A note for what you guys spoke about starting at 18:40- as an industry that works on extremely low margins, grocery or food/foodservice in general. I can say from my time in the grocery industry that 5%-6% is considered a very good operating margin at retail. The comparison between the two industries I think is pretty strong; both are used by people who depend on them for a living need, and both are HEAVILY regulated due to the dire consequences of failure. On another note, I am constantly impressed by this show's ability to pull industry people for deep talks like this; I am not one of those people who, as Matt mentioned in the show, always wants rainbows and supercars. I really enjoy industry articles and opinions about what OEMs are thinking and what drives products that get made and the choices that companies make, from an engineering, budgeting, or public policy perspective. TST has brought in great guests to cover these topics in detail. Keep up the great work!
I totally agree on in depth interviews with folks behind the scenes. This great podcast and I look forward to reading David's book. One of the best books I've ever read on the car industry is called Comeback: The Fall & Rise of the American Automobile Industry. It takes you through the roller coaster ride of the 1980's and 1990's of the American autos, especially the horrific years under Roger Smith. It's written with a fantastic dramatic flair that keeps you pinned to the pages. My other two strong recommendations include All Corvettes are Red and Car: A Drama of the American Workplace. Both of these books bring you right into the offices of the designers and engineers of specific and huge projects, the C5 Corvette, and the 1996 Ford Taurus. It's fascinating to see how their dreams have to fit around compromises of cost and regulations.
Timestamps coming here: 0:00 Sponsors 2:45 Show contents 4:03 Start - Inside the Machine 7:28 David’s career 13:30 Developing a car vs enthusiast cars 18:00 Fractions of pennies 23:34 Factor sponsor 26:16 Shelby GT500 27:12 Biggest spend, smallest return 30:36 90’s cars popularity 32:38 Sponsor Caldera Lab 35:17 Sponsor Bird Dogs 36:48 Why cars are heavy- Alpine A110 40:44 Relaunching Alpine brand 43:50 NOT having a rear wing 47:13 Curves are expensive 48:20 Nitty gritty engineering 51:33 EV car’s biggest surprise 53:15 Standardizing EV chargers 1:00:15 Testing every charger in Paris 1:02:49 Alpine project support risks 1:08:42 Competitors to Alpine A110 1:11:00 Becoming a writer 1:16:20 Patreon 1:16:45 Low volume cars getting around crash testing 1:20:04 How to become an automotive engineer 1:23:15 Engineer benchmarking 1:25:10 Building around an engine? 1:26:20 Why Nissan loves CVTs 1:27:45 Lessons learned about management 1:28:55 Business case for killing small EVs 1:32:44 Time consuming tasks 1:34:28 Why EVs have more bugs 1:39:17 Repairability engineering 1:40:05 Lotus and Alpine not joining up 1:41:05 Buy “Inside the Machine” 1:42:18 What does David drive? 1:46:30 Thanks David!
Man I know it's really cliche and I never say it. But I'd love to listen to 6 hours of this fella. Funny articulate and straightforward in his answers. Please have him back if possible.
Another great one guys. Really appreciate the depth you can get into with these long form discussions. I think in general we tend to underplay the sheer amount of effort that goes into modern mass manufacturing. We tend worship the designers, stylists, and development engineers, but it's another whole realm to build something repeatable and also affordable. Had to order the book!
This was pretty cool. It's great to hear the perspective of an automotive engineer. Unfortunately the physical book is out of stock, I guess the Kindle version will have to suffice for me.
Good to know regarding auto industry profit margins, I believe the aviation / airline industry has quite thin margins as well looks like 1.2% with a quick google. Some airlines actually have a net loss on their core services but make up with value added businesses such as rewards cards.
Just loved this podcast! Guess I’m to late for the free book! Thanks guys really appreciate your different guests with different topics. I know you feel we do not appreciate it, but we do!
Ive wanted a bike for years i just know im not mature enough for it yet, so hearing that caterhams are so similar to bikes is a pretty good selling point to me
I want to hear about the Quashqai, this idea that you only make it as a car designer when you make a hypercar you are the better engineer or designer. Like a good movie, sometimes having a tighter budget focuses you on other things.
Another great guest, I enjoyed hearing his insight. Also bird dogs kick ass, by far the most comfortable shorts I’ve worn so I’ll definitely grab some more
Love the podcast but god damn it’s 2023, how does someone appear on a podcast or zoom call sounding like they’re using a phone from the 80’s in an empty warehouse…
@@kylem324 yeah man, I know the official answer but what I was after was the real one!, it was really performance optimised?, it was market trend?, what really was the reason? the weight thing doesn't shift as the manual megane RS weights less than the dct megane RS, so, there's that. Even with modifications, no dct/dsg/pdk/etc weights less than the manual 6 speed equivalent. cheers.
@@eugenux Thought it was worth looking up. DCT is 65kg. Can’t find an accurate figure for the pk4018. Possibly 52kg dry. Possibly 80kg with oil. So… you’re probably right but it’s quite close. I also suspect their market research would suggest a DCT preference in EU and wherever else it’s sold. Things like Porsche’s sales figures that breakdown PDK vs Manual in the EU/ROW highly favour the PDK. So while 70% of GT3s were manual in America across the 991.2 generation, it was 30-40% elsewhere. Non GT 911 break down is 80/20 PDK/manual. From what Ive read, EU enthusiasts are less invested in “save the manuals”. You can see this in other product launches. Like the MK2 TTRS. Dct only in EU. Manual in NA.
@@kylem324 more so recently but, yeah, you are correct, in 2010-2020...everyone wanted a dsg on their car because (perceived) performance. What make it strange for me was the actual type of car the a110 is, which in my opinion, is a lower speed, more engagement/involvement type of car. If that's the case, making it a manual would actually add an extra layer of involvement, which would have made the car feel even better. Then again, maybe they thought that, due to the fact that the manual in the rs megane was not great(not bad but not as great as the car deserved), the dct was the sensibile option!(plus market trend and all of that). It is still a missed opportunity, IMO, as, with a manual, this could have been one of the great cars of our period. That's why I was curious for the actual motives behind the decision process. cheers.
It's no worse than something like Spike's Car Radio. The host-read ads pay more money when they're inserted in the middle of the podcast, and most of Zack's pay comes from the podcast. Let the man pay for his M3 parts.
Sorry but bloody awful sound, virtually inaudible on the podcast version. Pity the guest couldn’t have made more of an effort to get a decent sound setup.
Yet another fascinating show. Really great hearing it from true experts, that tell you how it is.
Another example of why you should listen to every guest! You learn something new every day.
True. I wouldn’t have listened to this if I wasn’t doing timestamps for the TST guys. But he was great
A note for what you guys spoke about starting at 18:40- as an industry that works on extremely low margins, grocery or food/foodservice in general. I can say from my time in the grocery industry that 5%-6% is considered a very good operating margin at retail. The comparison between the two industries I think is pretty strong; both are used by people who depend on them for a living need, and both are HEAVILY regulated due to the dire consequences of failure.
On another note, I am constantly impressed by this show's ability to pull industry people for deep talks like this; I am not one of those people who, as Matt mentioned in the show, always wants rainbows and supercars. I really enjoy industry articles and opinions about what OEMs are thinking and what drives products that get made and the choices that companies make, from an engineering, budgeting, or public policy perspective. TST has brought in great guests to cover these topics in detail. Keep up the great work!
I totally agree on in depth interviews with folks behind the scenes. This great podcast and I look forward to reading David's book. One of the best books I've ever read on the car industry is called Comeback: The Fall & Rise of the American Automobile Industry. It takes you through the roller coaster ride of the 1980's and 1990's of the American autos, especially the horrific years under Roger Smith. It's written with a fantastic dramatic flair that keeps you pinned to the pages.
My other two strong recommendations include All Corvettes are Red and Car: A Drama of the American Workplace. Both of these books bring you right into the offices of the designers and engineers of specific and huge projects, the C5 Corvette, and the 1996 Ford Taurus. It's fascinating to see how their dreams have to fit around compromises of cost and regulations.
This shows how important an enthusiast project manager is in creating a great product, David gets it.
This pod was the validation I needed!
Timestamps coming here:
0:00 Sponsors
2:45 Show contents
4:03 Start - Inside the Machine
7:28 David’s career
13:30 Developing a car vs enthusiast cars
18:00 Fractions of pennies
23:34 Factor sponsor
26:16 Shelby GT500
27:12 Biggest spend, smallest return
30:36 90’s cars popularity
32:38 Sponsor Caldera Lab
35:17 Sponsor Bird Dogs
36:48 Why cars are heavy- Alpine A110
40:44 Relaunching Alpine brand
43:50 NOT having a rear wing
47:13 Curves are expensive
48:20 Nitty gritty engineering
51:33 EV car’s biggest surprise
53:15 Standardizing EV chargers
1:00:15 Testing every charger in Paris
1:02:49 Alpine project support risks
1:08:42 Competitors to Alpine A110
1:11:00 Becoming a writer
1:16:20 Patreon
1:16:45 Low volume cars getting around crash testing
1:20:04 How to become an automotive engineer
1:23:15 Engineer benchmarking
1:25:10 Building around an engine?
1:26:20 Why Nissan loves CVTs
1:27:45 Lessons learned about management
1:28:55 Business case for killing small EVs
1:32:44 Time consuming tasks
1:34:28 Why EVs have more bugs
1:39:17 Repairability engineering
1:40:05 Lotus and Alpine not joining up
1:41:05 Buy “Inside the Machine”
1:42:18 What does David drive?
1:46:30 Thanks David!
Man I know it's really cliche and I never say it. But I'd love to listen to 6 hours of this fella. Funny articulate and straightforward in his answers. Please have him back if possible.
Another great one guys. Really appreciate the depth you can get into with these long form discussions. I think in general we tend to underplay the sheer amount of effort that goes into modern mass manufacturing. We tend worship the designers, stylists, and development engineers, but it's another whole realm to build something repeatable and also affordable. Had to order the book!
Please have David back, that was terrific
Loved David's book which I learnt about from another podcast. Was stoked to hear that you'd be having him on as a guest
Great job with variety of guests. Honestly shows with industry people are some of my favorite episodes lately.
Great episode! A David and Chris Harris hour long conversation would be awesome!
This was pretty cool. It's great to hear the perspective of an automotive engineer. Unfortunately the physical book is out of stock, I guess the Kindle version will have to suffice for me.
David is hilarious. Topics that could be boring told by the wrong person. What a character!
Just heard his voice and had to google him. Great to hear a fellow cork man on the TST.
Keep up the good work lads!
This should be a good one. I have read his book and it is amazing.
Good to know regarding auto industry profit margins, I believe the aviation / airline industry has quite thin margins as well looks like 1.2% with a quick google. Some airlines actually have a net loss on their core services but make up with value added businesses such as rewards cards.
Just loved this podcast! Guess I’m to late for the free book! Thanks guys really appreciate your different guests with different topics. I know you feel we do not appreciate it, but we do!
This dude's a legend
Ive wanted a bike for years i just know im not mature enough for it yet, so hearing that caterhams are so similar to bikes is a pretty good selling point to me
Love his work on The Intercooler and this was a great episode, thanks guys!
Great show, Just bought his book.
I had an eGolf and I loved it. It was the perfect size and if the range was higher it would be great
I want to hear about the Quashqai, this idea that you only make it as a car designer when you make a hypercar you are the better engineer or designer. Like a good movie, sometimes having a tighter budget focuses you on other things.
Outsourcing the hazardous emblem on the Zoe is hilarious but also sad.
19:39 those sound a lot like NVidia AIB manufacturer margins, of which we had one very big company very publicly leave the market this year.
really loved this episode thank you!
Great podcast. Thanks guys.
Another great guest, I enjoyed hearing his insight. Also bird dogs kick ass, by far the most comfortable shorts I’ve worn so I’ll definitely grab some more
I want the got damn Book please! I’m in MN!
Excellent podcast, will definitely buy the book.
Great episode
Very nice show I really enjoyed this one in particular. Could relate to a lot of the stories and also very insightful.
1:39:19 why not just simply add a usb C port for transferring data
He has the most interesting accent, Irish and French at the same time
Joel definetly works at Daimler Truck or PACCAR
Love the podcast but god damn it’s 2023, how does someone appear on a podcast or zoom call sounding like they’re using a phone from the 80’s in an empty warehouse…
let's go full g guest
Jeezus, enough with the in-podcast ads.
What you are saying is “don’t pay Zack”
too bad no one asked why they didn't use a manual in the a110...it might just have been a missed opportunity.
I believe this was a topic asked and answered in the initial launch of the A110. IIRC - pursuing lightweight - the dct was less.
@@kylem324 yeah man, I know the official answer but what I was after was the real one!, it was really performance optimised?, it was market trend?, what really was the reason?
the weight thing doesn't shift as the manual megane RS weights less than the dct megane RS, so, there's that. Even with modifications, no dct/dsg/pdk/etc weights less than the manual 6 speed equivalent.
cheers.
@@eugenux Thought it was worth looking up. DCT is 65kg. Can’t find an accurate figure for the pk4018. Possibly 52kg dry. Possibly 80kg with oil. So… you’re probably right but it’s quite close.
I also suspect their market research would suggest a DCT preference in EU and wherever else it’s sold. Things like Porsche’s sales figures that breakdown PDK vs Manual in the EU/ROW highly favour the PDK. So while 70% of GT3s were manual in America across the 991.2 generation, it was 30-40% elsewhere. Non GT 911 break down is 80/20 PDK/manual.
From what Ive read, EU enthusiasts are less invested in “save the manuals”. You can see this in other product launches. Like the MK2 TTRS. Dct only in EU. Manual in NA.
@@kylem324 more so recently but, yeah, you are correct, in 2010-2020...everyone wanted a dsg on their car because (perceived) performance. What make it strange for me was the actual type of car the a110 is, which in my opinion, is a lower speed, more engagement/involvement type of car. If that's the case, making it a manual would actually add an extra layer of involvement, which would have made the car feel even better.
Then again, maybe they thought that, due to the fact that the manual in the rs megane was not great(not bad but not as great as the car deserved), the dct was the sensibile option!(plus market trend and all of that). It is still a missed opportunity, IMO, as, with a manual, this could have been one of the great cars of our period. That's why I was curious for the actual motives behind the decision process.
cheers.
weird cut at 30:36?
Matt stepped out of the studio for a few min.
So many ad breaks. I already pay for TH-cam Premium. Bit much, eh?
It's no worse than something like Spike's Car Radio. The host-read ads pay more money when they're inserted in the middle of the podcast, and most of Zack's pay comes from the podcast. Let the man pay for his M3 parts.
@@mattmilby TH-cam doesn’t pay the bills
1:07:54 this is a good reminder that radical candor should be more accepted. 😂
Show starts @2:45
I can pronounce it. Cash-kai.
bro his volume is badddd.!!! couldnt hear him in my semi at work...........
Great discussions on this podcast
Sorry but bloody awful sound, virtually inaudible on the podcast version. Pity the guest couldn’t have made more of an effort to get a decent sound setup.
At least some headphones or earbuds with a mic surely would have been better….
why the hell do you guys rely on others to timestamp your videos lol baffling
This show is getting stale. Another poor show another dip in the algorithm.👍🏼