1 00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:03,900 Speaker 1: From CurtCo Media. 2 00:00:06,199 --> 00:00:08,879 Jay Beever: To the theme of this podcast, Cars That Matter, from 3 00:00:08,879 --> 00:00:13,059 Jay Beever: an industry insider and many automotive design individuals can tell 4 00:00:13,059 --> 00:00:16,560 Jay Beever: you about the reams of paper thrown away that had 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:18,880 Jay Beever: incredible designs on them. In a sense, you have this 6 00:00:19,119 --> 00:00:24,009 Jay Beever: very noble, sacrificial, beautiful design or car that could hit 7 00:00:24,009 --> 00:00:27,389 Jay Beever: the road. But it won't be forgotten because that production 8 00:00:27,389 --> 00:00:30,460 Jay Beever: vehicle that was slapped onto that front wheel drive drivetrain, 9 00:00:30,460 --> 00:00:33,330 Jay Beever: when it should have been rear wheel drive, became something. 10 00:00:33,390 --> 00:00:36,410 Jay Beever: But the original, the car that really mattered, wasn't seen. 11 00:00:39,250 --> 00:00:41,750 Speaker 1: This is Cars That Matter. 12 00:00:55,260 --> 00:00:58,250 Robert Ross: Welcome to Cars That Matter. I'm Robert Ross. This episode, 13 00:00:58,250 --> 00:01:01,660 Robert Ross: we're continuing our conversation with Jay Beaver, vice president of 14 00:01:01,660 --> 00:01:05,119 Robert Ross: design operations with Embraer Jets. So without further ado, let's 15 00:01:05,119 --> 00:01:08,429 Robert Ross: dive in. Jay, you're an interesting guy because you're proof 16 00:01:08,429 --> 00:01:14,170 Robert Ross: that talent and innovation can cross pollinate different professional fields. But 17 00:01:14,170 --> 00:01:17,020 Robert Ross: let's start at the beginning, talk about cars. Where'd you start? 18 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:19,300 Jay Beever: It's such a fun story. I think there is something 19 00:01:19,300 --> 00:01:22,530 Jay Beever: that can benefit a lot of people because sometimes we have a mentality that we 20 00:01:22,530 --> 00:01:24,969 Jay Beever: can't do something if we're not trained or degreed in 21 00:01:24,970 --> 00:01:27,530 Jay Beever: a certain skillset. In that regard, I always had a 22 00:01:27,530 --> 00:01:31,130 Jay Beever: dream of being a car designer, automotive designer. It started 23 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:34,240 Jay Beever: because of my uncle, Ed Richter, and his wife, Kay. 24 00:01:34,330 --> 00:01:38,499 Jay Beever: They own Studebakers, some very rare Studebakers, like the Rockne. 25 00:01:38,569 --> 00:01:41,869 Jay Beever: Knute Rockne, the famous Notre Dame football coach, and that 26 00:01:41,869 --> 00:01:45,350 Jay Beever: particular Studebaker in '32 and '33, had a version with a rumble 27 00:01:45,350 --> 00:01:47,059 Jay Beever: seat. The back of the seat would open up and 28 00:01:47,059 --> 00:01:48,919 Jay Beever: you could sit back there. Well, he owns one, in 29 00:01:48,930 --> 00:01:51,170 Jay Beever: original condition. They still drive it to this day. And 30 00:01:51,230 --> 00:01:53,770 Jay Beever: I remember as a child going to their home and 31 00:01:53,770 --> 00:01:56,630 Jay Beever: peeking in the garage, and not only was the Rockne 32 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,360 Jay Beever: there, but hiding around the corner, three cars wide, a 33 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:05,020 Jay Beever: Commander and another Studebaker from '33, in disheveled but yet 34 00:02:05,059 --> 00:02:09,850 Jay Beever: Al Capone, gangster-looking, need to be restored in the shadows, 35 00:02:09,930 --> 00:02:13,329 Jay Beever: beasts. And it was awe inspiring. And he had since 36 00:02:13,329 --> 00:02:16,669 Jay Beever: restored that Commander as well. Beautiful cars, that led to 37 00:02:16,669 --> 00:02:19,739 Jay Beever: a journey of understanding Raymond Loewy and his influence with 38 00:02:19,739 --> 00:02:23,709 Jay Beever: the Starliner and everything else that he did, outside of automotive. 39 00:02:23,790 --> 00:02:26,780 Robert Ross: Everything from the Coke bottle to steamships. 40 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:31,880 Jay Beever: The example of cross industry design capability and how they 41 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:34,970 Jay Beever: can learn from each other. So those automobiles and being 42 00:02:35,079 --> 00:02:38,059 Jay Beever: so enthralled with the shapes and the forms and the 43 00:02:38,060 --> 00:02:40,359 Jay Beever: mysterious nature of them, of course, because they were stuck in a 44 00:02:40,359 --> 00:02:43,079 Jay Beever: garage, was always a thrill. Being in the Big Three 45 00:02:43,079 --> 00:02:46,040 Jay Beever: capital, Detroit suburbs, knowing some uncles that worked for the 46 00:02:46,040 --> 00:02:49,590 Jay Beever: car companies. And my mother worked for Crane Communications, and 47 00:02:49,590 --> 00:02:51,609 Jay Beever: she was a key line artist which was related to 48 00:02:51,609 --> 00:02:54,690 Jay Beever: graphic design, but page layout for making magazines. 49 00:02:54,690 --> 00:02:58,410 Robert Ross: Back before digital publishing, back when we had to use razor blades and wax. 50 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:00,790 Jay Beever: I've got some razor blade stories. She would come home 51 00:03:00,790 --> 00:03:03,650 Jay Beever: and I'd see articles, and the early days of graphic 52 00:03:03,650 --> 00:03:07,070 Jay Beever: storytelling with pie charts and that stuff, before the Mac 53 00:03:07,169 --> 00:03:09,029 Jay Beever: really did it well for us, I got to watch 54 00:03:09,030 --> 00:03:11,070 Jay Beever: all of that. And it was all related to automotive. But 55 00:03:11,070 --> 00:03:13,870 Jay Beever: the interesting thing was I liked building model airplanes, World 56 00:03:13,870 --> 00:03:16,089 Jay Beever: War II model airplanes. Give me a B- 17, B- 57 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:19,989 Jay Beever: 29, B- 24, I would wreck them, get another kit 58 00:03:19,989 --> 00:03:22,459 Jay Beever: and build it again. Sometimes melt holes in the side 59 00:03:22,459 --> 00:03:24,899 Jay Beever: of them, sink them to a bottom of a [inaudible 00:03:24]. So aerospace 60 00:03:24,899 --> 00:03:27,780 Jay Beever: was like the carnal thing inside waiting to come out, but 61 00:03:27,850 --> 00:03:29,790 Jay Beever: it was going to be cars. So I did, I ended up in 62 00:03:29,790 --> 00:03:32,160 Jay Beever: the car business. I used to take my mom's tape 63 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:35,220 Jay Beever: from those key lining page layout days, with Exacto blades, 64 00:03:35,220 --> 00:03:38,760 Jay Beever: and pinstripe my 1957 Chevy Matchbox car. And that was 65 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,030 Jay Beever: six years old, I'm playing with Exacto blades if you 66 00:03:41,030 --> 00:03:41,779 Jay Beever: can imagine that. 67 00:03:42,630 --> 00:03:45,069 Robert Ross: Better than matches, I guess, but maybe not much. 68 00:03:46,610 --> 00:03:48,999 Jay Beever: Those always stayed with me. So from a graphics, you 69 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,089 Jay Beever: can make something look different, to designing a car, all 70 00:03:52,090 --> 00:03:55,320 Jay Beever: of it. It's really about transportation design and being thrilled with 71 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:57,290 Jay Beever: things that move. So that was kind of the start 72 00:03:57,290 --> 00:03:59,660 Jay Beever: of it, but I couldn't afford design college. I would 73 00:03:59,660 --> 00:04:01,800 Jay Beever: have loved to have gone to CCS. I spent a 74 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,780 Jay Beever: couple of summer classes in graphic and other types of 75 00:04:04,780 --> 00:04:07,879 Jay Beever: design, like pottery. Couldn't stand pottery as a kid, but I 76 00:04:07,990 --> 00:04:10,240 Jay Beever: was learning Poway pottery out of Detroit. I'm like, " Oh, 77 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:11,890 Jay Beever: why am I being exposed to this?" But then there 78 00:04:11,890 --> 00:04:15,900 Jay Beever: was an incredible community college in McComb County there, outside Detroit, 79 00:04:16,020 --> 00:04:18,700 Jay Beever: and they had a great drafting program. My opportunity to 80 00:04:18,700 --> 00:04:21,729 Jay Beever: get into the Big Three was through drafting. Oh, this 81 00:04:21,729 --> 00:04:23,589 Jay Beever: is great. Fell in love with it in high school, 82 00:04:23,650 --> 00:04:25,990 Jay Beever: and now I can have a career doing this? So went 83 00:04:25,990 --> 00:04:28,900 Jay Beever: into drafting, CAD Design, hired at Ford Motor Company in 84 00:04:28,900 --> 00:04:33,930 Jay Beever: 1993, as an intern doing CAD computer- aided design drafting, 85 00:04:33,930 --> 00:04:34,900 Jay Beever: and 3D modeling. 86 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,179 Robert Ross: And that's when that stuff was really just coming on 87 00:04:37,180 --> 00:04:39,159 Robert Ross: board, it used to be guys had to draw. 88 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:39,370 Jay Beever: Yep. 89 00:04:39,370 --> 00:04:41,629 Robert Ross: So you were at the forefront of that new technology 90 00:04:41,770 --> 00:04:42,469 Robert Ross: in many ways. 91 00:04:42,610 --> 00:04:44,580 Jay Beever: Going back to the drawing real quick, I think the thing that helps me 92 00:04:45,130 --> 00:04:47,450 Jay Beever: the most, even to this day, is understanding what a 93 00:04:47,450 --> 00:04:50,510 Jay Beever: French curve can do, and a large spline. One of 94 00:04:50,510 --> 00:04:53,210 Jay Beever: my projects at the college was to create an A- 95 00:04:53,210 --> 00:04:57,039 Jay Beever: body car, GM car, body side, and three different views, 96 00:04:57,039 --> 00:05:00,279 Jay Beever: projecting the points in three different orthographic views and make 97 00:05:00,330 --> 00:05:04,900 Jay Beever: the arc continuously perfectly smooth, accelerated curves where necessary in 98 00:05:04,900 --> 00:05:07,430 Jay Beever: all views, so that you could inevitably put that on 99 00:05:07,430 --> 00:05:09,760 Jay Beever: aluminum plates. That was a hard way to go, but 100 00:05:09,810 --> 00:05:12,450 Jay Beever: it was fun. So then we get into Ford and 101 00:05:12,490 --> 00:05:16,080 Jay Beever: they had their own homegrown computer system called the PDGS. 102 00:05:16,180 --> 00:05:18,419 Jay Beever: And that was done on these Lundy tubes that were 103 00:05:18,419 --> 00:05:20,890 Jay Beever: tube TVs, really, with light pens and we'd stroke the 104 00:05:20,890 --> 00:05:23,430 Jay Beever: light pens on the screen and rotate things around, and 105 00:05:23,430 --> 00:05:26,669 Jay Beever: there's a little keyboard tracking our time. Talk about hours 106 00:05:26,669 --> 00:05:29,940 Jay Beever: disappearing quickly when you're building things. I couldn't have thought 107 00:05:29,940 --> 00:05:31,359 Jay Beever: I could have ended up in a better career because I'm 108 00:05:31,359 --> 00:05:34,640 Jay Beever: making something from nothing into 3D and having it show 109 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:36,489 Jay Beever: up on the road someday. So I really liked that 110 00:05:36,490 --> 00:05:39,219 Jay Beever: approach to design and design engineering, though I hadn't had 111 00:05:39,219 --> 00:05:41,440 Jay Beever: the opportunity to go to an actual industrial design or 112 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,620 Jay Beever: transportation design school like you'd find in Pasadena Art Center 113 00:05:44,690 --> 00:05:44,811 Jay Beever: or CCS. 114 00:05:44,811 --> 00:05:47,989 Robert Ross: 15 years at Ford, man, that is a long time. 115 00:05:47,990 --> 00:05:51,460 Robert Ross: And that was just the beginning. But obviously you've met a number of 116 00:05:51,460 --> 00:05:54,429 Robert Ross: fascinating people, some of whom we've had on the program, 117 00:05:54,430 --> 00:05:57,080 Robert Ross: as well. Proof that it's a very, very small world, 118 00:05:57,169 --> 00:05:58,180 Robert Ross: the automotive industry. 119 00:05:58,310 --> 00:06:01,849 Jay Beever: Taking advantage of learning from people and making sure that 120 00:06:01,849 --> 00:06:03,429 Jay Beever: you always feel that you don't know it all, I 121 00:06:03,430 --> 00:06:06,419 Jay Beever: think is what was important for me because every opportunity 122 00:06:06,419 --> 00:06:08,379 Jay Beever: to meet somebody new and find a new way of 123 00:06:08,380 --> 00:06:11,229 Jay Beever: executing a design or dealing with a new personality, because 124 00:06:11,229 --> 00:06:14,270 Jay Beever: interpersonal skills as well are quite a challenge, in any 125 00:06:14,270 --> 00:06:18,159 Jay Beever: industry. You could be incredibly talented and maybe nobody likes you. 126 00:06:18,270 --> 00:06:20,560 Robert Ross: Artists can be some of the most difficult people in the world. 127 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:21,979 Jay Beever: Right. So you have to be able to get along 128 00:06:21,979 --> 00:06:26,099 Jay Beever: with people too, because design is not always easily accepted. It has 129 00:06:26,099 --> 00:06:29,400 Jay Beever: to be sold sometimes. And if you can't explain the 130 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:33,109 Jay Beever: benefits, especially in an OEM or corporate environment, then you 131 00:06:33,109 --> 00:06:35,260 Jay Beever: might be stuck on door handles the rest of your 132 00:06:35,260 --> 00:06:38,890 Jay Beever: life. Coming up with a design is more than just the beauty of 133 00:06:38,890 --> 00:06:40,620 Jay Beever: it and what it does for you emotionally looking at 134 00:06:40,620 --> 00:06:43,710 Jay Beever: it. It's also being able to convince others of the 135 00:06:43,799 --> 00:06:47,359 Jay Beever: longterm and let's say tertiary benefits of it, not just 136 00:06:47,359 --> 00:06:49,629 Jay Beever: the first read, " I'm excited. Now tell me more about 137 00:06:49,630 --> 00:06:51,419 Jay Beever: it." And you got nothing. So it's a bit of a sales 138 00:06:51,419 --> 00:06:52,979 Jay Beever: job as well at times, and it takes a lot 139 00:06:52,979 --> 00:06:56,030 Jay Beever: of that. That's what I think happened, most importantly, was 140 00:06:56,070 --> 00:07:00,380 Jay Beever: going from that CAD design, learning descriptive geometry, understanding how 141 00:07:00,380 --> 00:07:03,260 Jay Beever: things look in three dimensions, even though they're only 2D, 142 00:07:03,339 --> 00:07:05,650 Jay Beever: allowed me really to understand what any car could look 143 00:07:05,650 --> 00:07:07,620 Jay Beever: like in any view. And that ended up being quite 144 00:07:07,620 --> 00:07:11,310 Jay Beever: a concierge assistance to those who are really good designers 145 00:07:11,350 --> 00:07:15,220 Jay Beever: like Henrik Fisker, and Freeman Thomas and David Woodhouse that's 146 00:07:15,220 --> 00:07:17,090 Jay Beever: at Nissan now. And I mean, all of these guys I 147 00:07:17,090 --> 00:07:19,640 Jay Beever: had a chance to work with and I really cherish 148 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,379 Jay Beever: the ability to help them bring their vehicles to life. 149 00:07:23,470 --> 00:07:27,350 Jay Beever: From that CAD arena, getting into the design studios, supporting three- 150 00:07:27,350 --> 00:07:31,350 Jay Beever: dimensional CAD surface development design on the exteriors was where 151 00:07:31,350 --> 00:07:34,300 Jay Beever: I found suddenly myself in the design arena I always 152 00:07:34,300 --> 00:07:35,950 Jay Beever: thought I wanted to be in, I always dreamed of. 153 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:37,819 Jay Beever: I just took a different road to get there. 154 00:07:37,870 --> 00:07:41,370 Robert Ross: Proof too that design is not a single handed exercise. 155 00:07:41,370 --> 00:07:44,760 Robert Ross: It's not necessarily a matter of Ferdinand Porsche, grandson of 156 00:07:44,810 --> 00:07:48,110 Robert Ross: the old man, sketching a 9/ 11 on a cocktail napkin. 157 00:07:49,140 --> 00:07:51,940 Jay Beever: It is teamwork. It's never only just one person and 158 00:07:51,989 --> 00:07:54,619 Jay Beever: the more the teams can be celebrated, the more everybody 159 00:07:54,620 --> 00:07:57,850 Jay Beever: has an opportunity to enjoy the career and the project 160 00:07:57,850 --> 00:08:00,350 Jay Beever: that they're working on. That was always the case at Ford. Ford 161 00:08:00,350 --> 00:08:03,530 Jay Beever: Motor Company is a good family company, very different than 162 00:08:03,530 --> 00:08:07,210 Jay Beever: others in the sense that they attracted talent that was also 163 00:08:07,220 --> 00:08:10,100 Jay Beever: talent that cared about people. It wasn't just a machine 164 00:08:10,150 --> 00:08:12,960 Jay Beever: pumping out designs. And in that regard, we always felt 165 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:14,670 Jay Beever: like a team. And I think that's why maybe I felt like I was 166 00:08:15,010 --> 00:08:17,810 Jay Beever: a designer because they always gave me so much authority 167 00:08:17,810 --> 00:08:20,110 Jay Beever: and credit when certain things were done right that it 168 00:08:20,110 --> 00:08:21,960 Jay Beever: really builds you up and makes you feel like you're 169 00:08:21,960 --> 00:08:24,800 Jay Beever: a part of it, versus an indentured servant that must 170 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,290 Jay Beever: do as I tell you and disappear into the closet when 171 00:08:27,290 --> 00:08:28,340 Jay Beever: I'm done with you, kind of a thing. 172 00:08:28,340 --> 00:08:31,369 Robert Ross: Ford really continues to have that reputation, whether it's that 173 00:08:31,370 --> 00:08:34,240 Robert Ross: ethos of being a family company from day one, but it 174 00:08:34,340 --> 00:08:36,059 Robert Ross: just got a note the other day, they top the 175 00:08:36,059 --> 00:08:39,959 Robert Ross: automotive industry in a so- called brand intimacy study. So 176 00:08:39,959 --> 00:08:43,550 Robert Ross: they beat out every other brand, even including some motorcycle 177 00:08:43,550 --> 00:08:46,480 Robert Ross: brands like Harley Davidson and so forth. Ford was at 178 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:48,510 Robert Ross: the top. So it really proves that there is a 179 00:08:48,510 --> 00:08:52,809 Robert Ross: real genuine sense of intimacy or family or something about 180 00:08:52,809 --> 00:08:55,559 Robert Ross: that blue oval that really resonates with people, whether they 181 00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:57,679 Robert Ross: work there or whether they're behind the wheel of one. 182 00:08:58,309 --> 00:09:01,569 Jay Beever: Having lived that, I quickly realized when I joined Embraer, 183 00:09:01,569 --> 00:09:03,329 Jay Beever: I'll skip ahead a little bit here, when I joined 184 00:09:03,329 --> 00:09:06,809 Jay Beever: Embraer and found out Brazilians are very passionate. They're very 185 00:09:06,809 --> 00:09:10,280 Jay Beever: family oriented also. And the company of Embraer has a 186 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:13,089 Jay Beever: lot of similar characteristics of that of Ford. Though it's 187 00:09:13,089 --> 00:09:16,890 Jay Beever: not family owned, I think the overall national character and 188 00:09:16,890 --> 00:09:19,650 Jay Beever: feel comes through that way. Prior to 2005, when the 189 00:09:19,650 --> 00:09:22,870 Jay Beever: 2005 Mustang that was properly resurrected from the ashes of 190 00:09:22,870 --> 00:09:25,500 Jay Beever: what it was in [inaudible 00:09: 21]. We're in the design studios, 191 00:09:25,500 --> 00:09:28,699 Jay Beever: they're building number two off of South field in Dearborn, 192 00:09:28,699 --> 00:09:30,890 Jay Beever: Michigan. I remember that to this day, we were trying 193 00:09:30,890 --> 00:09:33,209 Jay Beever: to figure out what should that Mustang be? We literally 194 00:09:33,209 --> 00:09:37,089 Jay Beever: scanned a BMW 3 Series Coupe, machined it into clay, 195 00:09:37,089 --> 00:09:40,589 Jay Beever: and then re- sketched, re- scraped manually in the clay 196 00:09:40,630 --> 00:09:44,170 Jay Beever: Mustang lines on a 3 Series BMW Coupe, because that 197 00:09:44,170 --> 00:09:46,760 Jay Beever: smaller proportion was really what the original Mustang was. It 198 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:48,560 Jay Beever: was a smaller car. It wasn't a big car. 199 00:09:48,670 --> 00:09:50,600 Robert Ross: And by the way, that 3 Series was just the 200 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:51,670 Robert Ross: right size back then. 201 00:09:51,740 --> 00:09:54,240 Jay Beever: Just right size, yep. I mean, the company is the 202 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:57,020 Jay Beever: Mustang. It is the F- 150, it is Bronco, which 203 00:09:57,020 --> 00:09:59,439 Jay Beever: we're now seeing today, the excitement coming back. So that 204 00:09:59,439 --> 00:10:03,609 Jay Beever: program, I was leading the engineering design development team for 205 00:10:03,610 --> 00:10:06,280 Jay Beever: the exterior modeling and interior modeling. So anything that they 206 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:08,099 Jay Beever: did in the clay, we had to reproduce it 3- 207 00:10:08,100 --> 00:10:10,459 Jay Beever: dimensionally in the computer, re- machine it out with these 208 00:10:10,459 --> 00:10:13,079 Jay Beever: big five- axis tourist mills, make sure that we did 209 00:10:13,079 --> 00:10:15,069 Jay Beever: just as good as the clay modelers and then back 210 00:10:15,069 --> 00:10:17,010 Jay Beever: and forth. And that's really the process. But the point I'm 211 00:10:17,010 --> 00:10:19,640 Jay Beever: trying to bring up is, going through that amazing point 212 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,050 Jay Beever: in my life, being on the Mustang program and bringing 213 00:10:22,050 --> 00:10:24,660 Jay Beever: it back, watching it change to the 298, which was 214 00:10:24,660 --> 00:10:27,129 Jay Beever: the Lincoln LS platform. And the whole reason that that 215 00:10:27,130 --> 00:10:30,280 Jay Beever: Mustang shifted from the smaller purpose to a larger body 216 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:33,150 Jay Beever: of vehicle was because of sharing top hats. Let's put 217 00:10:33,150 --> 00:10:35,959 Jay Beever: more vehicles on the underpinnings. Oh, by the way, the 218 00:10:35,959 --> 00:10:38,939 Jay Beever: Lincoln LS is rear wheel drive and it's independent rear 219 00:10:38,939 --> 00:10:41,189 Jay Beever: suspension. And it's not that bolt- in phony one that 220 00:10:41,189 --> 00:10:43,420 Jay Beever: we have in the Cobra, today ON the Fox body. 221 00:10:43,420 --> 00:10:46,329 Jay Beever: It's a true independent IRS. Okay, so the car's going 222 00:10:46,329 --> 00:10:48,589 Jay Beever: to get bigger now. So now it's Ford Thunderbird T- 223 00:10:48,589 --> 00:10:50,530 Jay Beever: Bird size, because the T- Bird was also on that 224 00:10:50,530 --> 00:10:53,210 Jay Beever: same platform. That's all happening in that same design studio. 225 00:10:53,319 --> 00:10:55,709 Jay Beever: Oh boy, there was outcry. " The car is getting too 226 00:10:55,709 --> 00:10:58,559 Jay Beever: big. It can't be this way." It wasn't about numbers 227 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,760 Jay Beever: anymore. People were passionate about the car, rightfully so. At 228 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:04,270 Jay Beever: Embraer, the reason I can make this correlation is when 229 00:11:04,270 --> 00:11:08,439 Jay Beever: we redesigned the Phenom 300 interior to the 300E that we 230 00:11:08,439 --> 00:11:11,790 Jay Beever: have today, that same passion came out. This is Brazil's 231 00:11:11,790 --> 00:11:15,900 Jay Beever: pride and joy is Embraer, the enterprise of Brazilian aerospace. 232 00:11:15,980 --> 00:11:18,709 Jay Beever: It's the only aerospace company. It's not like the United 233 00:11:18,709 --> 00:11:20,420 Jay Beever: States, we have many aerospace companies. 234 00:11:20,459 --> 00:11:20,780 Robert Ross: That's right. 235 00:11:20,819 --> 00:11:23,900 Jay Beever: And the Phenom, the most delivered private jet in the world, 236 00:11:23,900 --> 00:11:26,069 Jay Beever: small or large, this is their Mustang. 237 00:11:26,110 --> 00:11:27,559 Robert Ross: That's your 300E, is that right? 238 00:11:27,559 --> 00:11:30,439 Jay Beever: That's the 300E, and they're passionate about it. But what 239 00:11:30,439 --> 00:11:32,490 Jay Beever: happened, just like with the Mustangs that we see on 240 00:11:32,490 --> 00:11:34,429 Jay Beever: the road today, or any of these cars that have 241 00:11:34,429 --> 00:11:37,340 Jay Beever: a soul because they mean something, they're worth the investment, 242 00:11:37,370 --> 00:11:40,360 Jay Beever: that Phenom became that. It became bigger than the mission 243 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,760 Jay Beever: because the individuals across the company working on it knew 244 00:11:43,790 --> 00:11:46,040 Jay Beever: the Phenom needed to live up to its name, because 245 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,929 Jay Beever: it's not a nomenclature of numbers. It has a name. 246 00:11:48,929 --> 00:11:51,989 Jay Beever: Phenom. It's LeBron James with wings. It should do something 247 00:11:52,030 --> 00:11:55,490 Jay Beever: that others can't. It's phenomenal. You can't do less and 248 00:11:55,490 --> 00:11:57,810 Jay Beever: then not have it be a Phenom. So it deserved 249 00:11:57,870 --> 00:12:00,640 Jay Beever: and demanded the best. And it is the best. It's 250 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:02,989 Jay Beever: an incredible airplane, but it takes a team, back to 251 00:12:02,990 --> 00:12:06,579 Jay Beever: your earlier point. A lot of engineers, designers, executives that 252 00:12:06,579 --> 00:12:09,140 Jay Beever: make the right decision come together to do that. So 253 00:12:09,140 --> 00:12:11,920 Jay Beever: I think that's what's really exciting about the crossover between 254 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:15,189 Jay Beever: different industries is every industry has their queen. Like the 255 00:12:15,189 --> 00:12:18,650 Jay Beever: 747 was the queen of the skies. That airplane has 256 00:12:18,650 --> 00:12:20,589 Jay Beever: a history. It has a story behind it in every 257 00:12:20,589 --> 00:12:22,849 Jay Beever: possible way, from starting as a cargo plane and ending 258 00:12:22,850 --> 00:12:24,980 Jay Beever: up being a passenger plane, but has so much muscle 259 00:12:24,980 --> 00:12:27,109 Jay Beever: and horsepower now it could almost do the speed of sound, 260 00:12:27,410 --> 00:12:29,890 Jay Beever: because it's really over engined for passengers. I mean, there's 261 00:12:29,890 --> 00:12:32,459 Jay Beever: so many cool stories, and that's what I'm hoping to 262 00:12:32,459 --> 00:12:34,660 Jay Beever: bring out in our discussion today is some of these 263 00:12:34,660 --> 00:12:36,990 Jay Beever: inside stories that a lot of people don't hear about, 264 00:12:36,990 --> 00:12:39,050 Jay Beever: but yet are in and out of industries that we 265 00:12:39,050 --> 00:12:42,719 Jay Beever: all work in. And also to encourage everyone to appreciate 266 00:12:42,719 --> 00:12:45,459 Jay Beever: that there are talents and skills they have that may 267 00:12:45,459 --> 00:12:47,569 Jay Beever: not even be appreciated in the industry they're in, but 268 00:12:47,569 --> 00:12:49,759 Jay Beever: switch it to another one, oh man. Now you're a 269 00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:52,390 Jay Beever: rocket scientist. You appreciate it a whole lot more. So 270 00:12:52,469 --> 00:12:54,881 Jay Beever: really, really cherish the opportunities like that to cross over. 271 00:12:54,881 --> 00:12:57,499 Robert Ross: We're going to take a short break, Jay, but we'll be 272 00:12:57,500 --> 00:12:58,040 Robert Ross: right back. 273 00:13:00,719 --> 00:13:04,639 Speaker 1: Welcome to Life Done Better. Listen to the weekly episodes 274 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:08,069 Speaker 1: where supermodel and health coach, Jill de Jong talks to 275 00:13:08,069 --> 00:13:11,359 Speaker 1: some of the world's most inspiring women in health and 276 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:16,170 Speaker 1: wellness. It's the place for all the unicorns who strive 277 00:13:16,170 --> 00:13:19,699 Speaker 1: to create a life on their own terms. Join us 278 00:13:19,699 --> 00:13:24,700 Speaker 1: to explore, discover, and create a life done better together. 279 00:13:25,290 --> 00:13:30,280 Speaker 1: Listen and subscribe from CurtCo Media, media for your mind. 280 00:13:33,370 --> 00:13:37,240 Robert Ross: We're back with Jay Beaver. Jay, apart from modeling automotive 281 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:41,709 Robert Ross: exteriors, you've got deeply involved in the interior design process. 282 00:13:41,709 --> 00:13:44,910 Robert Ross: You're a various authentically driven guy. As I understand it, 283 00:13:44,910 --> 00:13:47,240 Robert Ross: you were able to bring a lot of those automotive 284 00:13:47,270 --> 00:13:50,929 Robert Ross: interior design aspects, the language of auto interiors as it 285 00:13:50,929 --> 00:13:54,540 Robert Ross: were, to the aviation industry. And you went to Gulfstream 286 00:13:54,540 --> 00:13:57,179 Robert Ross: next, and I'm not exactly the kind of guy that 287 00:13:57,179 --> 00:13:59,709 Robert Ross: flies private, but I've had an opportunity to hitch a 288 00:13:59,709 --> 00:14:02,179 Robert Ross: ride on a couple of occasions. Well above my pay 289 00:14:02,179 --> 00:14:05,059 Robert Ross: grade. But when I have, I've typically noticed that most 290 00:14:05,059 --> 00:14:09,490 Robert Ross: of the aircraft private jets look like something out of 291 00:14:09,490 --> 00:14:13,770 Robert Ross: a Sears and Roebuck furniture showroom. The aesthetic sensibilities are 292 00:14:13,770 --> 00:14:18,059 Robert Ross: definitely not to the level of something as costly and 293 00:14:18,059 --> 00:14:21,430 Robert Ross: as esoteric and refined as that jet would be imagined 294 00:14:21,430 --> 00:14:23,710 Robert Ross: to be. I mean, the people owning and flying these 295 00:14:23,710 --> 00:14:26,650 Robert Ross: jets are people who drive the finest automobiles in the 296 00:14:26,650 --> 00:14:30,070 Robert Ross: world. They know what a Bentley interior smells like, looks 297 00:14:30,070 --> 00:14:33,119 Robert Ross: like, how a hinge works, how a glove box opens 298 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:35,340 Robert Ross: and shuts, what a door feels like. And then the 299 00:14:35,340 --> 00:14:38,550 Robert Ross: poor devil gets in his $ 10 million jet, he probably 300 00:14:38,550 --> 00:14:41,280 Robert Ross: feels like he's slumming it. So it sounds to me 301 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,040 Robert Ross: like you were able to maybe bring a new kind 302 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:48,129 Robert Ross: of aesthetic sensibility to the whole private aviation arena. 303 00:14:48,130 --> 00:14:50,600 Jay Beever: It's an inside out story. So at Ford, I was 304 00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:54,300 Jay Beever: in the advanced product development studio in Irvine, California. And that 305 00:14:54,450 --> 00:14:56,660 Jay Beever: was back in the days with Freeman Thomas and those 306 00:14:56,660 --> 00:14:59,770 Jay Beever: guys, Henrik. One design director named Kris Thomason, He and 307 00:14:59,770 --> 00:15:02,520 Jay Beever: I really got to befriend each other and appreciate each 308 00:15:02,520 --> 00:15:04,770 Jay Beever: other's skill sets. And Chris was a really well- trained 309 00:15:04,770 --> 00:15:07,730 Jay Beever: consumer product and graphic designer as well. So he really 310 00:15:07,780 --> 00:15:11,570 Jay Beever: brought different spin to design than just the flame curves 311 00:15:11,590 --> 00:15:13,110 Jay Beever: and the lines and all the stuff that we've always 312 00:15:13,110 --> 00:15:15,550 Jay Beever: fallen in love with over the years. Gulfstream was looking 313 00:15:15,550 --> 00:15:19,190 Jay Beever: for automotive design for their new program. Secret program, nobody knew 314 00:15:19,390 --> 00:15:21,680 Jay Beever: what it was at the time, this was 2007. And they 315 00:15:21,680 --> 00:15:25,210 Jay Beever: had contacted Kris and Kris had accepted the position and 316 00:15:25,210 --> 00:15:27,560 Jay Beever: he had asked me to join him. So I'm like, " 317 00:15:27,560 --> 00:15:30,780 Jay Beever: Okay, this is interesting. It's East Coast, I've got family 318 00:15:30,780 --> 00:15:33,060 Jay Beever: over there, maybe that could be a good move too. 319 00:15:33,060 --> 00:15:35,090 Jay Beever: But I love planes, I was building them as a 320 00:15:35,090 --> 00:15:38,080 Jay Beever: kid. This might be the transition I was looking for." 321 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:40,609 Robert Ross: And by the way, Gulfstream isn't exactly chopped liver. 322 00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:44,520 Jay Beever: No. So I went with Chris, they listened to Chris 323 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:46,590 Jay Beever: and said, " Yeah, we should bring Jay on too," So 324 00:15:46,690 --> 00:15:49,460 Jay Beever: I joined and he and I were given a SEAL 325 00:15:49,460 --> 00:15:52,300 Jay Beever: team six, so to speak, from internally. And they said, " 326 00:15:52,300 --> 00:15:55,729 Jay Beever: We are soon to announce the G650. It's going to 327 00:15:55,810 --> 00:15:58,370 Jay Beever: be our new flagship. And we know we need to do something 328 00:15:58,370 --> 00:16:01,450 Jay Beever: different. It can't just be a G550 interior, grownup and 329 00:16:01,450 --> 00:16:05,080 Jay Beever: fatter inside of a 650. There's something missing, and we 330 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:06,910 Jay Beever: don't know what it is." That's what it was. We're going 331 00:16:06,910 --> 00:16:09,320 Jay Beever: to bring automotive design, but it's not going to be 332 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:11,900 Jay Beever: making a car interior inside of an aircraft because an 333 00:16:11,900 --> 00:16:15,810 Jay Beever: aircraft interior is environmental design. It should feel like furniture. 334 00:16:15,810 --> 00:16:18,530 Jay Beever: It should look comfortable and it should not be taking 335 00:16:18,530 --> 00:16:22,249 Jay Beever: your attention away from conversation, relaxation. 336 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:26,170 Robert Ross: And plus, it's got a whole load of regulations and 337 00:16:26,170 --> 00:16:29,269 Robert Ross: certifications that make it pretty complex equation, huh? 338 00:16:29,400 --> 00:16:31,900 Jay Beever: And that turned into the secret sauce for me because 339 00:16:31,900 --> 00:16:34,760 Jay Beever: I spoke the engineering language. I knew how to make 340 00:16:34,830 --> 00:16:37,979 Jay Beever: what they wanted happen and I didn't need their support. 341 00:16:37,979 --> 00:16:40,770 Jay Beever: So I could convince them sell on the design because 342 00:16:40,770 --> 00:16:43,270 Jay Beever: I had already figured it out three- dimensionally and figured 343 00:16:43,270 --> 00:16:45,330 Jay Beever: out how to put it together, and they appreciated that. 344 00:16:45,430 --> 00:16:48,120 Jay Beever: So the execution of automotive, when someone says, " Oh, I 345 00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,300 Jay Beever: need automotive design in an airplane." What you need is craftsmanship. 346 00:16:51,330 --> 00:16:54,859 Jay Beever: You need the tooling. You need the execution of automotive, 347 00:16:54,859 --> 00:16:57,609 Jay Beever: which is so good, but you still want to feel 348 00:16:57,609 --> 00:16:59,280 Jay Beever: like an environment. And there's a lot you can do 349 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,300 Jay Beever: with that. Rather than building the interior out in XYZ 350 00:17:02,330 --> 00:17:05,940 Jay Beever: crate cabinetry type designs you might find in any cabinetry 351 00:17:05,940 --> 00:17:08,980 Jay Beever: shop, we're going to use tooling. Let's cut three- dimensional 352 00:17:08,980 --> 00:17:12,750 Jay Beever: tools and create carbon fiber substrates with shape to them, 353 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:15,700 Jay Beever: that flow and compliment, that are gapped properly. And then 354 00:17:15,750 --> 00:17:17,770 Jay Beever: when you're sitting in this aircraft for 10 hours, 12 355 00:17:17,770 --> 00:17:20,469 Jay Beever: hours, rather than being underwhelmed by the fact that you 356 00:17:20,470 --> 00:17:23,320 Jay Beever: can see parts behind parts, or hinges that look like 357 00:17:23,320 --> 00:17:24,160 Jay Beever: piano hinges- 358 00:17:24,210 --> 00:17:26,409 Robert Ross: Or worse yet, hear them squeaking together. 359 00:17:26,490 --> 00:17:30,040 Jay Beever: Exactly, because they haven't been gapped properly. All of that stuff 360 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,480 Jay Beever: meant something to Gulfstream because they were an engineering company. 361 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,810 Jay Beever: Aerospace is engineering. As much as they're sexy, beautiful shapes 362 00:17:36,810 --> 00:17:40,090 Jay Beever: and styles and designs, that's needed for airflow and aerodynamics 363 00:17:40,090 --> 00:17:41,810 Jay Beever: and lift and all that good stuff. But on the 364 00:17:41,810 --> 00:17:44,930 Jay Beever: interior, it's really about how things go together properly in 365 00:17:44,930 --> 00:17:47,909 Jay Beever: a low volume tooling environment. Which is another thing from 366 00:17:47,909 --> 00:17:50,159 Jay Beever: automotive I was able to bring over is I've met 367 00:17:50,159 --> 00:17:52,820 Jay Beever: a lot of the companies in California, like Metal Crafters 368 00:17:52,820 --> 00:17:56,389 Jay Beever: and Aria, these companies that are masters at creating high- 369 00:17:56,389 --> 00:18:00,050 Jay Beever: volume tooling look and low- volume cost in toolings. We 370 00:18:00,050 --> 00:18:01,949 Jay Beever: use very much a show card kind of a build 371 00:18:01,950 --> 00:18:05,129 Jay Beever: process for tooling in aerospace for these interiors, and it's 372 00:18:05,129 --> 00:18:05,979 Jay Beever: worked magically. 373 00:18:06,220 --> 00:18:09,609 Robert Ross: Well, obviously it worked well enough that Gulfstream delivered what 374 00:18:09,609 --> 00:18:13,550 Robert Ross: I guess remains one of the private aviation flagships, their 375 00:18:13,550 --> 00:18:16,729 Robert Ross: 650, and gave you an opportunity to move to an 376 00:18:16,730 --> 00:18:18,770 Robert Ross: even greater set of challenges with Embraer. 377 00:18:18,770 --> 00:18:21,000 Jay Beever: That was a special day. It was disruptive because I 378 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,379 Jay Beever: really liked working for Gulfstream. It was the cream of 379 00:18:23,379 --> 00:18:26,649 Jay Beever: the crop and the longest, farthest flying, fastest jets and 380 00:18:26,649 --> 00:18:29,440 Jay Beever: all that good stuff. But we were always intimidated by 381 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:33,909 Jay Beever: Embraer, and that was because Embraer started the transportation industrial 382 00:18:33,909 --> 00:18:38,649 Jay Beever: design revolution within private jet aerospace because they went off 383 00:18:38,649 --> 00:18:41,540 Jay Beever: and hired BMW design works in the early 2000s. 384 00:18:41,929 --> 00:18:45,190 Robert Ross: I remember seeing that prototype interior. In fact, we had [Verina Cluse 00:18: 385 00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:48,580 Robert Ross: 45] on the program early on. Again, proof that it's 386 00:18:48,580 --> 00:18:51,879 Robert Ross: a very, very small world in the design community. That 387 00:18:51,879 --> 00:18:54,699 Robert Ross: was a bold move to hire an independent third party 388 00:18:54,770 --> 00:18:56,840 Robert Ross: design firm to tackle that challenge. 389 00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:00,080 Jay Beever: Very smart move too, because they were breaking into a 390 00:19:00,639 --> 00:19:04,919 Jay Beever: piranha infested market. When you talk about customer loyalty, oh 391 00:19:04,919 --> 00:19:07,609 Jay Beever: man, it's hard to break somebody out of their private 392 00:19:07,609 --> 00:19:10,560 Jay Beever: aircraft ownership because you have a flight department involved. You've 393 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,679 Jay Beever: got maintenance departments involved. You've got stockpiles of parts in 394 00:19:13,679 --> 00:19:16,770 Jay Beever: your hangar involved to service the airplanes. It's a crossover 395 00:19:16,770 --> 00:19:19,869 Jay Beever: that costs a lot of money, and you have to re- type certify 396 00:19:19,869 --> 00:19:22,179 Jay Beever: your pilots to do a new platform. So here Embraer 397 00:19:22,179 --> 00:19:25,820 Jay Beever: was coming out of Brazil, successful commercial aircraft, 80% of 398 00:19:25,820 --> 00:19:28,369 Jay Beever: the world regionally is flying on Embraer products and they 399 00:19:28,369 --> 00:19:30,760 Jay Beever: don't even know it, and they're about to break into 400 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,770 Jay Beever: the secret world of private jets and try to take 401 00:19:33,859 --> 00:19:35,420 Jay Beever: on the gorillas. 402 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:37,730 Robert Ross: It's like trying to take over the Jack Daniels market. 403 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,780 Jay Beever: Oh, yeah. The F- 150, the loyalty is there. So 404 00:19:41,780 --> 00:19:45,119 Jay Beever: having BMW support them with that design was very appropriate 405 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:47,530 Jay Beever: because it gave them a cachet, gave them a label. " 406 00:19:47,619 --> 00:19:51,310 Jay Beever: Okay, this private jet from Embraer is Phenom, is going 407 00:19:51,310 --> 00:19:54,340 Jay Beever: to be built like a BMW. Interesting. All right, that's 408 00:19:54,340 --> 00:19:57,200 Jay Beever: a change. It's not the OEM's cabinetry shop. It's an 409 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,210 Jay Beever: outside design company that we all appreciate." And it got 410 00:20:00,210 --> 00:20:01,949 Jay Beever: them a lot of attention and it was a right 411 00:20:01,950 --> 00:20:04,409 Jay Beever: thing to do. Well, that attention got Gulfstream thinking, and 412 00:20:04,409 --> 00:20:06,399 Jay Beever: that's why Chris and I ended up at Gulfstream was 413 00:20:06,399 --> 00:20:10,619 Jay Beever: because they were going to do the BMW thing again, or Nissan Design America 414 00:20:10,619 --> 00:20:12,679 Jay Beever: I believe they quoted with, and they realize, " No, we 415 00:20:12,679 --> 00:20:15,409 Jay Beever: want this internal because if we hire the consultancy, the 416 00:20:15,409 --> 00:20:18,209 Jay Beever: consultancy knows what we're doing and therefore our intellectual property 417 00:20:18,210 --> 00:20:20,139 Jay Beever: and our ideas won't be as much of a surprise, 418 00:20:20,139 --> 00:20:22,859 Jay Beever: and maybe some of the stuff that we do in a joint development way 419 00:20:22,859 --> 00:20:25,790 Jay Beever: ends up in somebody else's hands because we don't own it." 420 00:20:25,909 --> 00:20:28,759 Robert Ross: And it's inevitable that that happens anyway, because people are 421 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,570 Robert Ross: working on multiple projects at once. It's like when Pininfarina 422 00:20:31,570 --> 00:20:34,109 Robert Ross: used to work with Ferrari and Maserati and any number 423 00:20:34,109 --> 00:20:36,609 Robert Ross: of other car makers, all these departments have been brought in- 424 00:20:36,609 --> 00:20:37,129 Robert Ross: house now. 425 00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:39,240 Jay Beever: And there's value to that. It provides an X factor. 426 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,029 Jay Beever: If you're sure of what you've got and that you 427 00:20:42,030 --> 00:20:44,639 Jay Beever: can do it better, and leveraging the talent and the 428 00:20:44,639 --> 00:20:47,820 Jay Beever: knowledge within the company to create an X factor, you 429 00:20:47,820 --> 00:20:50,320 Jay Beever: don't need to have a consultancy because you know what 430 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:52,949 Jay Beever: to do. That's what Embraer wanted. Now they knew what 431 00:20:52,950 --> 00:20:55,020 Jay Beever: it was like to design through consultancy, and that's a 432 00:20:55,020 --> 00:20:58,219 Jay Beever: hire and fire process. BMW was not involved when I 433 00:20:58,220 --> 00:21:00,320 Jay Beever: joined the company because they were already gone off doing 434 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,020 Jay Beever: something else. What happened was engineering took over and, bless 435 00:21:03,020 --> 00:21:05,149 Jay Beever: their hearts, they made a great engineered product. But when 436 00:21:05,149 --> 00:21:08,419 Jay Beever: you don't have the design policemen involved to help nurture 437 00:21:08,419 --> 00:21:10,850 Jay Beever: the changes that come, because the changes do come, it's 438 00:21:10,850 --> 00:21:13,270 Jay Beever: called joint development. We need to see what those changes 439 00:21:13,270 --> 00:21:15,039 Jay Beever: are, and then go back to the drawing board on 440 00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:16,959 Jay Beever: some of those and readjust it so it works with 441 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:19,980 Jay Beever: the theme and create the plan, versus cutting a hole 442 00:21:19,980 --> 00:21:21,990 Jay Beever: and sticking something in there to resolve it. Though it's 443 00:21:21,990 --> 00:21:24,209 Jay Beever: very robust and strong, it's not part of the design. 444 00:21:24,210 --> 00:21:27,210 Jay Beever: So it became somewhat disconnected. They opened up a position 445 00:21:27,240 --> 00:21:31,119 Jay Beever: to find a vice president of interior design, and an 446 00:21:31,119 --> 00:21:34,129 Jay Beever: executive recruiter contacted me and told me about the position. 447 00:21:34,210 --> 00:21:37,070 Jay Beever: I met with Embraer and quickly found out that they 448 00:21:37,070 --> 00:21:40,389 Jay Beever: really had an ambition to do things different and were 449 00:21:40,389 --> 00:21:43,540 Jay Beever: passionate for design. And really, it's rare that you end 450 00:21:43,540 --> 00:21:46,500 Jay Beever: up with a leadership team position as a designer. We're 451 00:21:46,500 --> 00:21:49,159 Jay Beever: usually shunned. We don't need any free thinkers here. We 452 00:21:49,159 --> 00:21:50,460 Jay Beever: don't need out of the box thinking here. 453 00:21:50,530 --> 00:21:52,979 Robert Ross: I've seen how a lot of the automotive OEMs treat 454 00:21:52,980 --> 00:21:55,810 Robert Ross: their designers. Sometimes they don't even want you to publish their 455 00:21:55,810 --> 00:21:57,980 Robert Ross: name. I mean, these guys, they don't want to make 456 00:21:57,980 --> 00:22:01,260 Robert Ross: them superstars because they could be superstars. That's why so 457 00:22:01,260 --> 00:22:03,000 Robert Ross: many of these guys end up on their own, they 458 00:22:03,149 --> 00:22:05,920 Robert Ross: eventually jump ship and say, " You know what? I'm going to start my own company." 459 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:08,679 Jay Beever: In that regard, rather than start my own company, because there's a 460 00:22:08,679 --> 00:22:11,310 Jay Beever: whole bunch of other stresses there. " The grass is greener 461 00:22:11,310 --> 00:22:12,830 Jay Beever: on the other side." Well, you don't know the water 462 00:22:12,830 --> 00:22:15,109 Jay Beever: bill. And then you find out if it's not so ... 463 00:22:16,090 --> 00:22:18,460 Jay Beever: the wrong green is being grown, we're losing the other 464 00:22:18,460 --> 00:22:19,840 Jay Beever: kind of green that we want to hold on to, [inaudible 00:22:20]. 465 00:22:20,550 --> 00:22:22,780 Jay Beever: And some people do it very successfully. Like Eddie Sato, 466 00:22:22,780 --> 00:22:25,840 Jay Beever: Sato Studios. He's fantastic, and he's a great friend and 467 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,060 Jay Beever: has done incredible things. So that relationship found itself coming 468 00:22:29,060 --> 00:22:31,699 Jay Beever: to life at Embraer, so when I joined Embraer as 469 00:22:31,700 --> 00:22:34,919 Jay Beever: VP of Interior Design, in a leadership position that comes 470 00:22:34,919 --> 00:22:37,240 Jay Beever: with some authority, to be honest. And when you have 471 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:39,780 Jay Beever: an idea, not that you're yelling at people and being 472 00:22:39,780 --> 00:22:42,050 Jay Beever: a tyrant, but when you want to sell an idea, 473 00:22:42,129 --> 00:22:43,360 Jay Beever: it kind of helps when you're up on top. 474 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:43,669 Robert Ross: That's right. 475 00:22:43,669 --> 00:22:46,050 Jay Beever: So some of these ideas were a little bit easier 476 00:22:46,050 --> 00:22:48,909 Jay Beever: to push through, but they were ideas that Embraer appreciated 477 00:22:48,909 --> 00:22:52,399 Jay Beever: because it's also an engineering company with the family spirit 478 00:22:52,399 --> 00:22:55,750 Jay Beever: of Ford, and a passion for design, and a history 479 00:22:55,830 --> 00:22:59,040 Jay Beever: of doing things first that nobody knows about because they 480 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:02,899 Jay Beever: haven't marketed well enough. So here I saw marketing opportunities. 481 00:23:02,899 --> 00:23:04,759 Jay Beever: We can design something fresh. We're going to do it 482 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,229 Jay Beever: internally. We've got resources. Call the world's best aerospace engineers 483 00:23:08,290 --> 00:23:09,720 Jay Beever: that have come out of a country that should not 484 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,590 Jay Beever: be making airplanes because perception is reality, and Brazilians should 485 00:23:12,590 --> 00:23:14,780 Jay Beever: not be making airplanes, the Europeans and the United States 486 00:23:14,780 --> 00:23:17,000 Jay Beever: should be making them. Germans shouldn't be making Porsches because 487 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,990 Jay Beever: Germans aren't sexy, but Italians are, so Italians ... all those 488 00:23:19,990 --> 00:23:24,300 Jay Beever: perceptions could be busted, which is called opportunity, and the 489 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:26,780 Jay Beever: ability to form a team and have things that really need 490 00:23:26,780 --> 00:23:29,379 Jay Beever: change and help, but can apply all of these things I 491 00:23:29,379 --> 00:23:31,859 Jay Beever: learned from Gulfstream and Ford and the auto industry and 492 00:23:31,859 --> 00:23:34,210 Jay Beever: drafting and CAD. It all came together. It all came 493 00:23:34,210 --> 00:23:35,560 Jay Beever: together. It's been a wild ride. 494 00:23:35,639 --> 00:23:38,280 Robert Ross: What a great story, and obviously the ride's not over. 495 00:23:38,679 --> 00:23:40,359 Robert Ross: We're going to take a quick break, but we'll be 496 00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:40,820 Robert Ross: right back. 497 00:23:43,159 --> 00:23:46,880 Speaker 1: A Moment of Your Time. New podcast from CurtCo Media. 498 00:23:47,659 --> 00:23:49,860 Speaker 4: Currently 21 years old, and today [ crosstalk 00:23:50]. 499 00:23:49,860 --> 00:23:53,109 Speaker 5: Felt like magic extended from her fingertips down to the 500 00:23:53,109 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 5: base of my soul- 501 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:55,971 Speaker 6: You have to take care of yourself because the world needs you and your [inaudible 00:23:57]- 502 00:23:55,971 --> 00:23:58,480 Speaker 7: Trust me, every do- gooder that asked about me was ready 503 00:23:58,480 --> 00:23:59,200 Speaker 7: to spit on my dream. 504 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:00,710 Speaker 8: Her fingers were facing. 505 00:24:00,710 --> 00:24:03,889 Speaker 9: You feel like your purpose and your worth is really 506 00:24:03,889 --> 00:24:04,389 Speaker 9: being crushed- 507 00:24:04,389 --> 00:24:06,290 Speaker 10: Going to stop me from playing the piano. 508 00:24:06,290 --> 00:24:09,080 Speaker 11: She buys walkie talkies, wonders to whom she should give 509 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:09,650 Speaker 11: the second device. 510 00:24:09,780 --> 00:24:12,550 Speaker 12: Pets don't love humans. We never did. We never will. 511 00:24:12,550 --> 00:24:12,930 Speaker 12: We just find [crosstalk 00:24:12]. 512 00:24:12,930 --> 00:24:16,220 Speaker 13: The beauty of rock climbing is that you can only focus 513 00:24:16,220 --> 00:24:17,170 Speaker 13: on what's right in front of you. 514 00:24:17,170 --> 00:24:20,169 Speaker 14: And so our American life begins. 515 00:24:21,220 --> 00:24:24,530 Speaker 1: We may need to stay apart, but let's create, together. 516 00:24:24,889 --> 00:24:29,869 Speaker 1: Available on all podcast platforms. Submit your piece at CurtCo. com/ AMomentofYourTime. 517 00:24:29,909 --> 00:24:37,389 Robert Ross: We're back with Jay Beaver, Vice- President of Design Operations 518 00:24:37,389 --> 00:24:40,669 Robert Ross: with Embraer Executive Jets. Of course, I'm dying to find 519 00:24:40,669 --> 00:24:43,800 Robert Ross: out some of the secrets from your automotive past, some 520 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:46,230 Robert Ross: of the cars that never quite made it out of the nest 521 00:24:46,230 --> 00:24:48,310 Robert Ross: or never hatched out of the egg. Are there any 522 00:24:48,310 --> 00:24:49,590 Robert Ross: stories you can tell there? 523 00:24:49,659 --> 00:24:51,939 Jay Beever: I'm glad you asked because to the theme of this 524 00:24:51,939 --> 00:24:55,550 Jay Beever: podcast, Cars That Matter, from an industry insider and many 525 00:24:55,550 --> 00:25:00,040 Jay Beever: automotive design individuals can tell you about the reams of 526 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,980 Jay Beever: paper thrown away that had incredible designs on them, but 527 00:25:02,980 --> 00:25:05,480 Jay Beever: it was the right car for the wrong time. And it 528 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:07,720 Jay Beever: didn't see the light of day, but then became something 529 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,239 Jay Beever: else, inspired something else that did hit the road. So 530 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:15,330 Jay Beever: in a sense, you have this very noble, sacrificial, beautiful 531 00:25:15,330 --> 00:25:18,369 Jay Beever: design or car that could hit the road. But it 532 00:25:18,369 --> 00:25:22,280 Jay Beever: won't be forgotten because those who know that production vehicle 533 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:24,999 Jay Beever: that was slapped onto that front wheel drive drivetrain, when 534 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,699 Jay Beever: it should have been rear wheel drive, became something. But 535 00:25:27,699 --> 00:25:30,949 Jay Beever: the original, the car that really mattered, wasn't seen. There was 536 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,699 Jay Beever: a lot of Lincolns in my past when we were working 537 00:25:33,699 --> 00:25:36,909 Jay Beever: with the Lincoln design teams there in Irvine, California, with 538 00:25:36,909 --> 00:25:39,180 Jay Beever: Marek Reichman and David Woodhouse. Marek. 539 00:25:39,500 --> 00:25:41,959 Robert Ross: Yeah, he's at Aston Martin now, doing some great things. 540 00:25:42,020 --> 00:25:44,909 Jay Beever: Yes. Gerry McGovern, head of Land Rover Design as well. 541 00:25:44,909 --> 00:25:47,909 Jay Beever: He was Marek and David's boss, and I learned a lot 542 00:25:47,909 --> 00:25:52,010 Jay Beever: from the British sensitivity to style and luxury. And we 543 00:25:52,010 --> 00:25:54,030 Jay Beever: had some really good Lincolns. They had come up with 544 00:25:54,030 --> 00:25:57,330 Jay Beever: some really good rear wheel drive Lincolns, but the decisions 545 00:25:57,389 --> 00:26:01,290 Jay Beever: internally, for the right reasons of carrying over engineering and 546 00:26:01,330 --> 00:26:05,169 Jay Beever: platforms and drivetrains, turned into, " Well, we own Volvo Car 547 00:26:05,169 --> 00:26:07,740 Jay Beever: at the time, Volvo Car company. Well, I think the D- 548 00:26:07,740 --> 00:26:10,689 Jay Beever: platform from Volvo, the S80, would make a better underpinning 549 00:26:10,689 --> 00:26:13,500 Jay Beever: for the new Ford Taurus than something else, or for 550 00:26:13,500 --> 00:26:18,790 Jay Beever: a new Lincoln MKS." No, we clearly had concept vehicles 551 00:26:18,790 --> 00:26:21,560 Jay Beever: out of these Lincolns, but there were other Lincoln designs 552 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:24,270 Jay Beever: internally that never saw the light of day that became 553 00:26:24,270 --> 00:26:27,869 Jay Beever: the sacrificial inspirations for what inevitably ended up on, let's say, 554 00:26:27,869 --> 00:26:28,810 Jay Beever: the wrong bones. 555 00:26:29,310 --> 00:26:30,270 Robert Ross: Sure. I understand. 556 00:26:30,590 --> 00:26:33,129 Jay Beever: The one that I'm very fond of is, there's a designer 557 00:26:33,129 --> 00:26:36,949 Jay Beever: at Ford named Bernard. Bernard was incredibly talented. He sketched 558 00:26:36,949 --> 00:26:40,009 Jay Beever: up a little B- car, back in early 2000s. Of 559 00:26:40,010 --> 00:26:44,669 Jay Beever: course we were in love with the Mini Cooper, that retro- infused reinvention. 560 00:26:44,669 --> 00:26:48,220 Robert Ross: Sure. Frank Stephenson's design. That was really a brilliant interpretation 561 00:26:48,220 --> 00:26:49,239 Robert Ross: of the original Mini. 562 00:26:49,300 --> 00:26:51,990 Jay Beever: And Freeman Thomas with the Audi TT. When Freeman came 563 00:26:51,990 --> 00:26:53,979 Jay Beever: into the studio, we got to talk about that and 564 00:26:53,980 --> 00:26:57,810 Jay Beever: learn with him. And in that timeframe with Freeman, and prior 565 00:26:57,810 --> 00:27:01,100 Jay Beever: to Freeman, was Henrik Fisker. Bernie, we called him, came 566 00:27:01,100 --> 00:27:03,359 Jay Beever: up with this really cool ... we call it the B- 567 00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:06,369 Jay Beever: rod. Remember the monitor and the Merrimack, the very first 568 00:27:06,369 --> 00:27:07,429 Jay Beever: summary had this. 569 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:09,461 Robert Ross: Of course, yeah. 570 00:27:09,461 --> 00:27:12,159 Jay Beever: And the union side had this submarine and it had that 571 00:27:12,159 --> 00:27:14,459 Jay Beever: three box look, had a little turd on top, and then 572 00:27:14,460 --> 00:27:17,310 Jay Beever: the front back. Well, Bernie had created this bold little B- 573 00:27:17,310 --> 00:27:20,689 Jay Beever: car that was better than a Mini Cooper and better 574 00:27:20,689 --> 00:27:22,909 Jay Beever: than ... it's hard to say, because it wasn't retro of 575 00:27:22,909 --> 00:27:25,419 Jay Beever: anything. It was unique. It was bold, it was exactly 576 00:27:25,419 --> 00:27:28,629 Jay Beever: what Ford needed, because at the time there was a European 577 00:27:28,629 --> 00:27:31,919 Jay Beever: influence coming in and the Ford Focus turned into a Fiesta, 578 00:27:31,919 --> 00:27:34,310 Jay Beever: and it's a B- car for Brazil, and it's got 579 00:27:34,310 --> 00:27:37,919 Jay Beever: all these weird, crazy fast ... they called it flame design 580 00:27:37,919 --> 00:27:41,359 Jay Beever: lines. And we're like, " No, this can't be, we need 581 00:27:41,439 --> 00:27:44,409 Jay Beever: the B- rod that Bernie has been sketching." So we 582 00:27:44,409 --> 00:27:47,510 Jay Beever: went through and we modeled it out for him without permission from 583 00:27:47,510 --> 00:27:50,170 Jay Beever: anyone, the design engineering team. We worked with Bernie and 584 00:27:50,230 --> 00:27:54,109 Jay Beever: actually rendered out and executed this incredible B- car on 585 00:27:54,300 --> 00:27:58,039 Jay Beever: platform, on chassis, new top hat, carry over underpinnings. It 586 00:27:58,040 --> 00:27:59,879 Jay Beever: was okay, because the way it was rounded off on 587 00:27:59,879 --> 00:28:02,340 Jay Beever: the front, from the top it had a pill shape 588 00:28:02,340 --> 00:28:04,889 Jay Beever: with some nice flares coming off. So it wasn't just 589 00:28:04,889 --> 00:28:07,100 Jay Beever: a perfect square and top view, like most cars are. 590 00:28:07,100 --> 00:28:09,330 Jay Beever: And inside, there was a three box design. We had a two 591 00:28:09,330 --> 00:28:12,540 Jay Beever: door, we had a four door, modular removable panels, fenders 592 00:28:12,550 --> 00:28:14,609 Jay Beever: and quarter pounds would be pulled off and customized with 593 00:28:14,609 --> 00:28:17,270 Jay Beever: new different fender panels and quarter panels. We built in 594 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:20,469 Jay Beever: all the weld joints and everything you can imagine. Because 595 00:28:20,470 --> 00:28:22,580 Jay Beever: we thought, " Okay, if we can't get the design pushed 596 00:28:22,580 --> 00:28:24,759 Jay Beever: through, maybe because it's already engineered, they'll think they have 597 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:28,879 Jay Beever: no choice." So, Peter Horbury, at the time another great 598 00:28:28,879 --> 00:28:31,039 Jay Beever: design lead I worked for. Peter was in charge of 599 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:33,500 Jay Beever: Volvo cars, I think, and he still carried over with 600 00:28:33,500 --> 00:28:36,850 Jay Beever: Volvo into when the Chinese owners bought it. But Peter 601 00:28:36,919 --> 00:28:38,910 Jay Beever: liked it as well. We had the chance to present it 602 00:28:38,910 --> 00:28:41,080 Jay Beever: to him, but it was too late. The decisions had already been 603 00:28:41,500 --> 00:28:45,160 Jay Beever: made on the other vehicle, but that car mattered because 604 00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:47,850 Jay Beever: it proved that with the right amount of energy, you can 605 00:28:47,850 --> 00:28:50,030 Jay Beever: get people to do things, and you don't have to tell 606 00:28:50,030 --> 00:28:53,440 Jay Beever: them to. Like that Mustang project, like that Phenom 300E 607 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:56,510 Jay Beever: project. When it's right, it's right. But sometimes they don't 608 00:28:56,510 --> 00:28:59,670 Jay Beever: make the light of day. I think Pixar should make 609 00:28:59,750 --> 00:29:02,790 Jay Beever: another Cars movie about all the cars that matter, that 610 00:29:02,790 --> 00:29:05,870 Jay Beever: nobody got to see, and bring them to life in 611 00:29:05,870 --> 00:29:09,310 Jay Beever: this sort of [crosstalk 00:29:07]. Ooh, we got to be a magic fairy tale. 612 00:29:09,370 --> 00:29:12,040 Jay Beever: I'd love it. A fairy tale for adult car lovers. 613 00:29:12,070 --> 00:29:14,550 Robert Ross: Exactly. All the cars that were meant to be finally 614 00:29:14,550 --> 00:29:16,259 Robert Ross: get the light of day and end up on the 615 00:29:16,260 --> 00:29:18,969 Robert Ross: Hollywood screen in an animated satire. 616 00:29:19,150 --> 00:29:20,870 Jay Beever: Jay, it sounds like you had an awful lot of 617 00:29:20,870 --> 00:29:23,390 Jay Beever: fun at Ford and in the car business, but it 618 00:29:23,390 --> 00:29:26,580 Jay Beever: sounds like you're having maybe even more fun now expanding 619 00:29:26,580 --> 00:29:29,630 Jay Beever: the reach and breadth of your design sensibilities and doing 620 00:29:29,630 --> 00:29:31,780 Jay Beever: it with a company that gives you the latitude to 621 00:29:31,780 --> 00:29:34,040 Jay Beever: really explore some uncharted waters. 622 00:29:34,130 --> 00:29:36,910 Robert Ross: It is. I think if more companies open up, like 623 00:29:36,910 --> 00:29:38,999 Robert Ross: the tech companies in Silicon Valley, they get a lot 624 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,690 Robert Ross: of credit for being very liberal with their employees and 625 00:29:41,690 --> 00:29:44,420 Robert Ross: nourishing creativity and having what is not so much a 626 00:29:44,420 --> 00:29:47,780 Robert Ross: corporate life. Even companies that are very engineered and deliberate 627 00:29:47,780 --> 00:29:50,590 Robert Ross: because they have to be for safety reasons, like Embraer, 628 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:52,880 Robert Ross: there's a lot you can do with your employees. And 629 00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,230 Robert Ross: even if there's not a program in place to do 630 00:29:55,230 --> 00:29:57,999 Robert Ross: something, good leaders can inspire their people to come up 631 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:00,060 Robert Ross: with stuff on their free time even, or if there's 632 00:30:00,060 --> 00:30:01,830 Robert Ross: some dead time in between programs. 633 00:30:01,830 --> 00:30:03,980 Jay Beever: Isn't it true? Some of the best ideas have come 634 00:30:03,980 --> 00:30:06,450 Jay Beever: out of the skunkworks, so to speak. I know the Lamborghini 635 00:30:06,450 --> 00:30:09,001 Jay Beever: Miura was basically a project that the Lara and (Stanzani) 636 00:30:09,001 --> 00:30:12,140 Jay Beever: and Bob Wallace put together when the old man 637 00:30:12,140 --> 00:30:13,959 Jay Beever: wasn't looking. And they took it to him and said, " 638 00:30:13,959 --> 00:30:15,630 Jay Beever: We have to build this car." It turned out to 639 00:30:15,630 --> 00:30:17,600 Jay Beever: be Lamborghini's most important car ever. 640 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,540 Robert Ross: And the surprise and delight of a team of people 641 00:30:21,540 --> 00:30:24,830 Robert Ross: who weren't expected to come up with something incredible, because 642 00:30:24,830 --> 00:30:28,459 Robert Ross: they weren't the sexy SEAL Team Six, skunkworks team. They're just 643 00:30:28,459 --> 00:30:30,860 Robert Ross: really talented people that want to prove that they can 644 00:30:30,860 --> 00:30:34,420 Robert Ross: do something different. And there's so much of that unleashed 645 00:30:34,420 --> 00:30:37,450 Robert Ross: talent sitting in these cubicles around this country and in 646 00:30:37,450 --> 00:30:40,559 Robert Ross: these businesses that are waiting to have an excuse to 647 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:43,069 Robert Ross: do something amazing. So let them loose, come up with 648 00:30:43,070 --> 00:30:45,610 Robert Ross: stuff. Most are working from home right now, and if the future 649 00:30:45,670 --> 00:30:48,050 Robert Ross: is working from home a lot, then there's maybe some 650 00:30:48,050 --> 00:30:49,330 Robert Ross: extra time to do some neat things. 651 00:30:49,330 --> 00:30:52,739 Jay Beever: This is really a great conversation and obviously an open 652 00:30:52,740 --> 00:30:56,070 Jay Beever: invitation to come back and join us anytime, because I 653 00:30:56,070 --> 00:30:58,090 Jay Beever: have an idea that you'll have a lot more to 654 00:30:58,090 --> 00:31:00,430 Jay Beever: talk about in the coming year. Look forward to having you 655 00:31:00,540 --> 00:31:02,670 Jay Beever: back on the show. Jay, thank you very much. 656 00:31:02,730 --> 00:31:04,280 Robert Ross: No, thank you, Robert. It's been a pleasure. 657 00:31:05,090 --> 00:31:07,220 Jay Beever: Come back next time as we continue to talk about 658 00:31:07,220 --> 00:31:22,970 Jay Beever: the passions that drive us and the passions we drive. 659 00:31:23,209 --> 00:31:25,559 Jay Beever: This episode of Cars That Matter was hosted by Robert 660 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:29,690 Jay Beever: Ross, produced by Chris Porter, edited by Chris Porter, sound 661 00:31:29,690 --> 00:31:33,260 Jay Beever: engineering by Michael Kennedy, theme song by Celeste [ inaudible 00: 662 00:31:33,270 --> 00:31:37,229 Jay Beever: 31:31], additional music and sound like Chris Porter. Please like, 663 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:41,010 Jay Beever: subscribe, and share this podcast. I'm Robert Ross, and thanks 664 00:31:41,010 --> 00:31:41,479 Jay Beever: for listening. 665 00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:47,990 Speaker 1: CurtCo Media. Media for your mind.