The InEVitable

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with Tire Rack's SVP Marketing, Woody Rogers, to talk all about TIRES! No matter the vehicle, they need tires! The guys discuss the history of Tire Rack, three top tire tips, how to make a more informed tire purchase decision, EV tire myths, Winter vs Summer tires, heat cycling, tire shaving, and more!0:59 - QOTD - Fleet EVs. 9:44 - Woody's history at Tire Rack.12:35 - Heat cycling tires.16:33 - 12 distribution centers in the U.S.18:41 - Test tracks!20:19 - Testing Program - BMW 3 series and beyond.23:29 - Woody's EV road trip from Texas to Indiana.31:08 - Three tips for every tire customer.39:30 - Making a more informed decision.46:17 - EV tire myths debunked.52:50 - Balancing range/efficiency & traction/handling.56:48 - Show & Tell example...01:00:21 - Efficiency actually improves as the tire ages! Tesla Model 3 test. 01:02:41 - Tire shaving!01:07:45 - Winter vs Summer vs All-Weather tires.01:10:38 - Geographic regions that NEED winter tires.01:13:34 - Final thoughts.

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with Nissan's Director of Technology Planning & Research, Jonathon Ratliff, and Director of EV Transformation, Jonathan Miller! The group discusses the move to NACS, the new Nissan Energy Charge Network, MyNissan App, battery storage, ASSBs (All-Solid-State-Batteries), how to make charging easier, and more!0:42 - About our guests!5:15 - Transition to NACS (North American Charging System).12:19 - Charging the Nissan Arya at the Tesla Supercharging Network.14:04 - ANNOUNCEMENT - Nissan Energy Charge Network.18:04 - MyNissan App.23:06 - What is Nissan doing with old Leaf batteries?27:51 - Bidirectional Charging.30:46 - What is EV Transformation?33:06 - Charging solutions for apartment dwellers & workplaces.41:08 - ASSBs (All-Solid-State-Batteries).45:57 - Do EVs need 1000 miles of range?50:44 - Battery/frame integration with ASSBs.53:10 - Hyper Force concept.54:08 - Second Gen Leaf, Chill-Out concept.

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman chat with Founder/CEO, Jason Marks, and Founder/CTO, Forrest North, of TELO! The guys talk all about their TELO MT1 Urban Adventure Vehicle, their battery tech & crash safety innovations, capabilities of the truck, Software Defined Vehicles, autonomy, the current state of electric pickup trucks, EREV (Electric Range Extended Vehicle), and more!0:42 - Scout is back!7:32 - TELO MT1 - Urban Adventure Vehicle!10:06 - Battery tech innovations.16:57 - Crash safety innovations.26:14 - Genesis of the MT1.30:12 - Lack of small trucks.35:04 - Price?37:22 - What is the truck made of?38:55 - Suspension.41:43 - Monster Tunnel & other specs.47:35 - Reservations & delivery.52:10 - Urban Adventurer. 56:27 - Andy Palmer.01:01:18 - What's inside? Software and beyond.01:05:41 - Payload & Towing capabilities.01:08:00 - Lightning Round - Rivian, F-150 Lightning, Scout, and more.01:12:45 - EREV (Electric Range-Extended Vehicle).01:16:10 - Battery tech advancements.01:20:50 - Final thoughts.

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with Nissan Americas' Regional SVP & Chief Planning Officer, Ponz Pandikuthira, to talk about the future of the industry, EVs, Software Defined Vehicles, autonomy, Formula E, as well as Nissan's current & future product lineup, including EVs & hybrids!0:40 - About today's guest.6:06 - Why electrification is InEVitable.9:33 - Selling the skeptics.12:28 - ANNOUNCEMENT - Nissan's Plug-In Hybrids are coming to America!18:38 - Educating the customer on the EREV (Plug-In Hybrid).22:01 - Transition to full electrification.26:26 - Timeline for Solid State Battery (SSB) tech.29:36 - Building EV tech in the US.33:25 - Advantages of the Software Defined Vehicle.36:50 - Software development.40:00 - China's unprecedented EV growth.46:56 - Voyah's voice control technology.52:31 - Future product lineup.52:57 - Nissan Chill-Out concept.58:06 - Nissan EREV Truck?01:00:41 - Autonomous vehicles - Tesla Robo Taxi, Waymo.01:07:21 - Ponz' early career.01:14:23 - Formula E.

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with Grid Operations Manager for California ISO/RC West - Cody Smith! The big question on everyone's mind - "Can the grid handle all these EVs?" Let's discuss...0:36 - Meat smoothie!?5:11 - Guest intro & role of CA ISO.7:52 - Deregulated power grids and market transparency.11:52 - How does the Grid work in America? East, West, & Texas.13:00 - Grid Operations Manager role.14:20 - California's green power initiatives and renewables impact.15:46 - California's progress in 2024.19:37 - EVs contribution to grid and battery technology.21:22 - Why battery technology is the key to a greener grid.24:53 - Power grid reliability, contingency planning, and energy careers.25:55 - Battery storage facilities.34:32 - Daily operations at CA ISO and future of EVs and AI in energy consumption.41:14 - Nuclear energy considerations and reducing natural gas use.46:25 - Grid capacity, Texas grid resilience, and renewables challenges.52:08 - Consumer experiences with solar energy and CA ISO's integration of renewables.56:57 - EV cost benefits and personal experiences.1:01:01 - Climate change effects and power grid reliability.1:04:54 - Environmental impacts of renewable energy installations.1:08:52 - Classic cars, environmental concerns, and the future of EVs.1:12:46 - Fundamental takeaways.1:154:55 - Battery technology advances and desire for fun EVs. *AI was used during the post production process to insert the correct dollar savings amount in the Western Energy Imbalance Market

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with former Head of Uber China and current Founder & CEO of Voistory, Ben Chiang! Ben shares the story of Uber China, ride sharing in China, what led to its demise, Ben's current projects - Volar & Voistory, as well as Ben's outlook on AI & practical tips for getting started!0:15 - About our guest Ben Chiang.2:40 - Ben's background and career path to Uber China.5:01 - Launching Uber China and Overcoming Challenges.11:20 - Uber China rollout, early struggles.20:05 - Strategies and Team Dynamics in Uber China.28:42 - Competition and Market Dynamics in Chinese Ride-Sharing.36:44 - Work-Life Balance and Cultural Challenges.46:18 - DiDi Competition and Transition to Uber HQ.54:40 - Forma - Virtual Try-Ons.56:41 - Entrepreneurial Ventures in AI and Voice Technology - Volar.1:00:32 - Voistory - Interactive Voice Journal.1:06:00 - Future outlook on AI.1:08:16 - Practical tips for using AI.

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman chat with former CTO of Lamborghini & current Advisor at Eccentrica, Maurizio Reggiani! Maurizio talks about the Bugatti EB 110, his engineering background, Marcello Gandini, his path to Lamborghini, Audi's acquisition of Lamborghini, the expansion of the Lamborghini brand, and Eccentrica's V12 Lamborghini Diablo restomod!0:54 - Question of the Day5:00 - About our guest.6:37 - Employee No. 2 at Bugatti.8:17 - Bugatti EB 110.12:08 - 6 years at Maserati.14:00 - Educational background.16:12 - Marcello Gandini - Cizeta-Moroder V16T & Diablo.22:04 - Path to Lamborghini.24:37 - Experience at Lamborghini in 1995.26:25 - Baby Diablo & Audi's acquisition of Lamborghini.34:35 - Ferdinand Piech.37:06 - Negotiating powertrain deal with Audi on behalf of Lamborghini.42:06 - Joining VW Group under Lamborghini.44:23 - Expansion of Lamborghini.51:22 - Analog vs Digital.54:37 - First experience with the power of EVs.55:43 - Does performance matter anymore?59:55 - Eccentrica's Lamborghini Diablo Restomod - The "V12".01:07:40 - Sound of the V12.01:10:24 - Adaptive suspension.01:12:43 - Eccentrica making only 19 V12's. Finding a donor car.01:14:10 - Price.01:15:52 - Ban on gas vehicles = growth in the restomod market.01:19:57 - Lamborghini Temerario.

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman chat with CEO & President of SEMA - Mike Spagnola! SEMA, or Specialty Equipment Market Association, is one of the largest trade shows in America! The guys chat with Mike about the history of SEMA, ushering in the EV era, The Chevron Doctrine, CARB EO, Cal Bill SB301, drivers of tomorrow, & what to look out for this year!0:40 - Special Announcement!3:35 - Question of the Day!8:38 - About our guest...9:41 - His New Nissan Z!13:20 - What is SEMA?14:37 - Scale of the event.16:06 - His first SEMA Show - Las Vegas. Typical SEMA attendee in 1979.19:16 - Bluetooth Driveshaft.22:38 - Where was SEMA with EVs in 2013?24:23 - Year of the Cybertruck?26:38 - Ushering in new technologies.28:08 - EV pushback in the early days?31:48 - What OEMs are in trouble?35:38 - Balancing Chinese products.40:08 - The Chevron Doctrine overturned.45:49 - CARB EO.49:10 - Cal Bill SB301.54:16 - Technology neutral.56:20 - Are you concerned about the new generation of drivers?01:00:09 - Do you own an EV? 01:01:50 - B2B vs Consumer attendees.01:06:30 - What to look out for this year? Live Stream!01:07:40 - Vehicle of the year? 

Motortrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with Rivian Founder & CEO, RJ Scaringe! RJ talks about EV adoption, Rivian R2, Rivian R3 & R3X, Rivian Commercial Van, Autonomy, Improvements from Gen 1 to Gen 2, NVIDIA partnership, Android Automotive, Unreal Engine, VW partnership, GenAI, international markets, NACS, Halloween mode, and a lightning round!2:26 -Are EVs really InEVitable?4:52 - EV adoption rate.7:56 - How much is cost a factor in adoption8:47 - Excitement around release of R2 & R3.10:27 - R3, & R3X Benchmarks.13:10 - Suspension, electro hydraulic damper.17:44 - Approach to R2.20:56 - R2T? Or R3T?22:04 - Rivian Commercial Van. Consumer delivery van?24:37 - RoboTaxi? Autonomy?27:50 - Improvements from Gen 1 to Gen 2.31:40 - Dual NVIDIA drive.33:04 - Why NVIDIA?35:00 - Android Automotive.36:51 - Unreal Engine.42:00 - AR.43:02 - Uses of GenAI.46:30 - Tactile buttons vs full digital controls?48:33 - VW partnership with XPENG.50:25 - Chinese market vs US market.56:14 - VW partnership.01:04:07 - Lightning Round! FSD App? Heavy Duty Truck? NACS? Open roof? Quad? 01:11:00 - R2 & R3X timing?01:13:33 - Electric door handles.01:14:14 - Subscriptions.01:18:47 - Halloween mode!01:19:08 - New colors coming.01:19:51 - Bi-directional charging?01:23:12 - DTC vs Dealerships.01:25:37 - Tesla.01:26:52 - Porsche.01:30:20 - Rivian sports car??

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman take the podcast on the road to Portland International Raceway for Portland E-Prix to chat with Nissan Formula E Team's Head of Performance & Simulation, Cristina Fernandez, AND Track Side Electronic & System Engineer, Charlotte Henry! The group discusses the Portland E-Prix, specifics about Portland International Raceway, the race strategy of a Formula E team, race simulators, and more! 0:56 - Question of the day! Affordable EVs in America.11:19 - About today's guests.12:44 - Their roles on Nissan's Formula E team.13:42 - Day-to-day.14:38 - On Portland International Raceway.16:21 - Race Simulators.19:46 - Path into motorsports.23:26 - EV Tech.26:31 - Solar race cars?30:32 - What to watch for in the race.33:20 - Tire wear.34:07 - Recharge at a pitstop?35:42 - Race strategy.38:28 - AI?39:10 - Formula E race team vs traditional race team.40:35 - Daily driver & offseason plans.

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman take the podcast on the road to the 2024 Portland E-Prix to chat with Nissan Formula E Team's Managing Director & Team Principal, Tommaso Volpe! Tommaso talks about the race season, the evolution of Formula E, the new Gen 4 car, the chess game of Formula E racing, finding the right drivers for Formula E, and more!0:56 - Question(s) of the Day - Formula E.9:50 - About our guest, Tommaso Volpe.11:24 - Goals for the season.13:52 - Team - Cristina Fernandez & Charlotte Henry15:44 - Evolution of Formula E.19:12 - Gen 4 race car.24:43 - The chess game of Formula E racing - Energy Efficiency.25:30 - New Nissan GT-R.26:32 - Sustainable mobility.27:07 - Formula E racing strategy.28:50 - The right drivers for Formula E.31:54 - Formula E vs. F1.33:25 - How Formula E informs daily EV driving.35:54 - What to watch out for.

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with MBRDNA Experience Designer, Dalal Elsheikh! What will user experience look like 10-15 years from now? Will we be exclusively looking at screens? What about VR or AR? How will AI be implemented?2:12 - Question of the Day.7:43 - Dalal's role at Mercedes.11:51 - Will Screens be the standard moving forward?15:00 - CarPlay.18:27 - Can cars keep up with the phone companies?22:03 - UX (User Experience) vs UI(User Interface).23:50 - Educational background - From NJU to Art Center.26:37 - Ford. The Factory Studio.32:40 - Wearable tech? 33:36 - Valet/Car Wash improvements.35:00 - VR, AR & HUD.41:36 - Incorporating AI.46:39 - Design inspiration & designing for the future.51:30 - EV pushback & moving goalposts.53:10 - China UX.57:00 - Brand experience.59:00 - Will.I.Am driving experience.01:01:45 - Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge!01:05:50 - Race Service. Travis Scott performance.01:08:00 - Drake vs Kendrick?01:09:19 - DalalDesignLab.com!

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with stuntman, Rally Champion, X Games athlete, & world explorer - Andrew Comrie-Picard! Andrew talks all about the TransGlobal Car Expedition - the world's FIRST around-the-world expedition through BOTH geographic poles!Learn more at TransGlobalCar.com0:36 - Question of the Day.5:12 - What is the TransGlobal Car Expedition!? The route.6:37 - Never been done before!9:00 - From Canada over the North Pole.11:44 - Driving over the Arctic Ocean!15:02 - Driving over ice plates with aluminum ladders.18:31 - The team.21:00 - Jonny's advice text.24:37 - Scientific purpose for the journey. Ice thickness survey.29:53 - Starlink.33:43 - Light pollution survey.36:04 - Melting ice!37:54 - Logistic support: Air drops, political conflicts, & broken ice runways.43:14 - Vehicles.46:00 - Yemelya Special Mobile Unit.50:00 - Yemelya designer, Vasily Elagin.51:00 - Politicization of the North Pole.53:12 - What's Greenland like?54:07 - Only minus 40 degrees!56:28 - Polar days and shifting ice57:10 - From North Pole to Greenland... over moving ice caps!59:40 - Who paid for all this!?01:01:41 - Lightning Round!

MotorTrend's Ed oh & Jonny Lieberman chat with Electrify Expo Founder & CEO - BJ Birtwell! Want to test drive an EV? Want to learn more about EVs? The guys discuss the mission of Electrify Expo, the EV learning curve, the politicization of EVs, fighting FUD, rapid advancement by the Chinese market, and more!Learn more at ElectrifyExpo.com!0:37 - Question of the Day!8:35 - 3 years of Electrify Expo!11:56 - First tour Tesla signed onto.15:55 - How Tesla joined Electrify Expo16:29 - Ah-ha moments in first year?18:19 - Early EV advocate crowd, & new skeptics.21:54 - EV learning curve.23:37 - 8 city tour!25:11 - Regional differences in consumer knowledge about EVs.25:57 - Not just cars! E-Bikes, Scooters, Electric boats, RVs and more!28:55 - Demos courses!32:20 - Prices?35:33 - Former EV Skeptic - His lightbulb moment about EVs.42:15 - Politicization of EVs.46:07 - While the U.S. argues, China advances.49:48 - Election year, where is the dust going to settle?52:28 - Fighting FUD for EV adoption.57:55 - Power at the Expo?01:02:07 - What is the mission of Electrify Expo?

High performance EV tuning! MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with RyWire Founder/Owner, Ryan Basseri! Ryan discusses his EV S2k - a Honda S2000 with a Tesla Motor & batteries, his first EV conversion with Bisimoto, his Honda Civic EG & EK conversion kits, and more!0:45 - Question of the Day - EV Trolls.6:50 - Honda guy.9:00 - Honda tuning.10:31 - The EV S2k - Tesla-Powered Honda S2000!13:38 - AEM.16:40 - First EV conversion with Bisimoto - Porsche 911.22:44 - Final specs on EV S2k.27:02 - Honda Civic conversions.29:17 - Honda Civic EG kit.35:55 - Quick charging?39:17 - Cooling & heating.42:13 - Cost.42:57 - Smog exempt!45:23 - Engine simulation.49:17 - Thoughts on Regen?50:23 - Honda Civic Ek.53:10 - Lucid, Model 3 or Model Y?55:39 - How it all started!01:02:50 - SEMA.01:04:21 - RyWire.com, RyWire on YouTube, @RyWire_MotorSport on IG!

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with The Mobility House's CEO North America, Greg Hintler, and Head of Business Development & Growth North America, Zoheb Davar! The mission of The Mobility House to create Zero Emission, Zero Cost charging through the use of their smart charging technology - ChargePilot!0:39 - Question of the Day - Range Anxiety.4:53 - What is The Mobility House?5:42 - Zero emission, Zero cost charging.7:27 - Unidirectional vs bidirectional charging.9:04 - What's holding up bidirectional charging?11:40 - What is the product?14:35 - Grid limitations?16:54 - Charge Management - Three Phase Approach.18:05 - Value in the battery. UNUSED energy storage!19:47 - The Duck Curve.23:20 - Fleet management.25:18 - Commercial use.29:19 - Bidirectional charge software.31:48 - New energy reserve could prevent brownouts!34:30 - Implementation.37:54 - "The grid can't handle it!"40:39 - Commercial grid vs residential grid.43:17 - "EV sales are slowing."45:50 - Fast chargers?47:57 - Partners.55:09 - How do I sign up?57:19 - Final thoughts.

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman sit down with GM Energy's VP, Wade Sheffer, and Head of Product & Revenue, Aseem Kapur! GM Energy joins the InEVitable to discuss their revolutionary new way to power the home with the GM Energy Home System! The guys discuss home energy storage, bi-directional charging, load shifting, smart charging, educating consumers, GM Energy PowerBank, Energy Genie Tool, and more!0:43 - Tesla lays off entire Supercharging team.6:27 - What is the GM Energy Home System?09:57 - Power Shift Charger - Bi-directional charging.12:08 - Load Shifting, Charge Management.16:53 - Sell energy back to the grid, helping grid stabilization.18:50 - Pricing.22:20 - Will I need a panel upgrade?25:00 - Charge any GM vehicle, discharging available on select models.28:10 - Educating customers.28:55 - Power Bank.32:15 - Power Bank price/IRA credit.33:17 - Energy Genie Tool.36:13 - Why do I need a storage battery?40:25 - How's our nation's grid?43:02 - EVs assisting the grid to prevent brownouts.45:00 - Savings calculator?50:00 - Monetization.54:05 - Ed's Hummer EV example.01:00:28 - GM moving to NACS.01:04:37 - All through the app.

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman continue their conversation with Out Of Spec Review Founder, Kyle Conner! PART 2 includes Kyle's thoughts on towing with EVs, tow racing over the Rocky Mountains, Silverado EV, cold weather, charging in freezing weather, plug-in hybrids, BMW XM, charging infrastructure, Electricity America, NACS, Rivian, EV testing, and the most important factor about an EV!0:37 - Question of the Week - The future of car keys.3:28 - "You can't tow with EVs."4:33 - EV Tow Race over the Rocky Mountains!6:42 - Silverado EV. 9:32 - "EVs don't work in the cold."10:52 - What happens to EVs in cold weather?13:39 - Cold Soaking Tesla Model 3 in (-14) degrees.15:04 - Why Kyle charges his Rivian to only 50%.17:53 - What happens when EVs run out of charge?20:11 - Anti-EV comments.25:40 - Kyle's most recommended EVs.26:30 - Plug-in Hybrids.27:44 - BMW XM.28:23 - Thoughts on Hyundai IONIC 5N fake gears.29:31 - Charging infrastructure improvements.35:26 - Jonny's Lucid charging story.37:26 - Why isn't Electrify America adding more chargers?39:28 - Rate Your Charge.43:09 - Is NACS the gold standard of charging networks?48:13 - Non-Teslas at Tesla Supercharger networks.50:12 - Why the Rivian R1T is Kyle's favorite vehicle.52:40 - How to improve the Rivian R1 platform.58:02 - Who's in trouble?01:00:30 - Reviewing American EVs.01:05:53 - EV Testing.01:09:11 - Most important factor about an EV? "The 10% challenge".

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman chat with Out of Spec Review Founder, Kyle Conner! PART 1 includes Tesla Model 3 Performance vs Hyundai IONIC 5 N, Tesla Cyberbeast, cars in the Out of Spec fleet, Porsche Macan Electric, One-Pedal driving, breaking the Cannonball Run record in EV, automotive influences, about his review process, his interest in EVs, and misinformation around EVs! Hear more about Kyle's TESTING process in PART 2!0:40 - Question of the Week. 4:14 - About Kyle.6:37 - Tesla Model 3 Performance reaction.7:55 - When is a car ready for sale?10:50 - IONIC 5 N vs Tesla Model 3 Performance.17:10 - Tesla Cyberbeast review.22:27 - What's in the Out Of Spec Review fleet?26:50 - Porsche Macan Electric review(in France).30:03 - Kyle can drive!32:25 - Macan software review.34:23 - One-Pedal driving.38:45 - Who the hell are you!?40:56 - Breaking the Cannonball Run record in EV.42:38 - Automotive influences.46:24 - About Out Of Spec Review.50:07 - Why EVs?51:00 - Misinformation around EVs.55:22 - Stay tuned for PART 2!

MotorTrend's Ed Loh & Jonny Lieberman chat with Hagerty CEO, McKeel Hagerty! McKeel discusses the wide reach of Hagerty, the All-Porsche Broad Arrow x Air|Water Auction, the early years of Hagerty, the National Historic Vehicle Registry, the impact of Autonomous driving on car insurance, his passions to fight for our right to drive, preserving car culture, Tesla, the EV Holy War, his first EV experiences/purchase, the future of restoration, car culture of future generations, and more!0:53 - Question of the Week.6:23 - About Hagerty.9:02 - Broad Arrow x Air|Water Auction - 78 Porsches!14:04 - Motorlux.15:53 - Early years of Hagerty.23:53 - Studied Russian Orthodox Theology.27:21 - National Historic Vehicle Register - DriversFoundation.org/register32:57 - FIVA.36:17 - Autonomous impact on insurance.41:13 - Could be the last insurance company left.43:42 - Fighting for the right of humans to drive!46:04 - Amelia, 40 years from today - will EVs be on the lawn47:00 - Early anti-Prius bias.51:31 - Cybertruck?52:50 - Thoughts on Tesla currently.54:23 - Driver's on their phones.56:54 - Favorite EVs.01:00:00 - EV Holy War.01:01:50 - First EV experience/purchase. Early Tesla Roadster.01:05:03 - The future of restoration. MacLauren F1.01:10:47 - McKeel's legacy - Saving car culture.01:12:07 - What's missing in the car world?01:14:00 - Gaming & car culture.01:15:37 - Car Culture of the future.