The Best One Yet - BONUS 🚙 “The Car Pod” — Our Best Car stories yet from 2023

Episode Date: December 20, 2023

A bonus episode featuring 3 of our top pop-biz news stories on the car industry from 2023. So fill up that tank, charge that battery, and wax that chassis. Let’s jump into our 3 car stories…1) Mercedes from June 20th: Mercedes created the first ever AI car with ChatGPT — Mercedes just gave birth to The Companionship Economy.2) Jeep from August 1st: Jeep’s got a surprise new enemy: The Ford Bronco — So we jumped into the numbers behind the car industry’s zero sum game.3) Porsche from October 2nd: Porsche jumped industries, from cars to condos — Porsche’s luxury apartment building in Miami shows us the cure for a commodity.Subscribe to our newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletterWant merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.comFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on Youtube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. And today's car pod is the best one yet. Feels like a T-Boy. T-Boy is the top three pop business news stories you need to know today. But this year-end bonus episode is our top three car stories from 2023. So here's what Nick and I think. If you've ever driven a car, built a car, sold a car, or strapped a seatbelt onto yourself, this show is for you.

Oh, and if your buddy is designing pistons up in Detroit, you're going to want to send him this episode. Yeah. And if you do send this episode, then show us your share. Yeah, show us. You'll be entered to win a free kit of T-Boy merch and two tickets to a T-Boy live show next year. In the meantime, Jack, I am strapped in like a passenger princess.

What are we got for today's car pod? For our first story, it's about Mercedes from June 20th. Mercedes-Benz created the first ever AI car with ChachyPT. Because Mercedes just gave birth to the companionship economy. For our second story, it's Jeep from August 1st. Jeep has a surprise new enemy. the Ford Bronco. Jack and I jumped into the numbers behind the car industry's zero-sum game. And our third and final story is Porsche from October 2nd. Porsche jumped industries from cars to

condos. Porsche's luxury apartment building in Miami shows us the cure for a commodity. Or is it Porsche? But yet he's before we had that wonderful mix, because 2023 had more car stories than car parts. Jack, the car industry just had its wildest year since the wheel. Now, this year, new car prices actually fell by 4% compared to last year. No more waiting on parts for your Prius all the way down in Panama. And used car prices, they fell too. You were hoping to get more for your trading, and we were too. Then things got wild when Tesla started inviting its rivals to use their supercharging network. So apparently now you can charge that Volvo at a Tesla parking spot.

But this year is also the year that EV rage started to chill out a little bit. Premature electrification. Meanwhile, Toyota's been saying, I told yourself this whole time. Toyota's hybrid cars are the training wheels Americans really want right now. And over in luxury, Rolls-Royce had its most profitable year ever. Thanks to Crystal Customizations in the backseat of a Rolls-Royce. On the complete other end of the spectrum, VinFast invented the least profitable car ever. A $20,000 electric vehicle.

And yet the biggest car story, it had to be the strike. For 41 days, car workers from GM-40. and Chrysler stopped working on the line. They literally pumped the brakes. But now they're pumping banks. The Detroit Auto Strike is the biggest strike in a century. In the wildest year for cars since the horse. So besties grab your chassis.

And fill her up with premium unleaded. Or just regular electricity. Either way, Jack. Let's hit our three stories. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea to cause a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is a non-60%.

That's a fat tip. Tea Boy City on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show. Start the show. For our first story, we've got the Mercedes AI car. This is from June 20th.

Mercedes and ChatGPT just partnered up for the first ever AI car. And we're witnessing the birth of the companionship economy. No, Yetis, let's play a little word association here. Jack, here we go, here we go. When I say Mercedes, what do you picture? I think huge SUV at a ski resort, at a valet at the hotel. You're not in a Mercedes unless you own a lot of sweaters. You've got to have sweaters on.

But Mercedes is trying to make themselves full-on Silicon Valley. Yeah, they're doing less Connecticut suburb, more Silicon Valley. Like, less vineyard vines, more Patagonia fleeces. Here's the news. Mercedes-Benz just became the first car to add chat GPT inside. We're talking heated seats, antelock brakes, and an AI voice assistant sit in shotgun. Right now, almost a million Mercedes-Benz drivers can activate chat GPT in their car. This may be you listening right now.

Like, you could actually activate chat GPT in your Mercedes at this moment. All you have to do is say, hey Mercedes, I want to join the beta program. And then your car turns into an AI car. It starts talking to you. Now, yet here's what Jack and I thought was really interesting about this story. This new feature, it isn't about commands. It's about conversation. We've been able to command cars for a while now.

Yeah, like you can tell your Mercedes to turn down the volume or turn up the AC. Yeah, Alexa does that too. This new feature, it offers conversation with a voice-based AI. So here's how this is going to go down. Let's see you're driving to Philadelphia. You can ask the AI about what restaurant you should go to. You're going to be like, hey, you got anything near Ridden House Square? It's going to be like, yeah, do you like Israeli food?

I love Kuskous. Oh, I'll get your reservation. It's a half. Boom. that was your conversation. You can also say, hey, why is Philadelphia called the city of brotherly love, by the way? And the car is going to pivot. It's going to start talking to you about the history of Philadelphia instead.

But it's not just practical applications. You can have like existential conversations. All right, yet is here's where things get wild. Instead of passively listening to the radio, you can have a deep conversation about the meaning of life. I mean, Jack, you got a two-hour ride down to Philadelphia. You could start like sharing things about your childhood. like the chat GPT becomes your therapist for the ride. So, Yetis, this is a robo passenger sitting right there in the car with you all the time.

We're talking about AI that just called shotgun on your ride. Luke Skywalker had R2D2. Yes. You're going to have this AI copilot. Exactly. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies in artificial intelligence? We're witnessing the birth of the companionship economy. Yeties, Jack and I were talking over the weekend, and we realized we've never had a true companionship industry at scale.

Companionship hasn't been in industry because you get companionship from other people or from pets. Or if you get it from movies, podcasts, and books, those are like another form of companionship. True. But those forms of companionship are one-way relationships. Right. You consume it and that's it. On the other hand, true companionship is a two-way relationship. You engage with each other and have meaningful conversations. Well, with artificial intelligence, we're seeing the potential to commercialize companionship at scale. And that could mitigate the growing loneliness crisis that we have across the world.

For example, a Mercedes driver can get companionship while stuck on I-95. And a lonely 95-year-old can get companionship in life. So the way Jack and I see it, a huge opportunity for AI, it's the companionship economy. For a second story, we've got Jeep. From August 1st. The iconic Jeep Wrangler was the car of the summer, but now it's losing to a new domestic enemy. Because one bot Bronco is one not bought Jeep. But Yetis, there is no brand that loves bragging about its history more than the Jeep. Americans love their World War II movies. Well,

Jeep is basically a World War II hero. Let's go back. June 1940, the U.S. military asked the car industry to develop a cheap functional four-by-four vehicle. Just 75 days later, the Jeep was unveiled. The Jeep, it was actually known as a general purpose vehicle, GP, general purpose. It was very utilitarian, but they nicknamed that general purpose vehicle a Jeep. That's where the name comes from. And four years after that, jeeps were being dropped from airplanes into France to fight on the battlefield to D-Day. Let me repeat that. Jeeps were being dropped from airplanes into France on D-Day.

The first car to parachute, wasn't it, Jack? Yeah, they parachuted vehicles down to the ground. where American Allied soldiers were waiting to drive them to reinvade Europe. Hey, Buick, what were you doing in the 40s? But now the tables have turned. Get this, Yeties. Now Jeep is the one getting invaded. Sales of Jeep, the iconic SUV, have fallen for eight straight quarters. And that's not all. Jack and I jumped in T-boy style

and discovered that Jeep has fallen from the number six top-selling car brand to number nine in the United States. Jeep is figuratively stuck in the mud. And Jack, what's the key reason for Jeep's awkward situation right now? They've become way too expensive. Yeti's Jeep has become a four-wheel drive diva. In the last three years, the average price of a Jeep sold has risen by 36% to $55,000. You want to buy a Jeep? Go to Vogue magazine.

Anyone Tours driving this thing. Did my Jeep Wrangler really need that Bluetooth tow hitch? Now, Yeties, Jack and I should point out, that has benefited Jeep. like it has boosted profits for every Jeep sold. It's been great for Jeep. But some Jeep buyers are ditching Jeep for other brands. Which reminded Jack and I of a funny thing we noticed a year ago. Almost exactly one year ago, we noticed that the Ford Bronco had become the new car of the summer.

Ford, they'd resurrected their classic SUV with beach vibes that men and women were loving. These things were getting driven on every beach. Well, today we're looking at the numbers. Ford Bronco sales rose by 38% in the first quarter. while Jeep sales are down 17% in the same quarter. Coincidence? I don't even know what a tow hitch is, Jack. So let's just go to the takeaway.

So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Jeep? When it comes to the car industry, it is a zero-sum game. Yet he's last week, Jack and I told you about the rare positive sum game. And our example was Barbenheimer. Barbenheimer, two movies that didn't compete. They actually helped each other. And together, they set a post-pandemic. box office record. But besties, Jack and I want to be clear about something. In most industries,

it's not a positive sum game. In fact, in most industries, it's a zero-sum game. It's a zero-sum game. Ford Broncos gains are Jeep Wranglers's loss. That is a zero-sum game. People aren't buying both a Ford Bronco and a Wrangler. They're just buying one of them. Yeah, you don't need two toe hitches, do you make? Still don't know what that means, but no, you don't need both, Jack. Oppenheimer benefited from Barbie and vice versa. But Bronco doesn't benefit. from Wrangler. Because when it comes to the car industry, it's a zero-sum game. For our third and final story, we've got the Porsche apartment. Take us back to October 2nd, Nick. Porsche, Bentley, and Aston Martin are all opening what we're calling car apartments. Carpartment buildings.

Compartment buildings, yeah. Luxury car brands are expanding from selling cars to selling condos. Oh, Jack, the spiciest new trend in real estate. What is it, man? It's not a modern farmass. No, unfortunately it's not. It's branded real estate. Luxury brands are sticking their logos on your home. Yetty's New York Times reporting has found that luxury car companies in particular are dipping their toes into real estate. Look at Porsche, Bentley, and Aston Martin. They have all opened or are in the process of opening apartment buildings. We are not joking. Jack, can we head on down to Miami and enter the Porsche Tower? The Porsche Tower opened in 2017. The law.

The lobby of this building is decked out in the same bronze, red, and black as the Porsche logo is. The doorman are like a Formula One pit crew. Jack, can you describe the elevator for us over there? There is a car elevator where tenants of the building can drive their car into the elevator, push the button for 58, because that's where your apartment is, and all while sitting in your car, go up to the 58th floor and then drive your car into your 58th floor apartment. Yeties, the gym looks like a V-12 engine. The building has two car driving simulators. That's a two-bedroom chassis.

So that's the Porsche Tower. But let's head down the beach to Aston Martin Apartments, which are about to open. The Aston Martin Apartments are a 66-story car turned into a skyscraper, as they described it. If you book the penthouse, it literally comes with a sedan. Oh, and that's not all. Also in Miami, they're breaking ground on a Bentley building, too. The lobby is going to have the same diamond-studded leather as the interior of the car. But yet he's here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. We jumped in

T-boy style and we noticed it's not just luxury car brands that are getting into branded real estate. In Italy, four top fashion houses are also selling homes. Fendi, Bulgari, Mizoni, Armani, all of those fashion houses are selling real houses now. In Toronto, Nobu, the famous sushi restaurant, is going from Black Cod to condos. Jack, this is just like the last season of succession. No Spoilers, by the way. This is what Living Plus was. It's extending a non-real estate brand into real estate. But frankly, Eddie, here's what Jack and I are thinking. The more strategic opportunity here, it's branded hotels, not apartment buildings. Yeah, because only the tenants can experience this Porsche building. If it were a hotel, many more people could experience Porsche. For example,

a Goop beach resort, that would do pretty well, wouldn't it, Jack? Every Goop superfan would book a hotel vacation at Goob. Gwyneth would sell more face cream at her hotel than on her website. I might even stop by. They may make you remove one of your collars, Jack, but we should definitely go. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the Porsche Tower? The cure for a commodity is a brand. Yeties, most beachfront condos in Miami, they look the same. Frankly, they're commodities. If one of the buildings adds valet parking, so does every other building on the strip. And you know what? Here's the problem with commodities. The cheapest price usually wins. So to not be a commodity, these Miami developers are borrowing luxury car brands.

Guess what, besties? Porsche, they have no involvement in this Porsche Tower thing. Like, they're just licensing their brand and logo to the building. The developer is paying Porsche to use the Porsche brand because the Porsche brand has value. The Porsche Tower has a story they can tell prospective buyers to avoid being a commodity. And if they avoid being a commodity, they can devoid being a commodity, they can demand a higher price. Because how do you cure a commodity, Jack? You cure it with a brand. And before we go, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack and me, but mainly Jack because he has an unhealthy obsession with the Brooklyn Bridge. Okay, the Brooklyn Bridge opened up in

1883. When it opened, people were afraid to walk or cross it. I mean, yeah, he's 1883. This was the longest bridge in the world. So they had to say, how are we going to test the strength of this new long Brooklyn Bridge. And nobody was volunteering. There also were no cars to test the bridge because cars didn't exist yet. So they tested the bridge with something else that was really big. What did they test the bridge with, Jack? Elephants. They tested the Brooklyn Bridge with elephants. In 1883, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey's circus paraded their troop of elephants across the bridge in a public spectacle. Everyone in Brooklyn and Manhattan saw these elephants going across the bridge so they felt safer walking across the bridge.

the bridge. If the bridge can hold jumbo, it can hold jimbo too. Including eventually cars. Yeties, you looked fantastic for our car focused bonus pod. Everyone with great, Jack. If you got a buddy who's interested in the car industry or somebody who just likes cars, you got to send them this episode. I mean, Jack, I think what we got to say technically, legally, is pull your car over right now, go to the side of the road, then send him this episode. Text your buddy about today's pod. They're going to love it. And if you show us that you shared the show, you'll be entered to win a free kit of T-boy merch and two tickets to a T-boy live show next year.

And then you can drive anywhere on that chassis looking fantastic. Call it Potto Pilot. In the meantime, Jack and I got to whip up our fourth bonus pod for the holidays. No credit on my Pottopilot line? It was so good. It deserved its own credit, Jack. Yeah, it is Nick and I. I'll see you tomorrow.