22nd November, 2023
Welcome to Looking Out, a newsletter about the auto industry, mobility, design, and the cultures that surround us. Looking Out is brought to you by Joe Simpson and Drew Smith of The Automobility Group. If you like what you see, tell your friends!
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Looking Out Elsewhere
Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and the Bay Area
Drew’s going to be on the West Coast and in Vegas (for CES) in early January. If you’d like to meet up, or know someone Drew should meet (we’re also looking for awesome podcast guests), drop him a line.
Podcasts
Over on the SubSummit podcast, Drew talked with Paul Chambers about the evolution of automotive subscriptions and how to do them right. YouTube | Audio
And on The Next Billion Cars, Drew got together with futurists Sally de Minguez and Mark Pesce to ask and answer the hard questions about micromobility, how to stay positive as a designer, and why he doesn't drive an EV (yet). Audio
Auto
Made in Europe: from mine to electric vehicle
Why it’s interesting: a sobering documentary looking at the threat posed to European industry by the march of Chinese EVs.
Tesla goes cheap at Giga Berlin
Why it’s interesting: Tesla will build its new 25k car in Germany.
The impending EV fiasco, 5 years later
Why it’s interesting: Because a view on the EV world, written five years ago, was mostly right.
Tesla vs. Toyota
Why it’s interesting: a superb deep dive from the Financial Times on the biggest rivalry in car making.
Mobility
Cruise CEO moves fast and… heads right on out the door
Why it’s interesting: In another example of “move fast and break things” being a less than ideal product development philosophy when it comes to mobility, Cruise founder and CEO Kyle Vogt has resigned. Might have something to do with one of their cars running over a woman, dragging her 20 feet, and the company then obscuring the truth. Pair with Paris Marx on why self-driving cars still aren't the future.
eBikes slash oil demand
Why it’s interesting: Your occasional reminder that if you want to save the planet, buy an eBike, not an EV. 280 million eBikes displace 4 times as much oil consumption as EVs, and that factor is only set to increase.
Upway makes headway in the second-hand micromobility market
Why it’s interesting: As more people buy eBikes, more will come on to the secondary market. Upway is bringing piece of mind to buying second hand and consumers are loving it. We talked about the challenges of buying a used EV in a recent podcast. Perhaps there are some lessons for automakers here.
Design
(In) Humane’s Ai Pin
Why it’s interesting: Wearable Ai. Game changer or next Google glass? This is a from a bunch of former Apple folk and is getting a lot of attention right now. Pair with pieces on the device’s cringeworthy lack of accessibility and its complete ignorance of social norms.
UX as the unsung hero of a great EV experience
Why it’s interesting: A great piece from TomTom that explores the user experience of driving an EV, both on and beyond the screen. Featuring friend of Looking Out Drew Meehan.
Warning: May Contain Non-Design Content
Why it’s interesting: Legendary graphic designer Michael Beirut on what is and isn’t design, and why design is not what you think
61 Glimpses of the Future
Why it’s interesting: Whatever you make of Jan Chipchase (if you make anything of him at all), this piece from 2016 is still packed with so much goodness. It’s a stark reminder that to see the future, you need to get out of your own little bubble, a topic we explore in the next Looking Out podcast.
Culture
Cybertruck's Launch Is Already an Exhausting Joke
Why it’s interesting: Because Cybertruck isn’t just a truck. It’s the physical manifestation of one man’s beliefs about how the world should be. And my, what a wretched world that is…
The Schism That Toppled Sam Altman
Why it’s interesting: On the topic of weird worldviews, here’s a neat explainer of the AI Doomer vs Boomer battle that caused a shit show of surprising magnitude at OpenAI at the weekend. AI is coming. And it will change, if not everything, then a *lot*. But how it gets here, when, and under what conditions is being fought over in the schoolyard - I mean board rooms - of Silicon Valley and Redmond. The consequences of the outcome can’t be underestimated. Pair with this, and this for a deeper dive.
Is My Toddler a Stochastic Parrot?
Why it’s interesting: This one made Drew choke up. A beautiful reminder of what makes us so messily, beautifully human at a point in time when that seems up for debate.
Naomi Klein on wellness culture
Why it’s interesting: The line between fitness and fascism isn’t new. Naomi Klein updates the model to explain how the world of “wellness”, so beloved of trend bibles and automotive design teams looking for a new edge in interior design, has become a far-right mirror world.
WSJ China email
Why it’s interesting: Put simply: it’s super good
Looking Out - The Podcast EP11
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That's it for this issue. We love feedback (positive and negative), and to answer any questions you have. So email Joe or Drew and we’ll get back to you.