of things?
No.
It literally, when we finished the Lada that night,
like before the hill climb, I did not clean it
or did not pick anything up.
So it's just like putting things back where they belong.
But it was, yeah, then I built a bunch of stuff.
I built some sculpture stuff and built.
So the washers.
I brought the 911 back to the washers.
That was awesome.
That was really a good kid moment.
But yeah, it's pretty spotless.
I'm not spotless in there, but it's another couple hours away
from being spotless.
But yeah, yesterday I was home alone with one of the babies
and I was going out to the shop to clean
because we were supposed to shoot video last night.
And then she was sitting there watching a cartoon
or something and I was like, do you want to go outside?
And she was like, no, not really.
And I was like, do you want to come work in the shop?
And she was like, yeah.
She was like, what can I do?
And I was like, I've got some wires
that I can cut up for you.
And she was like, all right.
So like gave her some wire and like a bucket of washers
and some like really grown up grade model paint.
Like paint for like, you know,
Ravel models or whatever.
And then gave her some wire cutters.
That's the smell of my childhood, man.
Those testers.
Those rubber cement and the paint.
They're thinner.
Yeah.
But she like, she went, she'd spent the good like hour
and a half or two hours in there like cutting wire
with the wire cutter and then like bending them with pliers
and like making little like painting like,
literally painting like a hundred washers
in various different, it was cool.
Incredible.
Oh my God.
Rory's daughter's a Gundam kit.
Go to this place.
Yeah, for real.
Yeah.
Where'd you get your daughters into Gunpla?
I know, it's like, but it's like, that was so gratifying.
And it's like, you know, like I didn't, you know,
it's like just sitting set up with my little
welding fixture table.
It's like, oh, I could just like put them both
out here all the time and they can hang out in here
and inhale the things that I'm inhaling.
Yeah.
Did I tell you guys about the thing that happened?
I mean, this was a few weeks ago.
I was just bringing Natalia, my daughter home
from something and we pull into the driveway
and she gets out of the car and she's like,
I need to go smell the garage.
And, you know, our garage, we have this little one car
garage that's like a 1935 house.
It's like basically like the size of a fucking walk-in
closet, you know, especially because it's got
all the entire sob interior in there taken apart
and bikes and lawn mowers and just fucking,
it's just, you know, completely filled with garbage.
But she gets out, she's like, I gotta smell the garage.
I'm like, wait, what?
She's like, I just love the smell of it.
And she goes and she, oh, you know,
she throws the door up and just goes
and she's just standing there in the dark, in the garage,
just in this like weird reverie of just like,
just breathing it in.
And I was so taken about like, and I took a picture
of just her just like in this kind of mid reverie.
And it's so funny because it's like, I mean,
you know, I mean, I've mentioned, you know,
numerous times on here that like she's not, you know,
neither my wife nor my kid are particularly into cars,
you know, she hasn't been bitten by the bug
in any particular way.
But it's like, but obviously I have transmitted some,
some brain damage to her that she wants to go
into the garage and just breathe deeply, inhale the,
because that smell is gutted sob interior,
motor oil, gasoline, WD-40, you know,
every other kind of like fucking solvent, starter fluid,
just let you just spilled everything.
And, you know, it's just that cocktail of just ancient
car stuff and the fact that like, that somehow stimulates
something in her brain that she wants.
And the thing that was funny is later that day,
I was, I think Sam Smith texted me about something
and we were texting back and forth
and I was telling him about this.
And I sent him the picture of her.
And then I realized like, she's kind of like,
she's kind of turned away from the camera,
but like her head is kind of like tilted back looking.
And she's got like these pearl earrings
that she just like have become her like signature thing
that she wears, like these pearl earrings
that I think belong to my mom, you know,
it's just in this jewelry box that we gave to her
that, you know, somebody gave to us and I realized
like looking at this picture, it's like, oh my God,
it looks fucking exactly like that Vermeer painting.
Oh, the girl in the mirror.
You know, like the girl in the girl in the pearl earrings
except she's like picture that girl
except instead of being in, you know,
whatever 17th century Delft or whatever,
I don't know we're fucking when Vermeer lived,
but she's just like in this garage,
just like transported by the smell of.
That's awesome.
I have two similar updates, baby olfactory things.
So I bought those cigarettes for Goodwood
for part of my one of the days I was gonna be a greaser.
So I bought lucky strikes and then
smoked a bunch of them and a bunch of other people
smoked a bunch of them and they were super nasty,
but I brought them home, put them in a drawer
and obviously the girls found them immediately
and the little one was trying to figure out
how to smoke it, played her mouth
and trying to figure out how to like how to get it
to the thing.
Oh my God.
Classic.
And the oldest sister of course.
Is she just like over the like trying to light it
on the burner of the stove?
And it's like, yeah.
No, no, that's a induction.
Inductive, yeah.
That's not gonna happen.
No, she couldn't figure out, you know,
the relationship between the fire and the cigarette.
Like how do you get it going?
Like she wouldn't occur to her to use a lighter.
And then she got, she got ratted out, of course.
But he wasn't the one.
We had some explaining to do.
Oh, that's so funny.
And then, so that happened.
And then like a couple nights later,
I was out in the shop and I used to have these
Peterson pipes, these old like Irish pipes
that I don't remember how I got them.
But I had some pipes out there and I found them
and I was like, I'm gonna smoke a pipe or whatever.
I was working late at night and smoked a pipe
and then I got called back in because the same one,
the baby who smokes was like,
which is the name she gave herself, incidentally.
Do you know that story, right?
No.
So when she was like three, when she was three,
she used to like put something in her mouth,
like a pencil or whatever and go,
I'm the baby who smoked.
I'm the baby who smokes.
And then she got obsessed with smoking for like a year
and then I caught her talking to her older sister
and she didn't know anyone was around and she goes,
where do I get my real smoker from?
She's like, and then like we'd be watching
Lord of the Rings and like,
get an alpha command.
Do you ever get her like the candy cigarettes?
No, you know, we're not trying to get her to that.
Do they make those anymore?
Yeah, yeah, no they do.
Those are so good, man.
But we were watching Lord of the Rings
and under her breath, she was like,
I like that guy, he's got that big smoker.
Gandalf has got the big pipe.
Anyway.
I'm still not past, I'm the baby who smokes.
That's like, I'm the baby who smokes.
It was like her character that she was doing.
Yeah.
It's like an Akewin comic happening inside your house.
And then she goes,
anyway, I caught her talking to her sister
and she goes, just wait until I get my real smoker.
She's like, get my real smoker.
Anyway, so I smoked this pipe out in the garage
and then I got called in
because she had like a, she had caught her hand
and needed some like home surgery.
Which is like, she trusts me to do that now
which is very sweet.
But I obviously smelled like tobacco when I came in.
Which is a nice, like a pipe tobacco is like a nice.
Yeah.
It's like sweet.
Yeah.
And she goes, dad, you smell so good.
That was like a, yeah, that's tobacco.
It's that stuff you like.
It's that stuff that somehow you were born obsessed with.
And also it's like one of the worst things
that you can do to your body.
I'm the baby who smokes.
I'm the baby who smokes.
Oh.
God, that's so funny.
Dude, that's so funny.
Yeah.
Oh my God.
Maybe by the time she's old enough to buy cigarettes,
smoking will be good for you again.
At least it'll be cool.
It's not cringe like vaping.
We can hope.
They should, they gotta be, they gotta be working on that.
It is funny, you know, like the other, the other day
they, there's an old gas station down the street
that they demoed and replaced with like a nice new
gas station.
This is like right across the street from the,
from the middle school.
And, and so there's like this brand new gas station
that finally opened.
And it's like, you know, it's like a whole mini mart.
I forget the whatever our local mini mart changes,
changes.
And we're dry, you know, again, driving my daughter
and her friends around and we passed it.
And I was like, oh, look, the place is open.
They're like, oh yeah, no, it opened last week.
And I go, wow, have you guys been in there?
Is it nice?
They're like, yeah, it's fine, whatever.
Man, I gotta maybe, maybe I'll just dip in there
and get some cigarettes or something.
And, and like, and it actually got like,
like a real laugh, but almost like kind of like
a scandalized, like they couldn't believe that I said that.
Like that, you know, a parent was making that joke.
Yeah.
That's so funny.
And yeah, like a.
Yeah, our oldest was, was like, very,
you can imagine, was very like, who's are these?
Are you, are you smoking these?
You know what the Surgeon General says about these?
Yeah, you know, this is really bad for you.
And it was like.
Did you get the lucky strikes in England?
No, in the States.
You brought them over?
Yeah.
Because in the UK, they have like the,
like the equivalent of the Surgeon General's warning
on the cigarettes is like.
Yeah, yeah.
These nightmare photos of like, yeah.
People's horrifying teeth and just, you know, yeah.
Like.
It's like just pretty.
It's literally like, yeah.
It's like if you're, if you're like a gore junkie,
like that would, that would even just like
heighten the appeal, right?
Yeah.
You're like, they're trying to scare me away.
Because they want me to be cool.
This is proof.
Yeah, we, it was, I definitely felt like,
and then it was like, would you feel better
if they were thrown away?
And it was like, yeah, you know,
let me see you throw them away.
Like, very serious, that one.
I did used to steal my mom's cigarettes out of the car
when she dropped me off at school
and like run to the school and throw them away
in the trash.
That was a thing that I did for several years.
That's very cute.
Now that's like a, that's like a $20 proposition doing that.
Well, I mean, no, she never knew what I was going to do it.
So it worked a couple of times,
just kind of like discouraging the investment.
Yeah, right.
But I mean, like at least smoking,
like if you're going to do something bad
for your lungs, at least smoking like looks cool.
It's not like vaping, which is just like bad.
It's not, I just can't, I can't.
The vibes are just like, there's no Riz in the vape.
It's not good.
No.
I gotta say, I do like that the pipe in the shop
is a nice, nice experience.
Sounds good.
You can imagine, yeah.
It's kind of, I think when I started doing it,
it was very, I was like 23, you know?
And I was like, so.
Yeah, it's one of those like old man affectations.
Very much so.
I remember, this is a very good story.
This is like me getting really put in my place,
but I was dating this older woman
and I was like out with a bunch of her friends
who are like in the 30s,
who seemed like impossibly old to me,
like these are like.
Right.
Sophisticated women.
No, that's men and women.
So I was out and I pulled the pipe out
and I was like, sorry, this is gross or whatever.
I think I referred to it as a habit.
And then one of the guys goes,
it's not a habit, it's an affectation.
He's like, you look ridiculous.
And I was like, no, I don't.
I was like, oh cool.
And but he, like looking back on that,
I don't even remember who it was,
but he was so right.
And it's like, I want to find him
and be like, dude, you fucking got me good.
Like that was your correct.
It saved my ass.
It's like the most like Tom Waits kind of thing where it's like.
Totally.
Yeah.
Humiliating.
It's like your 23.
Total try hard.
Yeah.
So I kind of put it away for a long time
because he was right.
Like obviously it's like not something I did in public.
But now in the shop by myself,
that guy's not around.
No one can tell that I'm only now
just admitting to it on the pod.
So.
But you like look cool and distinguished now.
Well, the thing is now, now you've earned it.
You got a little, you got a little gray in your beard,
you know?
It's like, that's, it's not.
No, you're chilling.
It's not age inappropriate.
You can, you can pull it off now.
Yeah.
It's, it's a very nice.
Yeah.
You get like a good tobacco buzz.
And I don't think you really like inhale a ton of it.
And it's also just like, it's just tobacco.
Like it's just.
It's like a cigar, right?
Where it's more just like about tasting it
and not, not like.
I think for me it's about.
Not inhaling so much.
For me, it's about doing it a ton
until you get like a little bit of a headache.
Cause I don't really, as we know,
I don't really drink anymore.
So any, like even the saddest little buzz is like,
ooh, like, this is cool.
Like I feel different.
Um.
It feels different.
Yeah.
It's like, I remember, oh, this was great.
Worcestered line.
It's like, is this good?
Is it bad?
I don't know.
It's different.
But it's different.
I feel real different.
Yeah.
I, uh, I had a, I was telling
John Tim, uh, who you met John on the way back from the wedding.
Yeah.
He, he also, um, so Maddie, I introduced John as the guy
who has the country band in Trevor city.
And John was like, he's like, man, he's like,
I felt so self-conscious saying that when you told,
when you told Peter, I was the guy at the country band.
He's like, I make real music too.
And I was like, yeah, I know.
Like Peter knows that too.
Just like it's a fun thing that you do.
And he's like, does he really know that?
And I was like, what, why do you care?
It's like, it's like, you got to tell him.
He's like, you got to tell him, I've got other stuff.
I'd like write real music too.
And I'm like, I'll tell him.
So this is me telling you.
Okay.
That's so cute.
But, um, but then he was like, you know what?
I'm proud of it.
And he was like, I'm proud of it.
I'm ha, I have fun.
Like, if you know, like, I'm like, yeah, you should.
That's great.
It's a, and I think, uh,
we got into a big conversation.
The music is supposed to be fun.
Yeah.
Well, yeah.
That's the whole point.
But yeah, I, um, he was like,
I was telling him, I was listening to a lot of Molina again.
And he was like, oh, you got to listen to this, uh,
this really like posse song by this other artist
that he's listening to.
Um, his name is Benjamin Todd or something like that.
He's like a, one of those Nashville country guys.
And he sends me like this super happy,
not super happy, but it's like a hopeful song.
Like, uh, things are going bad right now.
But, you know, everything's going to get better or whatever.
And I listened to it and I was like, yeah, it's fine.
And then like discovered the rest of this guy.
It's like back catalog,
which is all about like, uh,
shooting heroin and like, uh,
Oh, one of those.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Disgusting, uh, rat person.
And I was like, ooh.
This is why he wrote that one song about things getting
better.
Yeah.
Oh, I see.
Yeah.
But I was like, uh,
man, John, this really backfired.
You're like trying to,
trying to put me in a better mood.
And now I listened to this heroin guy.
Now I have this.
It's good.
Cause I'd listened to all of the Molina I could listen to.
So now we've got to just add, add that on.
But, um, yeah.
So that's the shop time lately.
Anyway, do we have stuff we were supposed to talk
about on the podcast?
I feel like I've just like.
This is great.
I mean, honestly.
Good content.
Peter, what do you got?
Yeah.
I wanted to talk about some stuff.
I mean, this is kind of a little bit of old news now,
but there was that Munich auto show a while back,
like a month ago.
What do they, they called it something.
What do they call it?
Munich auto.
Oh yeah.
I had like a.
20, the.
I had a confusing name where I couldn't tell
what it was actually about.
IAA mobility.
Oh, I've got it.
I've got it.
The Munich auto show.
Also known as the international automobile Austelung.
IAA.
Fuck if I know what Austelung is,
but automobile, I got it.
Yeah.
There were, there were a number of things.
I mean, first of all, so this happened.
Shit.
What did it happen?
It happened.
September 9th to 14th.
So a month ago.
But it's notable because this is,
I mean, it's a big car show thing that we've been kind of
talking about, you know, the death of.
Going away.
Right.
But this one still going on,
but it's happening in Germany at, you know,
I feel like the context is important a couple of weeks
or a week or two before
before this car show opened.
Mobility thing.
The story's coming out of Germany.
I mean, this is Bloomberg,
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
said tackling the country's economic challenges
is proving to be a far greater undertaking
than he initially anticipated.
I say this also self critically,
this task is bigger than one
or the other may have imagined a year ago,
Merz said in a speech on Saturday,
we're not just in a periodic of economic weakness,
we are in a structural crisis of our economy.
So that's what's going on in Germany.
Biggest exporter industrial powerhouse
struggling with persistently high energy costs
in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
and the turmoil of U.S. trade tariffs.
No mention of the fact that we blew up their pipeline.
I will say there's a lot of German defense stocks.
Defense companies are doing quite well.
Well, that's kind of,
that's a thing that they're pivoting to.
Yeah, I mean,
I mean, kind of equally distressing.
Troubling, not great.
But yeah, corollary to that,
this was from a story the same week in DW,
German car industry sheds 51,500 jobs in a year.
Dip equates to almost 7% of the total workforce
in the German auto sector.
Faltering exports to China and the U.S. play a role
as new tariffs raise barriers to entry
in both of these core markets.
So yeah, things not going great as far as Germany
and particularly their auto industry.
Into this though, we had a number of notable
German manufacturer debuts at this car show.
The one, the BMW iX3,
which is our first like actual look
at a road going production car
incorporating their Neue Klasse kind of new
styling and kind of whole just direction
thing that they kind of started.
They trotted out a few years ago on some concept cars,
kind of saying this is gonna be our whole new thing
like clean sheet of paper or wiping away the old
and going with this totally new design language.
The original like that first car
that concept car that they showed,
which was just like a very clean
and cool looking kind of three box sedan.
You know, I mean, for me that was like a welcome.
Like it had this kind of elegant simplicity too.
Yeah, kind of like the Neue Klasse cars.
Yeah, like evocative of like a 2002, you know?
You know, 60s BMW is just very clean,
simple, elegant, the thing that they kind of
made their brand with originally.
So, but of course like the,
and they've been touting this for years
and kind of trotting out these sneak peeks
of forthcoming things.
So this iX3, which is an EV SUV,
I mean, it looks fine.
It does incorporate some of that design language
with like the kind of old school twin kidney grill
and this new kind of headlight signature
and like some kind of like side modeling stuff
that like, it doesn't look as like confused
like as aggressively kind of defying you to like it,
the way that BMW's recent vintage have kind of been notable for
that kind of in-your-face thing.
It's like an adversarial design.
Right, exactly.
Fuck you.
Yeah, this is a bit more cohesive.
But it also like, and maybe this is just the fact
that it's like, it's a fucking mid-sized SUV.
So I mean, it just somewhat diluted, I would say.
It just looks like every,
it just looks like like every fucking mid-sized SUV now,
they're all the same identical shape
and it's just like, what lines are you drawing on it?
You know, it's like you take a balloon
and draw a face on a balloon, you know?
It's like, that's basically what designers
are dealing with here.
So a little bit, I mean, not unwelcome
but kind of underwhelming to me.
The other thing that I've been reading about
is just like how it's not just about design
but this whole, this kind of like,
heart of joy thing that they're selling
that is, these cars have like four different
kind of electronic brain systems going on
and this is one of the things that is supposedly revolutionary
about them is just like how sophisticated
the computer controls are
and how everything is
updateable like on the fly.
You know, you can push software and firmware updates
to this ever more kind of software
and firmware dependent platform.
And that owners should expect
these updates like multiple times a year.
And also, I mean, BMW has been like one of the kind
of manufacturers like really kind of leading the charge
with trying to kind of implement this like,
these kind of subscription models, you know,
where it's like, yeah, your car comes with,
you know, X amount of power, but you have to pay,
you know, an extra, you know, however many dollars a month
to unlock that, you know, or like just like new,
you know, whatever kind of interior features.
I mean, this is just like the most
for your heated seats, but you have to pay $2 to turn.
Exactly, to turn it on.
I'm sorry, I'm kind of hung up.
Go ahead, go ahead.
I mean, the finish or not?
Well, I mean, the other, the other,
I gotta tell this.
Yeah, I mean, the thing with the fucking
perpetually updating software
is like in a car, I just feel like this is just such a,
I mean, this happens in my fucking Hyundai, you know,
where like maybe once or twice a year,
you'll get a little notice on, you know,
when you start the car, it's like,
oh, there's a new, do you wanna download your new thing?
It takes 20 minutes.
It's like, well, yeah, not right now,
I'm fucking going somewhere.
Yeah.
I need to use my car.
I'm actually out here
because I'm going somewhere, yeah.
Right, but and then like,
and then when you get home and you turn,
and it's like, you know, so I usually just like,
it'll go like a few days or a week or whatever.
And finally, I'll just be like, all right,
fucking do the fucking thing, man.
I'm tired of just being annoyed, hectered.
So you get home and you say, yeah, go do it, do the thing.
And so it does.
And then the next time you get in the car,
your shit has all been reconfigured,
your preferences are all changed.
Or if that's not the case, sometimes,
and this has been the case
like for six months in my car now,
you know, I've got my little blue steering wheel end buttons,
you know, which you can configure to,
you know, you press it once, you get just end mode,
you press it twice, you get your custom thing,
you can set two different custom kind of profiles for,
you know, for your various suspension,
engine, differential, whatever.
Which I mean, that shit is great,
you know, it's totally configurable,
like I have my things that I like.
And maybe every fifth time I go to use one of these buttons
to engage like my, you know, my preferred end mode,
it goes back to default dashboard,
default settings, everything.
And I have to like manually go back in
and reconfigure my button settings,
just to set them to do the thing that I want it to do.
And it's really fucking aggravating,
because like it might be a kind of thing
where you're driving along in an eco, you know,
and you want to like, oh, I need to pull out of this,
you know, this driveway,
and I need to make like a really fast,
like left turn to get out of the way of traffic
or whatever.
And so I'll like kick it into like extra power mode.
And it doesn't do it.
Like it puts me back in like,
and it's just, God fucking damn it.
So yeah, it's just, and this has been the case,
like for six months, and they keep saying,
and yeah, it's like, oh yeah,
it's a bug with the most recent update.
It's like, well, fucking fix it, put it back.
They still haven't done it.
It's still fucking like every fucking time.
Like I said, I mean, multiple times a week
of driving this fucking car, I have to deal with this.
So aggravating, so stupid.
And it's like, and think about like,
you know, every time you're fucking,
your phone needs, you know, they push a new phone thing.
So you gotta update your software or whatever.
It's always, there's always something janky in it.
You know, there's always some thing
that they wrecked, that they broke.
And it's just like, with a car.
It's like, yeah, the whole software,
it's like, we gotta go the other direction, you guys.
I do not, stop breaking my car.
Yeah, we have, Tim Stevens has a post for Eloy
coming up about that where he's like,
I watched this happen in gaming
where it's like, do ship unfinished products
and then update them over time to try to get them.
And it's like, he's like, it ruined gaming for a long time.
And he's like, it's going to do the same thing to cars.
Like, you know, the Rivian, I think,
updates every few months.
And generally like, it's not broken when it updates.
There was that one incident where it updated
when I was somewhere and it just was dead for an hour.
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