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VW впервые закрывает завод | GAC начнут собирать в РФ | Разбился единственный Cybertruck в Уганде — Transcript

by Асафьев. Жизнь · 9,185 words · 1,515 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Good Sunday to you, and welcome to the
0:02last news broadcast of this year.
0:05The second to last.
0:06Sunday, the last one. There's Wednesday
0:08left. But the Sunday one is the final
0:10news broadcast.
0:10There's Wednesday left. And the Russian
0:12language also stayed in past years.
0:14Yeah.
0:15Alrighty then. Yes. Hi. It burned out,
0:24the electric car that didn't go as
0:26planned for us. I have a very strange,
0:30I don't know about you, I have a very
0:32strange pre-New Year feeling. Usually,
0:34when, well, New Year is approaching,
0:36everyone has some desire to sum things
0:38up, do some summary, analyze something
0:41somehow, but this year it's just ending
0:43—screw it, basically. Don't you have
0:45that, no?
0:46What is a "sumary"?
0:47Stas, you’re just not on the ball.
0:48Maybe that’s it, because
0:50No, no, I had a few days off recently
0:53where I could sit, think, and so on.
0:56And somehow, well. I don't know. No.
0:58What is a summary?
0:59A sum. Results, tallying, an Excel
1:03sheet, a total.
1:05Well, say so then
1:06there, Maria. It’s summer, sir.
1:10It’s like it’s flying.
1:13That’s the state we’re in. But for
1:15our year, summary is summer. Today
1:17there will be a stream with the very
1:19same company. Also a bit very strange,
1:21but one way or another, no jokes. If
1:23you are watching this episode on Sunday
1:25, we have a big New Year's stream today
1:27. This is our tradition, where we all
1:29gather in a big crowd, are on air for
1:31many hours, share our internal stuff,
1:33truly sum up the year, and will be
1:34telling all sorts of internal things
1:36and interesting thoughts that have come
1:38to us by the end of this year. But
1:40somehow, if we take my own personal
1:42feeling, on one hand, it’s as if
1:44there’s some kind of, mm, aura
1:46hanging in the air, that it feels like
1:49everything is at a low start, that a
1:51light at the end of the tunnel has
1:53glimmered somewhere, but it also feels
1:55like no light has glimmered at the end
1:57of the tunnel. We are all waiting for
1:59some, well, positive news and so on,
2:01but at the same time you’re already
2:03like, if I’m a regular person who is
2:04constantly calling for positivity,
2:06I’m this total optimist that
2:07everything will be fine, no matter what
2:09happens, etc., I’m turning a bit into
2:10a fatalist, who’s already like: "
2:12Whatever will be, will be, screw it."
2:14Well, to analyze something, put things
2:16on shelves, sort them out and so on.
2:18Well, I just, I don’t have that
2:20feeling. I don't know why. That’s
2:21probably a separate question that
2:23deserves some analysis. I just want to
2:25relax, stop worrying about everything,
2:27and calmly enjoy these New Year
2:29holidays, take a breather, and spend
2:31them with my parents. Magnificent.
2:34Do you see the Christmas tree next to
2:35you?
2:36Uh-huh. Not a single ornament on it,
2:38like, we’ve already given up on
2:40everything, we aren't expecting
2:42anything.
2:43Oh, we just couldn't be bothered.
2:45Let’s keep it light, no serious talk.
2:47What is this, a Nabiullina brooch, what
2:49do you mean there aren't any? Did we
2:50take them off or not? No, we just
2:52couldn't be bothered. We just couldn't
2:53be bothered to deck it out with
2:54ornaments. Why is your mood like that?
2:56Our food delivery really let us down.
3:01Why did you order it, then?
3:04I guess I wanted to. Well, there’s
3:08the classic method, just order a pizza.
3:16Is that what you remembered from
3:17everything you were recalling while
3:19watching with me today? The whole
3:21library today. Guys,
3:23we were just discussing porn videos
3:25right before we started filming.
3:26Where was I?
3:28You were setting up the camera. You
3:29were very engrossed in your little
3:31thing there,
3:32and you stayed behind the scenes. Were
3:36you filming porn videos?
3:37No.
3:39But I’d like to.
3:42What are your plans for the evening,
3:44Aksar? New Year’s is a time when
3:46wishes come true.
3:47I wouldn’t want to voice that.
3:50Regardless of what state you’re in as
3:52you approach the New Year—and I truly
3:54empathize with every office worker
3:56trying to hit deadlines, finish all
3:58tasks, complete projects, finalize
4:00reports, wrap up sales, and all that
4:02stuff. Hang in there, hang in there.
4:04There’s just a little bit left, and
4:06then we’ll have our days off, our New
4:08Year holidays. Two weeks until the
4:09twelfth, I believe, that’s when we
4:11have our break. Magnificent. I’ll
4:13come back later and share how it felt
4:14to celebrate New Year’s with my
4:15parents, because, well, I haven’t
4:16done that in a long time. It just
4:18happened that after I moved to Moscow,
4:19I would come by before New Year’s to
4:21say happy holidays and do things like
4:22that. But I was always somewhere else
4:24for the actual New Year’s—either at
4:25other parties, or in another country,
4:26or somewhere else entirely. I’m
4:28really looking forward to it myself.
4:30And with that, let’s move on to the
4:32news. Where should we start? There’s
4:38just so much good stuff. Ford is
4:40discontinuing the F-150 Lightning
4:42electric pickup. It appeared in a flash
4:44, and it vanished in a flash. I would
4:46use some kind of slogan like this to
4:48sum the whole thing up, because we had
4:50these magnificent plans that everything
4:52was going to be electric, that there
4:54would be a bunch of electric pickups,
4:56and we would succeed in reshaping the
4:58American auto market for the green
4:59agenda and so on. Fine, when we're
5:01discussing someone like Rivian, which
5:03generally doesn't have very high sales.
5:04Fine, when we're discussing some
5:06startup that's shutting down simply
5:07because it couldn't sustain its
5:09financial model. The F-150 Lightning is
5:11the most popular electric pickup in the
5:13States overall. It is produced and
5:15bought by the tens of thousands, but it
5:17is still unprofitable, because it can't
5:19even catch up to the Mustang in sales.
5:21Mustang, I mean the coupe, the one that
5:23is, well, a normal car.
5:25Do I understand correctly that we are
5:26talking about a car, not an iPhone
5:27charger?
5:28You understand everything correctly. It
5:29looks about the same. Just in the shape
5:32of a pickup, but now the F150 Type-C is
5:34the new model. They’ve been forced to
5:36now, yes. But at the same time, since
5:38there hasn't been an official reversal
5:40saying the electric agenda is
5:41definitely canceled (I mean, across the
5:42whole planet) and that we definitely
5:44don't need to do this anymore, they
5:45still say at the same time: "Look,
5:47we're cutting production sites, we're
5:48pulling the Lightning from production
5:50—this is our most popular electric
5:52pickup and one of our most popular
5:53electric models overall." But at the
5:55same time, we will still continue
5:57development. Like, in Europe, we’re
5:59thinking about setting up joint
6:00production with Renault. We already
6:02have one with Volkswagen, but that’s
6:03been an absolute failure. But don’t
6:04pay attention to that. We're also going
6:06to think about doing something with
6:07Renault on their Ampere platform,
6:09everything will definitely be fine
6:10there. And at the same time, the
6:12official plans that after 2030 Ford
6:14should have more than 50%of its model
6:16lineup electrified aren't going
6:18anywhere. I mean, out of what is being
6:20sold. At the moment, the figure is 17%
6:22with all the efforts, with all the,
6:24well, with all the marketing, PR, and
6:26engineering base. Development and so on
6:29, with all this stuff, we’ve managed
6:31to reach 17%of volume. And we need 50%
6:34in just 4 more years. Sounds like a
6:35solid plan that everything is going to
6:37be just fine for those guys. It’s
6:39worth adding here that they have
6:40revised things slightly and are
6:42claiming that 50%electrified vehicles
6:44...
6:44Yes, they’ll pull hybrids into this,
6:46and then they’ll just use purely
6:47bureaucratic language to try to explain
6:49the whole thing, saying that we’re
6:51actually doing fine. Why don't we try
6:53to link our factory metrics to these
6:54indicators somehow, like showing that
6:56we've worked on reducing factory CO2
6:58emissions, or something else along
7:00those lines. But the fact remains that
7:02gradually, even some of the seemingly
7:04most popular models that we were
7:07betting on are very quickly fading into
7:09oblivion. That's wonderful. Divine,
7:12simply divine.
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7:18problem for the elderly. We are all at
7:20risk. Fortunately, I haven't had to
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7:23that's only because I generally don't
7:24answer any calls, and I rarely check my
7:26chats. But I can tell you the story of
7:28a guy from a production company
7:29everyone knows. The guy is 26, super
7:31attentive at work, responsible, and
7:33handles communication with clients.
7:34Scammers skillfully faked a client's
7:36account and sent over a document for
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7:40have to click on a link. And in that
7:42moment, even with a clear head, it
7:43wouldn't cross your mind that you are
7:44being scammed right then and there.
7:45When you get 10 files like that a day,
7:47you don't really analyze them. And then
7:49, it followed the classic script. A
7:50click on the link and the account was
7:51stolen, along with the phone number.
7:53The phone, naturally, is linked to all
7:54the employees 'social media accounts.
7:56And now the scammers have direct access
7:58. To what? Exactly, to all the
8:00production company's accounts. And it's
8:02no longer just one person at risk, but
8:03the entire company. And while you think
8:05this won't happen to you because you're
8:07young, smart, attentive, and just a guy
8:09in general. It is already happening to
8:11people who are just as young, smart,
8:12and attentive. The story ended with a
8:14police report, a change of number, and
8:16a password reset. But he could have
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8:19example, and seen a warning immediately
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8:22would be no sad story at all. In
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9:01safe; you can click on it.
9:07And is Japan planning to introduce
9:09taxes on electric vehicles based on
9:10their weight?
9:11Whoa.
9:12Whoa. Well, for now a little, just bit
9:14by bit, little by little. It’s just
9:16that in Japan, like in many other
9:18countries, electric vehicle owners pay
9:20almost no taxes. They don't have a fuel
9:22tax, plus they have subsidies for
9:24buying EVs and so on. And the state
9:26gets almost no money from people using
9:28electric vehicles. Well, other than the
9:30fact that electricity is being sold,
9:31like. But we are using the transport
9:33infrastructure, right?
9:35No, no, we're abusing it.
9:36No, no, we're wearing it down. Yes,
9:38electric vehicles weigh more,
9:39heavier.
9:40More. Consequently, the asphalt can't
9:43handle that, the asphalt doesn't like
9:44that. And who pays for the asphalt?
9:46What language did you switch to, guys?
9:50What is this language without slang?
9:52We're eavesdropping on conversations.
9:54Don't interrupt each other. The most
9:55important thing
9:55was discussed in the Japanese
9:57government like this.
9:58In short, if you have an electric car
10:00over 2.5 tons, and that's every second
10:03EV, then 24,000 yen will be charged
10:05annually during the technical
10:06inspection. Well, in theory, they
10:09haven't fully adopted it yet. It seems
10:11there are still some discussions, like
10:13a draft law and all that, but the fact
10:14that electric vehicles will eventually
10:16be taxed with all the same taxes that
10:18gasoline cars have, that was clear a
10:20long time ago. And as soon as the
10:21number of electric cars became at least
10:23somewhat noticeable, they said, please
10:25pay taxes into the treasury.
10:27No, but what, they treat EVs like
10:29Toyota.
10:34They started assembling GAC cars in the
10:36Russian Federation. Out of the frying
10:38pan into the fire. It is specifically
10:40about the GS3, if you understand what
10:42that is.
10:42I understand.
10:43Where would you understand it from?
10:44Blue Vlas.
10:46Well yeah, by the way, and the M8
10:50minivan. The double pain is that this
10:52is all happening at the Hyundai plant.
10:54The sedative is that nobody needs this.
10:57Well, and in the perspective of 2026,
10:58we will see a large number of headlines
11:00that the Chinese will constantly try to
11:02localize some models, because, well,
11:03this is a logical consequence of the
11:05recycling fee. And, by the way, I
11:06recently posted a huge post on my
11:08Telegram channel, relevant to what I
11:09think about 2026. I wrote forecasts for
11:122025 at the end of 2024. And it’s
11:14quite pleasant to re-read that text,
11:16because quite a lot of it came true.
11:17And now they just posted a similar text
11:19about 2026. And they are talking here
11:21about having localized the M8. And I
11:23recently drove that piece of crap. Can
11:25you imagine what an M8 is?
11:26Well, it's like minivans that are
11:27trying to look cool.
11:28It's like an Alphard from GAC,
11:29something like that.
11:30Well, yes, yes. In terms of form factor
11:31, dimensions, and everything else.
11:33Yes. I have never driven a worse
11:34minivan. Even your "Bukhanka" is...
11:39What are you talking about? The world
11:40is full of terrible minivans.
11:41Let’s put it this way. The Bukhanka
11:43is a vehicle.
11:43It’s a legacy,
11:46machinery. It’s different, you see.
11:49It’s a state of mind.
11:50A minivan is something else; we’re
11:52talking about a car here. The Barguzin
11:54is, well, it’s the Barguzin. It’s
11:55just that there are cars, and then
11:56there is the Barguzin separately. And,
11:58well, the Nadezhda too. So, there’s
11:59those three. The three horsemen of the
12:00apocalypse. Yes. It’s surprising.
12:02They’re trying to position it as
12:04something where you can drive around,
12:06well, transport passengers, meaning
12:08it’s, you know, like a premium luxury
12:10thing, you get it? So that you can hop
12:12in there looking sharp, like a little
12:14Chinese businessman or an official, and
12:16get driven somewhere by a chauffeur.
12:18Because inside everything is allegedly
12:20leather, crystal-like, all very "ooh la
12:22la." Well, like the GAC, in short,
12:24there’s this minivan too, the same
12:25kind of thing. Only it’s as if no one
12:28ever tested it during pre-production
12:30trials, because it can’t hold the
12:32road at all, and at 80 km/h it shakes.
12:35At first, I thought, well, maybe I just
12:37got my hands on a bad one, or the
12:39person driving it was incompetent.
12:41I drove it myself, and I also rode as a
12:43passenger. Then I found another one,
12:44switched to it, and it was exactly the
12:46same. Between 80 and 100, you get some
12:49kind of transmission or suspension
12:51issue where even the seat shakes. This
12:54isn’t just a quirk of the specific
12:55cars I drove.
12:56It’s a budget massage. You don’t
12:58understand.
12:58You don’t get it. Yes, possibly. Then
13:00I went online and, well, yes, it’s
13:02actually a real thing. I’m not the
13:03only one who noticed it. And it’s
13:05amazing, yes, it’s clear that
13:06compared to, well, normal cars, it’s
13:09cheaper. By the way, how much cheaper
13:10is it than an Alphard?
13:12About four times, probably.
13:15It’s just that the Alphard is
13:16expensive in Russia.
13:17Well, let’s forget about that.
13:18Let’s just look at a Multivan.
13:20A Multivan?
13:21I’ll find one now.
13:22Turn it on. So we’re looking at a
13:25used Multivan, which, by the way, was
13:27never really a cheap vehicle either.
13:28The Multivan.
13:29Yeah, like a five or six-year-old one
13:32would cost, like, six [million], which
13:34is expensive.
13:35We were once on a shoot in the
13:37mountains, a film was being made,
13:39Mosfilm was shooting, and they drove us
13:41around in a Multivan. And that was in
13:43the mountains. Well, the road there,
13:45it's covered in crushed stone, gravel
13:47so to speak, but packed down. And
13:49he’s taking the mountain curves very
13:51confidently, hitting turns at 60-80. I
13:54was like, "Wow, wow,"
13:56damn, it's a pity an Alphard wasn't
13:59there, because I'd be like, "Wow, wow,
14:02what a drop."
14:03No, the Multivan is genuinely very good
14:05in the mountains.
14:06The Multivan is a good car overall,
14:07just expensive. Well, a new 8 costs
14:09more or less the same money, only the
14:11Multivan is a genuinely good car, and
14:13that thing is a piece of trash. I'm not
14:14claiming anything. Just my personal
14:16opinion. Never buy that thing. It’s
14:18important to clarify here that they
14:20haven't started mass production at the
14:22St. Petersburg plant, but rather
14:23released a test batch.
14:24Yes, I forgot to add that we
14:26occasionally get news that Chery, back
14:27in the day, was going around and
14:29assembling pilot batches at every plant
14:31they could find. And now GAC is also
14:32testing things, because you can't just
14:34arrive as an automaker and immediately
14:36say, "That's it, we've figured
14:38everything out and started full
14:39production." Usually, it should work
14:41like this: you enter the market as a
14:43company, realize that there is demand
14:45for a certain car, and that the demand
14:47is high enough that you can afford a
14:49factory. And either you build your own
14:51plant using your own technology, your
14:53own specialists, your own equipment,
14:55and all the bells and whistles, or you
14:56look for a site that can, contractually
14:58speaking, assemble cars for you. And
15:00naturally, when you come to a site that
15:02already has its own people, equipment,
15:04business processes, and management—
15:06it’s not your site, after all—you
15:08naturally have to run a test batch just
15:10to see what they've put together.
15:11Perhaps it turned out better than the
15:13original. Perhaps, most likely, it
15:14turned out better than the original. I
15:16really dislike the way any of them are.
15:17It's just, just a piece of crap. But
15:20definitely, as an automaker, they will
15:22now be looking for options to assemble
15:24something here, because, after all, a
15:25certain number of cars are selling, and
15:27there is some potential demand. If
15:29there's a chance to start operating
15:31inside the country with minimal
15:32investment, to avoid recycling fees and
15:34actually make a decent profit on the
15:36car, then, naturally, everyone will
15:37take advantage of it. Instructions on
15:41electronic road signs will become
15:43mandatory to follow. That's not for
15:45sure yet. It's just a proposal for now.
15:48Well, more precisely, the Ministry of
15:49Transport, Rosavtodor, and the Interior
15:51Ministry were tasked with preparing a
15:53number of changes, and they will
15:54eventually introduce them, regarding
15:56the electronic signs we have on
15:57highways, roads, toll roads, and so on.
15:59And in reality, they currently have no
16:01legal force. That is, if you as a
16:03driver, for instance, are driving on
16:05the M11, or the M12, or the M 2—it
16:07doesn't matter, and the electronic sign
16:08says 90 km/h due to bad weather, but at
16:10the same time there is a 110 or 130
16:12sign, you only need to obey the sign,
16:14not what is written on the board,
16:15because legally it’s, well, just an
16:17advertising screen. But now, since the
16:19rules were written for the situation
16:21that existed 20 years ago, they are
16:22finally going to make amendments
16:24stating that everything written on the
16:25screen—the special one—and there
16:27will be separate debates about which
16:29screen you need to listen to and which
16:30you don't. They will probably be
16:32specially marked, so that this is a
16:33screen you need to watch and obey, and
16:35this one you should ignore, as it's for
16:36advertising. But definitely, over time,
16:38you will need to listen to the screen
16:40much more than the sign, because it
16:42will have more current information.
16:44We're keeping it a bit dry, let's do
16:45something else. This
16:46you said we're keeping it a bit dry. An
16:48unexpected participant in a swim in
16:49France. Egor flew into the pool. There
16:52you go, here’s a slightly wetter news
16:54story for you.
16:55But cats are afraid of water. How did
16:56he get in there?
16:57Just like that, got the pedals mixed up
16:59. Well, a classic, like, there was some
17:00kind of swim happening, athletes were
17:02swimming, training, doing their thing,
17:04and then suddenly you have
17:05this scared them
17:07splash. Well, this is just a classic
17:09illustration of that joke, like, "Honey
17:12, there's water in the carburetor,"
17:15and the car is basically done for after
17:17something like that.
17:18Of course,
17:18no, why, on auction sites they will be
17:21sold as undamaged.
17:23Well, look, Nikita will gladly buy one
17:25later from Copart or somewhere else to
17:27bring over. "It was just a bumper, my
17:29god.""The wheel bent."
17:30And why does it smell like chlorine?
17:32It's disinfected.
17:33Unverified information. Well, in short,
17:36when a pool smells like chlorine,
17:37it’s not the chlorine you smell, but
17:39the reaction between chlorine and urine
17:41. Yeah. A clean pool that hasn't been
17:43peed in doesn't smell like chlorine,
17:45even if it contains chlorine.
17:46I think it comes from anything. So if
17:48it were just pure chlorine and nothing
17:49else had been submerged in the water,
17:51then it wouldn't smell. But from any
17:53compound, I mean, it's not just sweat,
17:55it's also skin. So, it's not
17:57necessarily that. Ever seen unpeed-in
17:59pools? Where people just swim.
18:02Well, usually, pools are filled with
18:03water. I said unpeed-in pools.
18:06Objectively, that pool already contains
18:08something, so
18:09it’s going to smell.
18:11A smelly Jaguar in there.
18:13Yeah, and the Jaguar actually looks
18:15pretty nice, pleasant even.
18:16So, people were in the water, right?
18:18And a car landed on top of them.
18:21Yes. With a woman inside.
18:22Did anyone die?
18:23No, what do you mean? Well, like, there
18:25was a woman and a child. The airbag
18:27deployed, so it was all safe.
18:28Luckily, there were people in the water
18:30, they got them out. Everything is fine
18:32. Wait, hold on. I mean, you won't kill
18:33someone with a car falling from above
18:35if they're in a pool. They'll just sink
18:37a meter and swim away.
18:39The car...
18:39Wait, you mean there were people
18:40swimming in the pool at that moment?
18:42Well, if it hits you in the head, you'd
18:45submerge because you got hit.
18:47No, it would just push you under...
18:49It’s not like the car would sink
18:49instantly. It needs time to take on
18:52water. So it will splash around on the
18:54surface for a while. In the case of a
18:56British car, maybe two seconds. I
18:58don’t know.
19:00No. In the case of a British car, maybe
19:02it won't submerge at all. That’s also
19:04possible. Well, these are standard
19:06situations where someone drives off a
19:09multi-level parking lot.
19:11Finally, a British submarine in France.
19:16Subtle, very subtle. The local
19:23administration stated that the
19:25passengers were safely extracted, and
19:27no one was injured in the incident. The
19:29immersion was dangerous for the
19:30passenger.
19:31You know, there was that video where a
19:33wife crashed the car and they interview
19:35the husband: "So, how is your wife's
19:38condition?" He says: "Are there any
19:39broken bones?" He says: "Well, doesn't
19:40seem like it yet." Meanwhile, by the
19:48time you're watching this, our project
19:51with ProKosmos and Roscosmos Media on
19:53VK has finished. A couple of months ago
19:55, we mentioned that our project, SUSMOS
19:57Media, had started, where we tell space
20:00stories in an astronaut's journal
20:02format, discussing the problems
20:03astronauts might face in the future
20:05while exploring space. Well, the final
20:08episode is out now, and you can check
20:10out all of them in the playlist in the
20:12description. Go take a look. Look, on
20:15one hand, it's strange, sometimes I
20:17catch myself, like, I'm talking about
20:20space, and it's, well, weird, but the
20:23material is magnificent. And now, some
20:27equally cosmic news. The only
20:28Cybertruck in Uganda
20:31got into an accident and went viral,
20:33but there's no one to fix it.
20:34Viral in the sense that it caught
20:36something.
20:37Maybe right when it crossed the Ugandan
20:39border, the situation became funny.
20:41Apparently, someone decided that since
20:43there’s a Cybertruck, and there are
20:45tons of commercials showing it driving
20:47amazingly over dunes, across some
20:49Martian-like desert, and stuff like
20:51that—well, here's a guy driving, just
20:54in some rural area, losing to physics.
20:56Right in that moment, it turns out that
20:59this magnificent, huge SUV actually
21:01weighs quite a few kilograms. Turns out
21:03a wheel can get stuck, turns out the
21:05car can start sliding sideways, and
21:06there’s another little curb. And here
21:08we are, lying on our side. But we were
21:10promised that electric cars don't roll
21:11over. Well, there you go, Uganda proves
21:13otherwise.
21:14Ugandan machine.
21:16Moreover, it's obvious that fixing a
21:18Cybertruck in Uganda is a real
21:20challenge. The only place you can
21:21properly, more or less, fix a
21:22Cybertruck is, actually, in the States.
21:24Anywhere else is a huge headache
21:25because you can't get parts, and
21:27bringing anything in is impossible. But
21:29surely, the person who bought a
21:30Cybertruck just to drive around and
21:32have fun will buy another one, even if
21:34they're in Uganda.
21:35Well, especially since there are
21:36already spare parts. For the second one
21:38.
21:40He's farsighted.
21:46Ouch! Production of two new Moskvich
21:50models has begun.
21:51And when do I get to be a Moskvich
21:53owner?
21:55Even the Chinese have already become
21:57Moskvich owners.
21:58And they're different ones, because
22:01before we had JAC, this, that, but now
22:04it's SAIC. Mmm. Like, who cares. More
22:07or less.
22:08So, what's up with that? What does it
22:09even look like? What should I avoid in
22:11carsharing? Show me.
22:13Look, it’s just another Chinese
22:15crossover.
22:16Look, its donor is now MG.
22:19MG is supposed to be
22:22British.
22:23Well, yeah.
22:23And like that. So it can also go into a
22:25swimming pool.
22:26Is MG those three-wheeled things?
22:28No, that's Morgan,
22:30ah, excuse me, I didn't recognize you.
22:32MG are those little convertibles from
22:34Top Gear that they used to drive often.
22:36Well, for some reason, the
22:38three-wheeled thing pops into my head
22:39when
22:40Morgan, yeah. Nowadays, of course, MG
22:42in any form has nothing to do with MG,
22:44because it’s a purely Chinese car
22:46that is, well, just a badge, a brand,
22:48it doesn't matter. The most important
22:50thing is that it's not entirely clear
22:52why they are switching to SAIC, because
22:54, well, it's obvious that JAC somehow,
22:56well, didn't get lucky, it didn't work
22:58out, and it didn't become a bestseller
23:00with huge production and great sales.
23:02For some reason, it didn't really take
23:03off for Moskvich. Why is that? Why is
23:04that? Wait, so those people who bought
23:06a Moskvich, will they still have
23:08support for spare parts and everything
23:10else if it gets discontinued from the
23:12assembly line?
23:13Well, so it gets discontinued, so what?
23:14Well, all car manufacturers eventually
23:17stop producing a certain model, but
23:19your warranty and such remain.
23:21We just didn't even manage to produce
23:23them in any significant volume, it
23:25seems.
23:25It's just that there's no talk yet
23:27about these cars replacing the old ones
23:29. This is additional, like, it's just a
23:32new bestseller, it's a new banger for
23:355,000 cars.
23:36Look, so it's also going to be
23:37targeting the taxi market?
23:39Yes, exactly, that's it, that's exactly
23:40what it's being made for. But still,
23:43when you don't have natural demand for
23:45a car—in our conditions, in this
23:47market of a million plus or minus cars,
23:49well, a million to a million and a half
23:51a year—if you can't use regulations
23:53to grow normal local production so that
23:55the car is localized, assembled, and
23:57everything is great, it just won't work
23:59. But at least there have been no
24:00examples to the contrary. Natural
24:01demand is needed. And I highly doubt
24:03that the target audience, when they see
24:05that JAC has been replaced by SAIC,
24:07will be like, "Yeah, take my money and
24:08everything else." I highly doubt it.
24:10SAIC is not BAIC. Yes,
24:12that's right, that's a different one.
24:13No,
24:13it's a different corporation, yes.
24:14Damn, how are you supposed to remember
24:16them? How do you tell them apart?
24:17Why?
24:19To what end?
24:19Well, I would like to not have to worry
24:21about them getting wiped out after some
24:23time. Yeah. Look, you don't need to
24:25memorize Chinese cars, because the ones
24:28that stick in our market and become
24:30popular, you'll remember anyway.
24:31Well, I need to know them until then.
24:33Exactly. Did you not know about that K5
24:35or whatever it was called?
24:36Kaiyi E5.
24:37E5. There you go. Well, yeah. And what?
24:39It just appeared and vanished. And it's
24:41gone and that's it. But you wouldn't
24:43miss a hypothetical new Renault Logan.
24:45Or a Hyundai Solaris, or a SAIC, or god
24:47knows what else. Or a Chery Tiggo 7 Pro
24:49Max. The seven and the four. Those more
24:52or less exist in some noticeable
24:53quantities. And the Jolion. We'll have
24:55to live with these for some time now,
24:58yeah. But what can you do?
24:59Once every couple of months I take a
25:01taxi too, I treat myself to the luxury.
25:04I need to understand that
25:05you're doing side gigs there now too.
25:06Where are you going? I need to figure
25:09out what kind of car it is in time to
25:11cancel it.
25:11Just look at the license plate. That's
25:13it, let it go, let it go. I'm still
25:16fighting my own war with Hongqi, but
25:19just look at the license plate.
25:21My favorite pastime is looking at
25:23Chinese cars. Most of their names are
25:25written in characters.
25:27Yeah.
25:27Exactly. And as I walk, I try to
25:29remember what they're called. I mean, I
25:31remember something from the news.
25:33Are you learning Chinese that way?
25:35No, I'm not learning. I'm just, you
25:36know, entertaining myself while I walk
25:38home. I haven't guessed a single one
25:40yet. Every time a new car pulls up.
25:43Me too.
25:44I just let it go at some point, like,
25:46there's just so many appearing, like
25:47the Lixiangs. Well, you can remember
25:49that one, because Lixiang drivers are
25:51everywhere. Lixiang, Lixiang, Lixiang,
25:52Lixiang, Lixiang, Lixiang. That one's
25:54fine.
25:54Once, Dan and I were coming from
25:56Sheremetyevo, I think after Tolyatti,
25:58and an Atlas was driving us, and he hit
26:00200-plus on the toll road. I was like,
26:02"Well, it drives,
26:04sure, but can we just get there and
26:07then you can speed." Well, we arrived,
26:10and Dan was like, "Give him two stars."
26:14Yeah, really, you shouldn't go 200 on a
26:16toll road, especially in a Geely Atlas.
26:21Volkswagen has closed a car plant in
26:23Germany for the first time in 88 years.
26:24Do they still have the GDR? How, what's
26:27going on there? The wall's been torn
26:29down, hasn't it?
26:30Well, yeah. The country is called the
26:32FRG.
26:32So where did the GDR go?
26:34They tore down the fence.
26:35And it all leaked out to the East. Yeah
26:37.
26:37Our media is covering this news like,
26:40oh, look, oops, you're done, you're out
26:43of Russian gas. And so on, all that
26:45stuff. And Germany really does have
26:47objective problems with their industry
26:49suffering. But at the same time, we
26:51have to understand that they basically
26:53closed their glass manufactory in
26:55Dresden. It's not exactly a main
26:57assembly line, nor is it a standard
26:58production facility; it's essentially a
27:00showroom, a storefront where electric
27:02cars were supposed to be made. And well
27:03, now they can't manage to produce them
27:06. It's too expensive, too unprofitable,
27:07and just completely unnecessary. In
27:08essence, it was just a small luxury
27:10workshop staffed by hand-picked
27:12employees. And in Germany, they love
27:14such ideas.
27:19Excuse me. Well, and here it didn't
27:21quite work out either.
27:23The idea of Aryan glass didn't pass.
27:24Yes.
27:25As I understand it, electric cars took
27:27root there because, well, the site is
27:30small, and the first electric car there
27:32was the e-Golf, which sold in modest
27:34numbers.
27:35We discussed these news items together
27:37when they first came out, and part of
27:39the mission was PR: to show off our "
27:41luxury division," our "luxury workshop"
27:43—look how beautiful everything is,
27:45how this is the place where the future
27:47begins and where these cars will start
27:49spreading out from, and so on. Like,
27:52right in the heart of Germany.
27:53The ID.3, which is currently being
27:55produced there.
27:56Yes. And it's obvious that it won't
27:57just be Volkswagen closing down certain
27:59enterprises, because the European
28:00automotive industry is facing a major
28:02shake-up. All the factors have
28:03definitely aligned for companies to
28:05start adapting, restructuring, and
28:06completely redesigning their entire
28:08production process. And this is just a
28:10tiny, tiny pebble. There's nothing to
28:12worry about here yet because the site
28:14is indeed small, but the trend for
28:15plant closures will definitely be there
28:17. News that reeks of a paid-for piece,
28:22because BMW and Porsche have just ceded
28:25the Chinese luxury car market to a $
28:28100,000 newcomer. An article comes out
28:31on Carscoops where, remember we
28:33discussed that Huawei unveiled the
28:35Maextro S800. This is the one, this new
28:39luxury, that, oh, Huawei just showed up
28:42and "screwed" everyone right away, and
28:45so on. This car has been on sale in
28:47China for a few months now.
28:49Well, they definitely make toys for
28:51adults, so they can,
28:52yeah, easily,
28:53screw them over. Well, in theory,
28:56perhaps,
28:58you can expect anything from the
28:59Chinese, right? Like, you get this set
29:01with your phone, and there’s an anal
29:02plug included, all at once, because
29:04they always include everything: a case,
29:06a screen protector, everything from the
29:07factory next door, just everything
29:09included. So, an article comes out in
29:12Carscoops where the journalist is like:
29:15"Well, look, everyone's screwed." The
29:18car is selling out, it became a leader,
29:20it's over for everyone. BMW hit the
29:23road, Panamera hit the road too,
29:25S-Classes, Maybachs, everything just
29:28hit the road in November. And in
29:32September, it also reached leading
29:33positions. Therefore, it’s definitely
29:35certain that irreparable damage has
29:37been done to the Germans. And that’s
29:38strange, because the car has only been
29:40in production for, well, just half a
29:41year. And drawing conclusions that, oh,
29:43it’s going to come in now and crush
29:45everyone, and everyone has already lost
29:47, everyone is trembling in fear and
29:49running away, just losing their minds
29:51on the way, thinking that the market is
29:53definitely lost now. This is strange,
29:54because that’s not how things are
29:56done in automotive journalism. From my
29:57point of view, this is definitely some
29:59kind of paid-for hit piece. Because,
30:00well, either it’s against BMW,
30:02Porsche, and all the other
30:03manufacturers, or it’s in favor of
30:06Huawei, because no one draws
30:07conclusions based on a month or two.
30:09Only yellow tabloids try to clickbait
30:11headlines like this, or it’s just
30:13some paid hit piece, because looking at
30:15just one month is a very
30:16unrepresentative picture. But here,
30:18CarScoops has this long article, and
30:20it’s written in exactly those terms.
30:22CarScoops is based on a Bloomberg
30:24article. The Bloomberg author analyzed
30:263 months, and from September to
30:28November, the Maextro demonstrated
30:31clear leadership in the class of cars
30:33costing over a million yuan.
30:35And that is very strange.
30:373 months is, well, a quarter.
30:39Well, you should read the original
30:40article. I just read CarScoops and
30:42didn't notice it was based on Bloomberg
30:43, but it doesn't matter. It’s written
30:45in such a way, you know, as if, that's
30:48it, they’ve lost, it’s game over,
30:50they’ll never come back, and it’s a
30:52total defeat and loss. And it’s just,
30:55well, straight up,
30:56Well, I think articles often come out
30:58saying a car has failed just because
31:00it’s not being bought as actively as
31:03it was last month.
31:04Is there actually a big difference in
31:06sales between Huawei, Porsche, and BMW?
31:09Maybe the difference is only five cars
31:10total?
31:11In November, 2,000 Maextros were bought
31:13. Compared to 1,200 Panameras and 1,700
31:16BMWs. Well, like, okay then. It’s,
31:19well, just like that.
31:20Well, it’s twice as many as each
31:21competitor.
31:22Well, yeah. And why isn’t Mercedes
31:24here?
31:24For some reason, they didn't include it
31:25.
31:25Because it probably sold more.
31:27No, they claim that Mercedes also went
31:29to hell along with Maybach,
31:30which is also not true. The fact that
31:32these guys broke into the luxury
31:33segment and are immediately selling
31:35cars by the thousands is cool. It is,
31:36well, definitely an outstanding result.
31:39Definitely. Well done, that’s great.
31:41And then we’ll take a look at the car
31:42in person when it shows up somewhere
31:43around here.
31:43And it’s not an electric car.
31:45It comes as an electric vehicle and as
31:47a series hybrid. And it is
31:48significantly cheaper than all of them.
31:50Yeah, you’ve got that classic Chinese
31:52thing where the car is half the price,
31:54but damn, it’s got everything under
31:56the sun.
31:56Well, it means we need to see it once
31:59it rolls out and compare the actual car
32:01to another. Which is exactly the point,
32:02isn't it? Because, well, throughout the
32:05S-Class's lifespan, there have been
32:07many "S-Class killers" that came along
32:09saying, "We’re going to destroy the
32:11S-Class now." And yet, the S-Class
32:13still exists to this day. Yes,
32:15objectively, luxury sedans as a segment
32:17are going through tough times right now
32:19. Whether it's the 7 Series, the A8,
32:21the S-Class, or any other premium sedan
32:23, they are all losing ground quite
32:25significantly. It just drives me crazy
32:27when someone takes one month or one
32:28quarter and says, "Look, the picture is
32:30completely different." I’m just so
32:32fed up with it. Let’s wait at least a
32:34year, better yet look at the generation
32:36cycle, and then draw some conclusions.
32:38Because in the automotive world, things
32:39unfortunately don't work that fast. By
32:41the way, is there even one for sale in
32:43our country? I don't know of any other
32:46car like it. Avito will probably offer
32:48me a mountain of phones now. Yes.
32:50Don't write extra. No, Huawei doesn't
32:52officially manufacture the car; they
32:54just help with development. RCARP is
32:57offering to bring one in for 12.8
33:00million, they're taking orders.
33:02Well, I found one for 21. Who do we
33:05believe?
33:06How awful. What kind of hearse is that?
33:09Well, yeah.
33:1012.8. And how much does a BMW 7 Series
33:13cost?
33:13It’s definitely not 12.8. These are,
33:16you know, those "by order" listings.
33:18Uh-huh. When you go to pay, it turns
33:21out to be 20.
33:23There is one on Avito.
33:24Also all "by order."
33:26Except for one real car, which costs 21
33:28. That’s closer to the truth. So,
33:30whatever is written as "by order," just
33:32forget it, that’s not it. Here is a
33:34real car, and it’s 21 million. You
33:36bastard, man. And again, from my point
33:39of view, you'd have to be a very
33:40desperate person to go and shell out 21
33:43million for this thing here. Imagine if
33:45it has quirks like Lixiang, where
33:47something fails and the whole car is
33:50dead.
33:50Well, it's most likely the case. Why
33:52wouldn't it be? Why should it be any
33:54different? There you go. Well, again,
33:55once the actual car appears, we’ll be
33:57able to talk about something concrete.
33:59Go ahead, Lixiang owners, write that we
34:02are wrong.
34:03A real Lixiang owner won’t write
34:06anything because they don’t know how.
34:08They’re busy watching Chinese TikToks
34:10on their screens.
34:11Yeah, yeah, yeah. They are extremely
34:12busy. BMW is patenting proprietary
34:18screws to make life harder for garage
34:20mechanics. This news is, well, in the
34:22meme category. For some reason, it
34:23suddenly spread across the Russian
34:25internet segment just now. Although the
34:27news itself is actually more or less a
34:29year and a half old, because BMW filed
34:31it with the patent office back in '24.
34:33Here’s our patent for this kind of
34:35bolt. Screw. What is it? I don’t know
34:37, like a little propeller stick,
34:39something like that. Well, kind of like
34:40this little bolt, which will look, well
34:42, more or less like this. And all this
34:44is so you don't go poking around under
34:46the car with your clumsy hands, your
34:48screwdrivers, your Torx bits, and all
34:49that junk, and won't turn anything
34:51there, but only with genuine hands at
34:53an official service center. Only
34:54specially selected people, once again,
34:56the Germans love that. So that only
34:58they could touch the car, as if it were
34:59sacred and wonderful. And in our
35:01segment of the internet, it’s all
35:03gone off with stuff like "lol, kek,
35:04cheburec, look at the crap BMW came up
35:06with." Although it wasn't BMW who came
35:08up with this, and all car manufacturers
35:09have long been trying to complicate
35:11life for any garage tinkerers just so
35:12that, well, they don't touch the car in
35:14garages, so it's just inconvenient to
35:16take apart, and so you come to official
35:17service centers. Where people with
35:19official tools would sit and poke
35:20around in your car. The French were
35:22especially brutal with this in the
35:242000s and early 2010s; you could easily
35:27, well, stick your nose somewhere and
35:29see a triangle instead of a bolt. You
35:31just look at the trian-you look at the
35:33triangle, the triangle looks at you,
35:34and you don’t know how to unscrew it
35:36at all. I mean, like, you can't use a
35:38pipe wrench or tweezers on a triangle,
35:40and you need some kind of triangular
35:43socket to unscrew that French thing.
35:45But usually in garage shops, when you
35:47see a triangle, what do you pull out?
35:48Not a triangular socket, you pull out
35:50an angle grinder, and there’s no more
35:52triangle, everything’s fine. But in
35:53general, all modern cars—German,
35:55Japanese, American, and so on—all of
35:57them, one way or another, have some
35:59specific hardware and some special tool
36:01that must be at the service center
36:03without fail. And all car manufacturers
36:05, one way or another, practice this
36:06sort of thing. That is the whole point
36:08of independent post-warranty shops,
36:10because, well, the people inside have
36:12to understand what kind of car it is.
36:14And no matter what tricky bolt BMW
36:16invents, the independent shop will
36:17immediately buy the tools, learn how to
36:19use them, and keep servicing cars just
36:21as they did before. But doing it in a
36:23home garage will be tough. Besides, the
36:25main thing is that they just patented
36:27this bolt, but they aren't actually
36:29using it anywhere yet. And it seems
36:30they aren't saying anything about plans
36:32to use these bolts. They just patented
36:35it to be on the safe side. Maybe just
36:36so some Chinese company wouldn't steal
36:38the idea, that's all. There isn't a
36:39single car with this fastener yet. And
36:42there likely won't be. Honestly, I
36:44think they might use it later in an
36:46M-package, like, you want these special
36:48bolts? Here you go.
36:54Let's wrap up with some happy,
36:56wonderful, fantastic news. The neutered
36:592027 WRC rally cars from the FIA look
37:02like they're ready for a GTA heist. The
37:04FIA has rolled out a few concept
37:05designs. If you don't know what I'm
37:07talking about—WRC, rally, the world
37:09championship, those cars that jump
37:11through bushes and fields and
37:13occasionally run over people—the FIA
37:15has rolled out new models showing what
37:18the 2027 cars will roughly look like.
37:20But the most important thing is that
37:21these will now have essentially nothing
37:23in common with production cars. It's
37:25just a tubular frame with some panels
37:27hung on it, which the manufacturer can
37:29style to look like whatever car they
37:30want. And most importantly, all the
37:32electric components are being tossed
37:33out.
37:34They are already tossed out, they're
37:35gone this season.
37:36Yes, yes, yes.
37:37The electric component in terms of
37:39hybrids. And
37:40it's all pure internal combustion. 1.6
37:41liters, though, but
37:42well,
37:42they’ve cut a lot out, it wasn't
37:43needed.
37:44But what a 1.6 it is.
37:45But what a one. And when they showed
37:47this Porsche render, you're like, "What
37:50kind of weird nonsense is this—an
37:53electric Macan that will be a
37:55gasoline-powered tube frame with
37:58fiberglass panels, jumping through
38:00forests to advertise an electric Macan.
38:03"
38:04And since when is it a Macan? It's a,
38:06it's a sedan, right, in WRC, right? So
38:10you immediately have so many questions,
38:12but there's also that joyful feeling
38:14that finally, finally a racing series
38:17that was once super popular, then lost
38:19everything it could, and then was
38:21finished off by the green agenda. Now,
38:24in the hope that racing teams, people,
38:26and everyone will return there, they
38:29are ditching the electrical add-ons,
38:32partly to lower costs, because under
38:34the previous regulations, a hybrid car
38:37cost nearly a million dollars.
38:40What's the difference? A million
38:41dollars, a million euros, it’s all
38:42the same—very expensive. Yeah, like
38:43it's way too expensive to wrap one
38:45around a birch tree. But under the new
38:46regulations, the car will cost around
38:48350-400 k, which is still very
38:50expensive, but already half the price.
38:52The right kind of expensive. Let’s go
38:54, comrade.
38:54Well, there could be some independent
38:56teams, not just factory ones,
38:58right? When you lower the barrier to
39:00entry, you suddenly don't just get
39:02automakers—racing teams can pop up,
39:04private drivers can enter, and, well,
39:06something might actually start. When
39:08you have a massive price tag for entry
39:10and only three cripples are watching
39:12the event—which describes most of
39:13motorsport, except for Formula 1. It
39:15instantly becomes a very strange event,
39:17well, by design. And here, maybe WRC
39:20will become cheaper for participants.
39:23There will be more participants, more
39:24cars wrapped around trees, and more
39:26spectators. And maybe, since such a
39:28bright idea exists in one of the
39:30FIA-controlled categories, maybe
39:32we’ll get rid of electricity in other
39:35motorsport categories too. Oh, please,
39:37that’s my New Year's wish.
39:39Let them be diesel, so they don't even
39:41need spark plugs.
39:42There. Why, damn, just imagine, like,
39:46Formula 1 on diesel. Well, Formula 1,
39:49maybe not, but just, well, NASCAR.
39:52Oh, NASCAR, yes, they drive for a long
39:54time, it fits.
39:55Just fill up and do 1,000 km on an oval
39:58on one tank, with smoke and everything.
40:00Well, it would be cool. Yeah, cool. And
40:02just throw the whole Formula concept
40:04out entirely.
40:05Netflix, get in touch with WRC, they
40:08need viewers.
40:09Well, and again, this could happen if
40:11there’s a lot of interesting stuff
40:13going on inside. Because right now,
40:15you’ve got Hyundai, Toyota, that's it
40:17. They’re just out there, well, with
40:19four crews, so to speak. How are you
40:20supposed to watch that? You can't. Even
40:21though you have games and rally
40:23simulators popping up, where lots of
40:26people are driving. So, potentially,
40:28people are interested. It’s a very
40:30interesting category of motorsport, but
40:31just because it’s super expensive—
40:33like, insanely expensive. Nobody goes
40:34there professionally. And consequently,
40:36the event itself just feels kind of
40:38wild. Now we'll have a pure internal
40:39combustion engine, it’ll be cheaper,
40:40and possibly, just possibly, there will
40:42be a new show.
40:42We’ll see. By the way, the conflict
40:45arises because European automakers are
40:47trying to make their budget models
40:50electric. Just to save on internal
40:52combustion engine development due to
40:55these Euro standards. And here they are
40:58being asked to promote these cars using
41:00gasoline-powered vehicles. But that’s
41:03a bit strange.
41:03It’s a very strange, twisted
41:05Frankenstein that we’ll be watching
41:07for a while, as long as there are
41:09people profiting from budget cuts in
41:11the green agenda. Just for example, in
41:13Formula E, which few people watch
41:16anyway, there are a bunch of teams and
41:18automakers that joined precisely under
41:21the guise that this series promotes
41:23their electric models.
41:25Who actually joined Formula E to
41:26promote electric models?
41:27Besides Red Bull, which is there.
41:29And what does Red Bull sell?
41:31Certainly not cars. Right now,
41:33it’s an electric drink,
41:34energy. Energy. And Formula E is a
41:36fairly popular sport because they made
41:39it so—well, there are a lot of
41:41viewers compared to other motorsports
41:43events. First of all, because they’re
41:45usually held in city centers, since you
41:47can't really drag this electric crap
41:49onto normal racetracks. There are many
41:51crashes, there's plenty of spectacle,
41:52at least some kind of—well,
41:54quiet,
41:55quiet, yes, modest, but nonetheless,
41:56cars are getting plastered against the
41:58walls there. Ah, reading, let me read.
42:01Nissan, Cupra, DS, Jaguar, Mahindra,
42:03Citroën and Porsche.
42:05I thought they were all called
42:07something like Mahindra. There.
42:09No, they actually use universal chassis
42:12that they tweak later with aerodynamics
42:14, but the point is, that's way more
42:16than in the WRC.
42:18That's correct. So, what is the thesis?
42:22The thesis is that the WRC, again,
42:24while trying to make their cars cheaper
42:26to attract more people, is saying that
42:29their race cars will be purely
42:31gasoline-powered, so there's no point
42:33for automakers to join, because they're
42:36trying to promote their electric models
42:38. And how will they promote them using
42:40gasoline-powered cars?
42:41Well, they can promote other models, or
42:44just promote themselves as winners.
42:46Well,
42:47look, it works differently. You have,
42:50say, the Audi Quattro brand,
42:53yes,
42:53which was a model at one point, and
42:55includes this whole thing where the
42:56Quattro just tears it up, driving over
42:58any surface and so on. Not only was it
43:00a truly brilliant technical solution at
43:02the time, which allowed the guys to win
43:05within the existing regulations, but it
43:07also left a lasting impression on the
43:09brand for the many people who followed
43:11it. And that rally history simply
43:13carries over to the brand itself. Then
43:15the brand takes that, crafts a
43:17beautiful story, puts it in everyone's
43:19face, and everyone is left with the
43:20genuine feeling that "Quattro kicks ass
43:22." But you still have to do it anyway.
43:25The point is that Audi actually
43:27marketed the Quattro model to the
43:29public; even though it appeared as a
43:31race car, they launched it onto the
43:33market. Sure, there were homologation
43:36requirements, but they still sold that
43:38car and, consequently, spread those
43:40Quattro technologies to other models.
43:42Formula 1 advertises cars, though,
43:43right?
43:44Of course they do, but then again,
43:45they aren't driving the cars that will
43:47actually be sold to consumers.
43:49When you race a Mercedes in Formula 1,
43:51you tell everyone, "Our sports cars are
43:53just like this." Mercedes produces
43:54sports cars with that very same spirit.
43:56But how do you explain that your new
43:59electric cars are the same, if you're
44:01racing a gas-powered car in WRC?
44:03Just ditch them for electric ones. It
44:04doesn't matter at all. Well, it's just
44:06that no one is going to promote
44:07electric cars there. Whatever the FIA
44:08has planned for themselves,
44:09that’s the problem—why there are
44:11only three manufacturers in WRC right
44:14now. Besides it being incredibly
44:15expensive, the issue is that it’s
44:17hard to promote new electric cars
44:19through WRC.
44:20It’s generally difficult.
44:22They’re not really being promoted
44:23properly anywhere.
44:23I mean, look, we have Toyota, which is
44:25the only one keeping the gas-powered
44:27flag flying, where everything is
44:29authentic—the GR Yaris races, and you
44:30can buy a GR Yaris on the market. Then
44:32there’s Ford, which races a
44:34high-performance Puma but promotes an
44:36electric one. They need to sell the
44:38electric Puma,
44:39and they aren't going to succeed at
44:40that at all.
44:41Exactly. And Hyundai, which races the
44:42i20, a model that will likely become
44:44electric in the next generation. And
44:46they will probably leave WRC, because
44:48they'll realize that this racing i20
44:50doesn't associate with their electric
44:52lineup at all.
44:53Well, that’s just great. others will
44:54come who see both a commercial and
44:56sporting interest in this, and will
44:58test other models for this purpose,
45:00because, again, the very construction
45:02of the race car—that it is just a
45:04frame onto which you can stick whatever
45:06you want—implies that you can, well,
45:08even within the same racing season,
45:10just attach different panels and
45:12promote absolutely anything. The entire
45:15NASCAR, this whole huge NASCAR nonsense
45:16, runs on the Camry. The most important
45:19thing is that, like, for an automaker,
45:20you have room and space because you
45:22just have a standard tubular frame.
45:23Stick whatever you want on there
45:24yourself; such an entry is much cheaper
45:26, and the car itself will be more
45:27interesting. That is, it will be more
45:29interesting for people to watch,
45:30because when you have a car driving
45:31with sound, it's a completely different
45:33spectacle than just—Have you watched
45:34Formula E?
45:35I've seen clips in passing. I didn't
45:36wat—
45:36I just watched a season once somehow. I
45:37don't know if I did, but I watched a
45:39season.
45:39I'm talking about the conflict. In what
45:41? They are all trying to promote
45:43electric cars, and then the racing
45:45series says, "But we only have gasoline
45:47cars." Accordingly, in this, in this
45:49conflict,
45:50yeah, there won't be any conflict there
45:51at all.
45:51You can promote the brand. That is,
45:53what to promote is something you'll
45:55find a way to get your advertising
45:57message across to people if there are
45:59people there. The problem is that there
46:01are no people there at all, and no one
46:03gives a damn about rally. Although
46:05there seems to be an audience.
46:06Potentially, you could make something
46:07interesting out of it. You could then
46:09package your victory and your journey
46:12in a specific car into a beautiful PR
46:14marketing story and sell it to people.
46:17It would be, but simply none of that
46:19exists.
46:19Uh-huh.
46:20And the fact that they are currently
46:21making the car much cheaper by stuffing
46:23an internal combustion engine into it
46:24—because with an ICE it's much
46:25cheaper and much more spectacular—is
46:27a good move. Because, well, it just
46:29gives you more room for automakers to
46:31come in and do something there. Because
46:34right now it's very expensive:
46:35regardless of whether they need to
46:36promote gasoline cars, electric cars,
46:37or don't need to promote anything, and
46:39so on—nobody will come simply because
46:40it's too expensive for such a small
46:41audience. The movement is correct.
46:43That's what I'm talking about. And that
46:44, perhaps, at some point we will see
46:46interesting events within WRC or an
46:48interesting battle or some interesting
46:49races. We'll see something interesting
46:51there. Right now, the chance is zero.
46:53There were. And that's it for me in
46:59this episode. Just a little bit more,
47:01and you can safely bury your face in
47:03the Olivier salad, preferably your
47:05mom's. Right. Bam. Join the stream.
47:08Don't forget, 7 PM. We're waiting for
47:10you all. That will be it. Oh wait, that
47:12won't be the last point of contact.
47:14We'll see each other again this year.
47:15Still time for that. The battery just
47:17finished charging. Still time for that.
47:21Bye.
47:22There was supposed to be a jingle here,
47:24but we ran out of money, so the people
47:26just walked off. Just so you're in the
47:31loop. Ah.

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