1
00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:10,160
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. I'm Hannah Elliott and

2
00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:10,880
Speaker 1: I'm Matt Miller.

3
00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:12,280
Speaker 2: This is Hot Pursuit.

4
00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,680
Speaker 3: Coming up on today's podcast, we have Michael Sheba, who

5
00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:23,720
Speaker 3: is the head I'm going to say the head of

6
00:00:23,760 --> 00:00:27,440
Speaker 3: Mercedes amj G. He's also a board member who will

7
00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:29,360
Speaker 3: be transitioning out of that role in July.

8
00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:30,600
Speaker 1: But we know and.

9
00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,800
Speaker 3: Love him as the head of the top dog at AMG,

10
00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:39,519
Speaker 3: the CEO. The CEO, yes, and really a rising I

11
00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,080
Speaker 3: don't know if it's correct to say rising star at Mercedes,

12
00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,680
Speaker 3: but really someone who's very integral to the car.

13
00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:48,120
Speaker 2: I have heard the same thing, right, We should say

14
00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:50,320
Speaker 2: that we're only reporting rumors that we hear from other

15
00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:52,239
Speaker 2: people in the industry. But this is a guy who

16
00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:53,880
Speaker 2: has a shot at the big job.

17
00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:55,080
Speaker 1: Yeah.

18
00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:58,640
Speaker 3: Also, he's extremely talented. He's also really young in a

19
00:00:58,680 --> 00:00:59,160
Speaker 3: good way.

20
00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:01,040
Speaker 1: I don't know a good way.

21
00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:03,800
Speaker 3: I mean, I've guts used like early forties.

22
00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,640
Speaker 2: Maybe that's late thirties in case he's listening to this part.

23
00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,160
Speaker 3: Sure, he's got a big career ahead of him. Also

24
00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:16,399
Speaker 3: a runner, which I love. I think runners, people who

25
00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,400
Speaker 3: run might be better than other people.

26
00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,640
Speaker 2: You think, so, I feel like I put runners in

27
00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,360
Speaker 2: the same category as like heavy drinkers.

28
00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:28,560
Speaker 1: It is it can be an addiction.

29
00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, and they it's like they like to go through

30
00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,160
Speaker 2: the pain, you know, the suffer.

31
00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:35,600
Speaker 4: Yeah.

32
00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:40,840
Speaker 1: Yeah, there is something. Yeah, No, I don't think I'm not.

33
00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,480
Speaker 3: Well, I guess what I mean is there's you know,

34
00:01:43,520 --> 00:01:47,639
Speaker 3: there's something about the loneliness of the long distance runner,

35
00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:52,200
Speaker 3: the solitude. Yeah, there's something there. Anyway, we're not talking

36
00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:53,720
Speaker 3: about running, We're talking about.

37
00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,600
Speaker 2: Cars, right, cool. Well, I'm looking forward to this. I

38
00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,280
Speaker 2: just had him on my television show. So let's get

39
00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:03,000
Speaker 2: into our interview with Michael Siba, the CEO of AMG.

40
00:02:03,640 --> 00:02:05,720
Speaker 3: When I was with you in LA a few weeks

41
00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:08,360
Speaker 3: ago for the launch of the car, you guys spoke

42
00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:13,160
Speaker 3: a lot about understanding that different markets have different desires

43
00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:17,160
Speaker 3: and concerns, and how important the US market is for

44
00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:21,160
Speaker 3: you guys. And yes, you are launching this electric car,

45
00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,480
Speaker 3: but that's only one part of your strategy.

46
00:02:24,720 --> 00:02:26,280
Speaker 1: You certainly still.

47
00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:29,680
Speaker 3: Have combustion engines, and in fact is a case with

48
00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:33,079
Speaker 3: the Baby G Wagon, which I'm very excited about. You've decided,

49
00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:37,440
Speaker 3: because of the request from dealers, to make that in

50
00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,200
Speaker 3: an electric and a combustion version, and I thought that

51
00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:43,760
Speaker 3: was very cool because to me it indicates you are

52
00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,959
Speaker 3: actually listening and try to read and understand a very

53
00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,639
Speaker 3: patchwork quilt of marketplaces. Can you talk a little bit

54
00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,720
Speaker 3: more about, like how you guys listen to dealers and

55
00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,200
Speaker 3: customers in markets where the US really seems to not

56
00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,600
Speaker 3: want evs, but a lot of other markets in Europe

57
00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:05,680
Speaker 3: and Asia do want evs. What indicators do you follow

58
00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,880
Speaker 3: to decide who needs what? Is it just sales or

59
00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:09,959
Speaker 3: is it other things too?

60
00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,880
Speaker 4: Of course we do, of course follow the market very closely,

61
00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,720
Speaker 4: and as a customer centric company, you definitely need to

62
00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:24,160
Speaker 4: listen to your customers. This is the most important point. Yeah,

63
00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:27,560
Speaker 4: this is why we have a very close relation to

64
00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:30,080
Speaker 4: our hardcore fans out there. You know, we have this

65
00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,160
Speaker 4: AMG Private Launch, So when you buy an AMG, you

66
00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:39,640
Speaker 4: can register to an online community, our AMG Private Launch,

67
00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,120
Speaker 4: and this is one of the feedback channels that we

68
00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,520
Speaker 4: intensively use. So it's not a one way direction. So

69
00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:51,640
Speaker 4: from time to time, I or even Ola joins a

70
00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:56,040
Speaker 4: video call with some selected Private Launch members and then

71
00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,640
Speaker 4: we just have a chat on the other side, our

72
00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,720
Speaker 4: customers and Private Launch members. They also have the chance

73
00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,280
Speaker 4: from time to time to speak some of our product

74
00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,880
Speaker 4: managers to some of the engineers, ask their questions, give

75
00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:12,400
Speaker 4: us also some feedback and advice, and this is really important.

76
00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:15,640
Speaker 4: So we carefully listen to what's going on in the market.

77
00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:21,960
Speaker 4: But of course, finally it's still a business decision. Yeah, so, yeah,

78
00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,400
Speaker 4: you have to listen, and you should listen to your customers.

79
00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:29,040
Speaker 4: But finally, if you want to jump far ahead, if

80
00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,240
Speaker 4: you want to be ahead of your competitors, sometimes also

81
00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,000
Speaker 4: you have to take a risk. Yeah, and you cannot

82
00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:39,919
Speaker 4: because if you ask for what they know, then you

83
00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,720
Speaker 4: will not progress as fast as you should do if

84
00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:46,080
Speaker 4: you want to lead the market.

85
00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,839
Speaker 3: Quote, if he asked what they wanted, they would have

86
00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:50,240
Speaker 3: said a faster horse.

87
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,880
Speaker 4: Yes, yes, yes, And this is why we also do

88
00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:59,559
Speaker 4: a little do a lot of market research. Of course,

89
00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:03,400
Speaker 4: we have pre development activities where we already now look

90
00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:08,800
Speaker 4: into the performance technology of the future, and then we

91
00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:13,720
Speaker 4: have a very structured process within our little company where

92
00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:16,960
Speaker 4: we then look into some of the details. We say, hey,

93
00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:21,200
Speaker 4: there is a crazy idea for a car. May it

94
00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:24,159
Speaker 4: be like a completely new car to our portfolio. So

95
00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:28,360
Speaker 4: and then we put together all the numbers, and there

96
00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:32,320
Speaker 4: are I would say two very important reference points. First,

97
00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:38,400
Speaker 4: it has to be a benefit for the brand. Of course,

98
00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,480
Speaker 4: the brand is above all, it sits above everything that

99
00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,919
Speaker 4: we do, so the brand needs to benefit from that

100
00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:50,400
Speaker 4: additional portfolio position or from that car. And of course, secondly,

101
00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:53,200
Speaker 4: it also has to be a positive business case, so

102
00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,119
Speaker 4: there need to be customers out there for that car.

103
00:05:57,720 --> 00:06:00,360
Speaker 4: But I have to be honest, since we are a

104
00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,880
Speaker 4: little crazy at AMG Yes. In most of the cases

105
00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:08,400
Speaker 4: we followed that structured process, but from time to time

106
00:06:08,480 --> 00:06:11,760
Speaker 4: we also take a different route. And if I can

107
00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:17,480
Speaker 4: just give you a little insight here talking about one

108
00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:25,400
Speaker 4: of our next upcoming cars, the next myths car combustion car. There. Yeah,

109
00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:29,080
Speaker 4: what is the story behind it? Actually I heard some

110
00:06:29,279 --> 00:06:33,120
Speaker 4: rumors on our campus. Yeah, Michael, there is something going on.

111
00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,680
Speaker 4: And actually some of the engineers came up with the

112
00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:41,200
Speaker 4: crazy ideas and they just took a car, put a

113
00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:44,480
Speaker 4: nice engine into it, spoke to the designers and then

114
00:06:44,560 --> 00:06:47,080
Speaker 4: so they were it was a little bit like a

115
00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:53,279
Speaker 4: hidden project going on. And so I was just speaking

116
00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:55,520
Speaker 4: to some of the employees and then I said, okay,

117
00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:57,159
Speaker 4: I need to go to the workshop and have a

118
00:06:57,160 --> 00:07:01,880
Speaker 4: look at it. And so one of my managers he

119
00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,080
Speaker 4: took me because he is responsible for all the teams

120
00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,440
Speaker 4: that work in the workshop, and so they gave me

121
00:07:08,480 --> 00:07:11,440
Speaker 4: a little sneak and there was a car. Actually it

122
00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:17,320
Speaker 4: looked like a like a somewhat like a tuned whatever. Yeah,

123
00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,040
Speaker 4: but they told me about the idea behind it, and

124
00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,480
Speaker 4: they said, Michael, we can do something really crazy here,

125
00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:25,920
Speaker 4: but we need to have a little bit of funding

126
00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:29,280
Speaker 4: for that. And I said, yeah, but at the moment,

127
00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:31,720
Speaker 4: you know, we have so many projects going on, do

128
00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:35,320
Speaker 4: we really have the time. Will we maybe lose our

129
00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:39,040
Speaker 4: focus if we now do that little side project here.

130
00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:44,680
Speaker 4: But then they just got me excited. Yeah, And so

131
00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,080
Speaker 4: then the whole story started to grow within the company

132
00:07:49,400 --> 00:07:51,480
Speaker 4: and we spoke to more and more people. So then

133
00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,200
Speaker 4: we involved the guys from our strategy department, Then we

134
00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:58,600
Speaker 4: involved the guys from our finance department. Then I said, okay,

135
00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,520
Speaker 4: I'm looking for a little bit of funding within so

136
00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:07,360
Speaker 4: we actually asked some of the other projects to do

137
00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:11,440
Speaker 4: a little donation for that project. And so it turned

138
00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:15,760
Speaker 4: out to be a really exciting car. And this car

139
00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:18,560
Speaker 4: is going to be launched in the second half of

140
00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,800
Speaker 4: this year and what did we do because unfortunately all

141
00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:27,200
Speaker 4: of the thirty units are already sold. So what did

142
00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:33,439
Speaker 4: we do is, actually we contacted our Silver Silver Arrow customers,

143
00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:37,760
Speaker 4: which are the best of the best Mercedes customers worldwide,

144
00:08:38,520 --> 00:08:42,400
Speaker 4: and we said to them, come to Berlin. We have

145
00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:47,000
Speaker 4: a very exciting project to show it to you. And

146
00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:51,680
Speaker 4: so we invited them to a very industrial building in Berlin.

147
00:08:52,679 --> 00:08:55,720
Speaker 4: Everything was secret, so they didn't know what's going on

148
00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:59,920
Speaker 4: there and so it was like a little bit going

149
00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:03,760
Speaker 4: into the Burkhein in Berlin, so it was like this

150
00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,160
Speaker 4: kind of atmosphere and then we did a presentation, we

151
00:09:07,280 --> 00:09:11,640
Speaker 4: uncovered the car. We had I think ninety customers on site,

152
00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,679
Speaker 4: but we only had thirty cars.

153
00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:18,680
Speaker 1: Who gets what?

154
00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:25,160
Speaker 4: Actually we said, you have to decide fast to get one,

155
00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,880
Speaker 4: and of course then we had more than thirty customers

156
00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,280
Speaker 4: that wanted to have it. But finally, you can only

157
00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,640
Speaker 4: give it to thirty customers. So we then took the decision.

158
00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:40,679
Speaker 4: But since our Myths series is not a one time activity,

159
00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:43,400
Speaker 4: so next time, of course, we will make sure that

160
00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:46,480
Speaker 4: all the ones that didn't get the car will have

161
00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:49,560
Speaker 4: a chance and we'll treat it with priority. The next

162
00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:50,679
Speaker 4: time that.

163
00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:54,120
Speaker 3: Was Michael Shiba with Mercedes AMG. We'll be right back

164
00:09:54,160 --> 00:10:03,679
Speaker 3: with more after this. Welcome back to Hot Pursuit. We

165
00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:08,839
Speaker 3: continue our conversation with Mercedes AMG's Michael Sheiba. So this

166
00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,040
Speaker 3: is a car, This is a Mythos series which is

167
00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:14,480
Speaker 3: limited to thirty cars?

168
00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:15,240
Speaker 1: Are these?

169
00:10:16,400 --> 00:10:20,280
Speaker 3: So the engine and the car are uniquely designed?

170
00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:21,440
Speaker 1: Am I getting that right?

171
00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:23,800
Speaker 4: Or yes? Completely now?

172
00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:28,520
Speaker 3: And the customers I remember you also mentioned the customers

173
00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:32,319
Speaker 3: have the opportunity to build the engine themselves.

174
00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:34,720
Speaker 1: This is part of it. Can you tell us a

175
00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,079
Speaker 1: bit more about that about.

176
00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:40,840
Speaker 3: That you're making people work and and they're paying so

177
00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:41,920
Speaker 3: you know when.

178
00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:46,880
Speaker 4: When you know, one of the things that makes our

179
00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:51,960
Speaker 4: cars so standalone is actually the way how we build

180
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,640
Speaker 4: our engines. Yeah, they are built according to the principal

181
00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,720
Speaker 4: one man, one engine or U. And that means we

182
00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:04,640
Speaker 4: have engine builders in a falter Bach, and any of

183
00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,920
Speaker 4: the engine builders builds a completely engine from the first

184
00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,760
Speaker 4: to the last piece. So it takes them, for a

185
00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,880
Speaker 4: V eight engine roughly three and a half hours. And

186
00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:19,000
Speaker 4: then once they have finished it, they put a badge

187
00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,920
Speaker 4: on it which is signed with their name. Yeah, and

188
00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,320
Speaker 4: this is of course also you sign for the quality

189
00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:28,200
Speaker 4: of that engine. But as I said to you, I

190
00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:31,480
Speaker 4: think last time when we met, it's also a big

191
00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:37,640
Speaker 4: motivator for our engine builders because not very seldom we

192
00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:40,640
Speaker 4: have people from all over the world coming to a

193
00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:43,520
Speaker 4: falter Bach and then they have taken a picture of

194
00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:47,080
Speaker 4: the badge on their V eight engine in their car.

195
00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:49,400
Speaker 4: They come to a fulter Bach, they do a little

196
00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,000
Speaker 4: factory tour because you can do that in a falter Bach.

197
00:11:52,040 --> 00:11:54,679
Speaker 4: You can see how they build the engines, and then

198
00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:57,080
Speaker 4: they ask, I want to meet my engine builders. So

199
00:11:57,120 --> 00:11:59,880
Speaker 4: I want to meet the person who built my end.

200
00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:03,040
Speaker 4: And of course if they are there, we make it

201
00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:06,760
Speaker 4: happen definitely. And so we said, what can be more

202
00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:12,480
Speaker 4: emotional because most of their executives that started to work

203
00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:16,080
Speaker 4: for Mercedes AMG. So I did as well have the

204
00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:19,600
Speaker 4: opportunity to build an engine. Yeah, of course it takes

205
00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:22,240
Speaker 4: a little longer than three and a half hours. Yeah. So,

206
00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:26,079
Speaker 4: and you have a very professional engine builder on your side.

207
00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:30,880
Speaker 4: But we said, hey, why don't we offer this opportunity

208
00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:34,760
Speaker 4: also to customers. And so what we then offer to

209
00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,400
Speaker 4: those customers is they can come to a falter Bach,

210
00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:40,400
Speaker 4: they will get to know their engine builder and then

211
00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:44,560
Speaker 4: they assemble their own engine, which we then finally will

212
00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:47,720
Speaker 4: put in their car, and they will have a batch

213
00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:51,120
Speaker 4: on top of their engine with their name and of

214
00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:56,200
Speaker 4: course also co signed by the engine builder. But imagine

215
00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:59,439
Speaker 4: now you buy this car, it's a very rare car,

216
00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:02,480
Speaker 4: and you do a little show off in front of

217
00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:06,120
Speaker 4: your neighbor. You open the hood and then your name

218
00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:08,800
Speaker 4: is on the engine and you can tell everyone you know,

219
00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:11,360
Speaker 4: this is the engine that I have built, and poorly.

220
00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:15,080
Speaker 4: It will take you twelve hours roughly like that. But

221
00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:17,160
Speaker 4: I think it's a really cool.

222
00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:21,319
Speaker 2: Thing, absolutely worth it. I actually did that, not build

223
00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,400
Speaker 2: the engine, but I went to a Falterbach to meet

224
00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,880
Speaker 2: the engine builder back then with Marios Bitzner, and it

225
00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:32,280
Speaker 2: was so cool. Can you just take a step back

226
00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:36,680
Speaker 2: and explain AMG, like the origin story of AMG to

227
00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:40,480
Speaker 2: our listeners, because you know, it's been so long that

228
00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,360
Speaker 2: people may forget how it started and what it means.

229
00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:50,760
Speaker 4: Yes, of course, Actually our founding fathers Hans lna Alfret

230
00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:55,120
Speaker 4: and al Melgier, they were both engineers working at Mercedes

231
00:13:56,559 --> 00:14:00,600
Speaker 4: and back in the days Mercedes decided to withdraw from

232
00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:04,280
Speaker 4: motorspoying and was that was the time actually when when

233
00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:08,400
Speaker 4: they quit, and so they left the company, they founded

234
00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:15,040
Speaker 4: a little startup called AMG, coming from their names Outraged Melchier.

235
00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:19,040
Speaker 4: So AM and G stands for gross Aspach, which is

236
00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:23,640
Speaker 4: a little town very close to af Aalterbach. So they

237
00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:29,000
Speaker 4: founded the company and they bought Mercedes cars turned them

238
00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:34,160
Speaker 4: into race cars, and they have been very very successful

239
00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:36,920
Speaker 4: in doing that, and so more and more customers actually

240
00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,040
Speaker 4: came and asked them, can we also buy those cars?

241
00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:43,960
Speaker 4: And this is how the whole story and success story started.

242
00:14:44,480 --> 00:14:49,960
Speaker 4: And so over the time the company grew. Then Mercedes

243
00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:53,880
Speaker 4: also back in the days, then decided maybe we need

244
00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:59,600
Speaker 4: to have a performance division within our company, and so

245
00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:04,600
Speaker 4: Mercedes bought a share in that company. So Alfred and

246
00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:09,680
Speaker 4: Melchia were still in the company. And then of course

247
00:15:09,720 --> 00:15:13,400
Speaker 4: the whole story of Mercedes AMG started when they actually

248
00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,760
Speaker 4: moved to falter Bach where our headquarters is. At the moment,

249
00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:20,560
Speaker 4: the company was about I think twelve employees roughly like that.

250
00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:26,120
Speaker 4: Nowadays we are roughly three thousand employees working there in

251
00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,000
Speaker 4: a falter Bach. And you see that afalter Bach is

252
00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:35,000
Speaker 4: a little town close to Stuttgart, and that was just

253
00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,880
Speaker 4: a little, let's say, industrial area there and it started

254
00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:44,560
Speaker 4: with just one two buildings and now everything has significantly grown. Yeah,

255
00:15:44,600 --> 00:15:47,000
Speaker 4: so all the people coming to a falda Bach in

256
00:15:47,080 --> 00:15:50,400
Speaker 4: the morning, and of course we are very happy to

257
00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,960
Speaker 4: be still in a falter Bach to be close to

258
00:15:54,160 --> 00:15:59,360
Speaker 4: our base location, so where they more or less founded

259
00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:05,280
Speaker 4: the company. And then finally Mercedes took over the whole

260
00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:09,920
Speaker 4: AMG operation. Alfrich and Malcha left the company and since

261
00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:15,760
Speaker 4: then Mercedes AMG is the performance division within Mercedes, and

262
00:16:16,200 --> 00:16:20,560
Speaker 4: of course we deliver the most incredible, most exceptional performance

263
00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:21,400
Speaker 4: casts in the market.

264
00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:26,640
Speaker 3: One more quick pause more with Michael Sheiba from Mercedes AMG.

265
00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:28,160
Speaker 1: Right after this.

266
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,160
Speaker 3: Welcome back to Hot Pursuit, we continue our conversation with

267
00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:42,560
Speaker 3: Mercedes AMG's Michael Sheba.

268
00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,960
Speaker 2: I think about the red Pig. Oh, I think about

269
00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:51,120
Speaker 2: the I think about the hammer. I think about the SLS.

270
00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,640
Speaker 2: I mean, you have had so many, you know, famous

271
00:16:55,400 --> 00:17:00,880
Speaker 2: examples designed by AMG. Do you think that it's possible

272
00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:04,440
Speaker 2: that this electric car can become that? Because I've done

273
00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,600
Speaker 2: a lot of thinking about what makes the soul of

274
00:17:06,640 --> 00:17:09,720
Speaker 2: a car, and with you know, the G Wagon, it's

275
00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:13,679
Speaker 2: not so much the engine, it's the vault like exterior

276
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:17,280
Speaker 2: that you have with the S class. Maybe it's the

277
00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:21,840
Speaker 2: the smooth, you know, faultless ride, the suspension system, but

278
00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:25,040
Speaker 2: with most AMG cars, I mean, it's got to be

279
00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:26,840
Speaker 2: the design for some of those as well. But it's

280
00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:29,639
Speaker 2: as you said, it's the powertrain that is the soul

281
00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:32,399
Speaker 2: of the car. So what do you do to make

282
00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:34,320
Speaker 2: sure an electric car has that soul? Like, what have

283
00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:39,439
Speaker 2: you actually done technically to make the driver appreciate the

284
00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:41,760
Speaker 2: experience of this ev.

285
00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:49,800
Speaker 4: And you're absolutely white. Amgs have always been about the performance,

286
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:56,119
Speaker 4: but also about the emotions. So this car actually needs

287
00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:58,400
Speaker 4: to give you goosebumps when you when you get behind

288
00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:01,040
Speaker 4: the steering wheel and you drive it. And this is

289
00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:06,679
Speaker 4: why we said, you cannot just put an amazing Electrica

290
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:11,480
Speaker 4: into the market with incredible performance KPIs. It also has

291
00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:16,000
Speaker 4: to create the emotions that our combustion engine cars have

292
00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:18,960
Speaker 4: given our customers out there. And this is why we

293
00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:22,840
Speaker 4: then said, okay, which are the boxes that we need

294
00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:26,800
Speaker 4: to tick? And what did we actually do is and

295
00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:30,000
Speaker 4: the story behind that is also a kind of the

296
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:35,399
Speaker 4: development process or a developing process, because we started and

297
00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:37,920
Speaker 4: we said, yes, we need to give this car the

298
00:18:38,119 --> 00:18:41,679
Speaker 4: soul that means you need to have a sound, you

299
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:44,439
Speaker 4: need to have vibrations, and so we looked into all

300
00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,399
Speaker 4: the technologies out there, and of course sound is something

301
00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:51,960
Speaker 4: which you do and create with software. So we went

302
00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:55,000
Speaker 4: out into the labor market and we hired the best

303
00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:58,800
Speaker 4: talents out there from the music industry to create a

304
00:18:59,080 --> 00:19:03,720
Speaker 4: very thing AMG sound. And so we gave the car

305
00:19:04,320 --> 00:19:07,280
Speaker 4: to those engineers and we said, hey, you have had

306
00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:10,719
Speaker 4: the chance to drive our combustion engine cars. Now we

307
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:16,080
Speaker 4: need to have a real AMG sound for an electric car.

308
00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,080
Speaker 4: And so they started to develop something and they presented

309
00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:24,000
Speaker 4: it to us and my management team and I from

310
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,320
Speaker 4: time to time, more or less, I would say twice

311
00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:30,520
Speaker 4: a month, we spent considerable time on our approving grounds

312
00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:34,159
Speaker 4: to trust drive all the latest and greatest of our cars.

313
00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:40,119
Speaker 4: We were driving the first release of this sound and

314
00:19:40,160 --> 00:19:43,200
Speaker 4: it was okay, but it wasn't actually an AMG sound,

315
00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:48,199
Speaker 4: and so we thought, okay, what can we do to

316
00:19:48,359 --> 00:19:51,480
Speaker 4: come there where we want to be? But we want

317
00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:55,040
Speaker 4: to come to our reference point, which were our V eights.

318
00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,720
Speaker 4: So we were thinking back and forth and then we said, hey,

319
00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:03,240
Speaker 4: we need to give those peoples a little bit of help.

320
00:20:03,359 --> 00:20:07,600
Speaker 4: And so we looked into our team and identified the

321
00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,160
Speaker 4: people that were working for many years in our engine

322
00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:16,640
Speaker 4: development and exhaust system development department. And so actually we

323
00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:23,640
Speaker 4: teamed up the software engineers with the mechanical engineering guys

324
00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:27,600
Speaker 4: and we created, as I call it always, a Ministry

325
00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:30,680
Speaker 4: of Sound. Yeah, so we said, your task is now

326
00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:35,399
Speaker 4: to create a really really realistic V eight sound. And

327
00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:38,680
Speaker 4: so what they did is actually they took an AMG

328
00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:45,720
Speaker 4: gtr so of our predecessor GT to a sound studio,

329
00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:49,640
Speaker 4: they recorded all the sounds, and then of course they

330
00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:55,760
Speaker 4: put it onto our driving model for that GT four

331
00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:59,000
Speaker 4: door coup So when you get behind the steering wheel

332
00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:02,639
Speaker 4: in that car, of all, what you see is you

333
00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:04,800
Speaker 4: have an RPM meter in front of you in your

334
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:09,920
Speaker 4: instrument cluster usually or normally. Actually, this car doesn't have

335
00:21:10,080 --> 00:21:13,440
Speaker 4: any gears, so you can drive it from zero to

336
00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:17,880
Speaker 4: three hundred without any gearshifts. But we said, we need

337
00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,679
Speaker 4: to make it as realistic as possible. So you activate

338
00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:28,119
Speaker 4: our AMG Force as we call it. It's a drive program.

339
00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:31,199
Speaker 4: It used to be the s plus, so the sport

340
00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:34,879
Speaker 4: plus drive mode in our cars. So you activate that

341
00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:40,359
Speaker 4: drive program and then your seed starts shaking because we

342
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:45,520
Speaker 4: have shakers, exciders in your seats, you see the RPM

343
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,919
Speaker 4: meter in front of you, and then you have the

344
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,639
Speaker 4: V eight sound and when you start driving it, you

345
00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:56,800
Speaker 4: feel the shifts, the gearshifts, and you can even use

346
00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:00,919
Speaker 4: your shifting pedals behind your steering wheel to do the

347
00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:05,560
Speaker 4: upshifts and down shifts while driving. So it's so realistic.

348
00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:09,640
Speaker 4: We have had the opportunity to give some of our

349
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:12,240
Speaker 4: US dealers a test wife when they were in Germany,

350
00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:15,840
Speaker 4: and actually some of them asked me after the test

351
00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,720
Speaker 4: wife to open the hood because they didn't believe that

352
00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:22,160
Speaker 4: there is no engine under the hood. So it's really

353
00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:24,680
Speaker 4: really realistic. You need to test drive it.

354
00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:27,080
Speaker 2: Yes, I do, We both do.

355
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:30,600
Speaker 1: Okay, I have to. I know you have to go. Michael.

356
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,040
Speaker 3: I have one more question for you, hopefully a fun one.

357
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:36,600
Speaker 3: Can you just tell us what cars you drive and

358
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:41,280
Speaker 3: love personally and like also, do you have a bucket

359
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,520
Speaker 3: list car that you really have your eye on and

360
00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:44,840
Speaker 3: want to buy someday?

361
00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:47,000
Speaker 2: This is what this is what we're here for, Michael,

362
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:47,920
Speaker 2: this is what we care about.

363
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,879
Speaker 4: Oh okay, okay, that's a fun chrish list. Yeah, and

364
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:56,200
Speaker 4: I'm very honest of course, as the CEO of Mercedes AMG.

365
00:22:56,359 --> 00:22:59,840
Speaker 4: I'm in a very lucky and happy position here. So actually,

366
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:03,840
Speaker 4: at the moment, I'm driving two cars. I drive an

367
00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:07,800
Speaker 4: S sixty three, which is I think the best S

368
00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:10,399
Speaker 4: class in the market if you are looking for a

369
00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:14,080
Speaker 4: performance version of the S class. And at the same time,

370
00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:16,760
Speaker 4: my fun car is an a MG GT so the

371
00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:20,640
Speaker 4: two door coup and and this is my my my

372
00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:23,800
Speaker 4: weekend car, so to say. And I just love both

373
00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:26,520
Speaker 4: of them.

374
00:23:25,480 --> 00:23:27,679
Speaker 3: Love it and anything you have your eye on for

375
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:28,639
Speaker 3: the future.

376
00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:29,240
Speaker 2: What are you.

377
00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:33,359
Speaker 4: Strolling all eagerly waiting for my new GT four door coop?

378
00:23:33,480 --> 00:23:36,359
Speaker 4: So yeah, I will. I will be one of the

379
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:39,919
Speaker 4: first to get one. So I'm very excited about that.

380
00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:43,200
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for your time, Michael. We really

381
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:44,280
Speaker 3: really appreciate it.

382
00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:47,359
Speaker 2: Yes, thanks so much, thank you. You know, they're making

383
00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:50,000
Speaker 2: a flat plane crank VA the next one.

384
00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:51,359
Speaker 1: What are they putting it in?

385
00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,479
Speaker 2: Starting with the S class? So not an AMG car,

386
00:23:54,760 --> 00:24:00,200
Speaker 2: but they eventually will's and I wonder, like I'm I mean,

387
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,640
Speaker 2: I would just like they're going to so much trouble

388
00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:11,760
Speaker 2: to make this car feel sound and smell like a

389
00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,040
Speaker 2: V eight. Why not, Like, what's the point? Why not

390
00:24:14,280 --> 00:24:17,719
Speaker 2: just they have a V eight compliance. Yeah, I know,

391
00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:19,600
Speaker 2: but I want to. I want him to say that

392
00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:21,360
Speaker 2: all we have to because I knows.

393
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:23,440
Speaker 1: I mean the most.

394
00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:26,280
Speaker 3: I feel like the most we could get is you know,

395
00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:30,320
Speaker 3: buyers from other countries outside of the US will buy it.

396
00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:34,119
Speaker 2: I mean I By the way, I don't ignore the

397
00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:38,480
Speaker 2: benefits of an EV like, I'm still driving this. Oh,

398
00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,840
Speaker 2: I have an official correction to make as well, because

399
00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:44,720
Speaker 2: the Mercedes that I'm driving, the CLA that I'm driving,

400
00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:47,159
Speaker 2: is not the lower horsepower figures that I gave you.

401
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,280
Speaker 2: Remember last week I said I was driving one with

402
00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:54,399
Speaker 2: like two hundred some horsepower and uh two hundred and

403
00:24:54,400 --> 00:24:57,320
Speaker 2: some pound feet of torque. It's actually I'm driving the

404
00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,399
Speaker 2: CLA three point fifty formattic. It has three one hundred

405
00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:02,560
Speaker 2: and forty nine horse power three hundred and eighty pound

406
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,960
Speaker 2: feet of torque, so it's more substantial. But and it's

407
00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:08,679
Speaker 2: still only fifty grand to start. So I'm driving this

408
00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,040
Speaker 2: thing into work today and I'm thinking, like, I can't

409
00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:15,920
Speaker 2: believe how good this car is for how relatively little

410
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:17,879
Speaker 2: it costs. I know that's a high amount of money

411
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:21,000
Speaker 2: for a car, but here we are in twenty twenty.

412
00:25:20,600 --> 00:25:23,960
Speaker 3: Six, yes, that's average, by the way, like fifty grand

413
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:25,800
Speaker 3: is the average trend exactly exactly.

414
00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:29,439
Speaker 2: And for this car, which has so much luxury, as

415
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:31,399
Speaker 2: we talked about, the fit and finish is amazing. It

416
00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:33,720
Speaker 2: looks like a yacht on the inside with the teak wood,

417
00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:37,560
Speaker 2: and it's got so much tech. Like if I'm just

418
00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:40,720
Speaker 2: driving slowly around a parking lot, it highlights all the

419
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,480
Speaker 2: places I could park and I would just have to

420
00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:44,159
Speaker 2: push a button for it to do it, so I

421
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,680
Speaker 2: don't have to. You know, that's pretty cool. I mean

422
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:49,720
Speaker 2: better for a big car like an S Class or

423
00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:53,800
Speaker 2: a G Wagon where you're afraid to hit anything. But

424
00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:56,480
Speaker 2: I was thinking as I was driving in, like there

425
00:25:56,560 --> 00:26:00,679
Speaker 2: are incredible benefits to evs, like I just plug it

426
00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:01,879
Speaker 2: in when I get to work, or I plug it

427
00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:03,280
Speaker 2: in when I get home, and I never go to

428
00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:04,320
Speaker 2: a gas station again.

429
00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:07,400
Speaker 3: I don't love going to gas stations period.

430
00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:09,080
Speaker 4: I think a lot.

431
00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,520
Speaker 3: So many women have told me they really they feel unsafe,

432
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:16,359
Speaker 3: they feel dirty. They I mean, yeah, gas stations. Also,

433
00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:19,560
Speaker 3: why did someone come out with an amazing gas station? Yeah?

434
00:26:19,640 --> 00:26:22,560
Speaker 2: No, I mean I don't mind going to gas stations

435
00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:26,399
Speaker 2: in my Dodge because I turn up the nickelback and

436
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:27,479
Speaker 2: I'm checking out the babes.

437
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:32,040
Speaker 1: Oh no, wow, yeah, that works great for you.

438
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:33,960
Speaker 2: I'm kidding, no, But my point is I see the

439
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:36,960
Speaker 2: benefits of an EV. So it's not just for other countries.

440
00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:38,320
Speaker 2: But if you're going to go to so many if

441
00:26:38,320 --> 00:26:40,800
Speaker 2: you're going to bend over backwards to try and mimic

442
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,359
Speaker 2: a V eight experience, like why not just build a V.

443
00:26:44,560 --> 00:26:48,560
Speaker 3: Right, Well we know the answer to that. I mean,

444
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:52,760
Speaker 3: I will say, honestly, I am withholding judgment on the

445
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:56,760
Speaker 3: AMGGT four door coop until I drive it, because maybe

446
00:26:56,760 --> 00:27:02,120
Speaker 3: it is amazing. Honestly, maybe they have they really have. Really, Look,

447
00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:04,800
Speaker 3: we know these guys. They're going to try their hardest

448
00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,359
Speaker 3: to make it something good. So I'm actually curious to

449
00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,119
Speaker 3: drive it. I don't I don't know what it'll be like,

450
00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,720
Speaker 3: but I'm very curious to drive it. And I can't

451
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,280
Speaker 3: like say if it's good or not until I do, of.

452
00:27:16,200 --> 00:27:20,000
Speaker 2: Course, and all the I mean, look, Kevin Tynan talks

453
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:21,920
Speaker 2: about the fact that these CEOs, at the end of

454
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:23,919
Speaker 2: the day are businessmen, and it's true they have a

455
00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:27,640
Speaker 2: fiduciary duty to their shareholders to make money, and that's

456
00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:31,359
Speaker 2: the ultimate goal, But they're AMG guys through and through.

457
00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:35,560
Speaker 2: Like I know, uh Ola Colenius comes from AMG. You know,

458
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:39,560
Speaker 2: he's steeped in that culture. And there's a chance that

459
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:42,760
Speaker 2: Shiva will be the next CEO of the entire Mercedes

460
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:48,000
Speaker 2: Benz group, Like they're bringing their leadership from this performance division. Yes,

461
00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:48,919
Speaker 2: and those.

462
00:27:48,680 --> 00:27:51,320
Speaker 3: Guys really do. Like when he says it's a bunch

463
00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,480
Speaker 3: of crazy people, he means that in a good way.

464
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:58,080
Speaker 3: Like those guys go they do go hard. They they

465
00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:01,840
Speaker 3: really it is. There may making certain cars for certain reasons,

466
00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:03,960
Speaker 3: but they do go hard. You and I both know it.

467
00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:09,840
Speaker 1: And so yeah, it's I look for trying as well.

468
00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:12,919
Speaker 2: I'm gonna it's It's sure all the people on the

469
00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:16,919
Speaker 2: internet who are talking smack about how it looks and

470
00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:20,439
Speaker 2: about an EV and whatever, they're most of them, especially

471
00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:22,680
Speaker 2: about the luch right the Ferrari, most of them are

472
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,119
Speaker 2: never gonna buy it. Obviously I could never afford to

473
00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:28,320
Speaker 2: buy it either. But you know, these these companies are

474
00:28:28,320 --> 00:28:31,480
Speaker 2: making cars first and foremost for the people to whom

475
00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:34,600
Speaker 2: they sell them, right, Yeah, and yeah, those it.

476
00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:36,720
Speaker 1: Really doesn't matter what the Peanut Gallery says.

477
00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,720
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly. But also you know, driving it matters. So

478
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,840
Speaker 2: like with the light CHA, I think about this soul

479
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:46,080
Speaker 2: issue all the time, Like, Okay, it's six hundred and

480
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:49,000
Speaker 2: forty thousand dollars, that's an insane amount of money for

481
00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:53,320
Speaker 2: a car. But for that amount of money, they should

482
00:28:53,360 --> 00:28:58,040
Speaker 2: have been able to design a soul into even an EV. Right,

483
00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,000
Speaker 2: I mean I disagree. I don't think every car has

484
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,240
Speaker 2: to have soul. I think some cars, if they don't

485
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,760
Speaker 2: have soul, I don't care. I'm gonna go pick up

486
00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:10,120
Speaker 2: my dry cleaning and go get a coffee and go home.

487
00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:12,880
Speaker 2: Now that can be one experience if I'm in my

488
00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,440
Speaker 2: C three Corvette, which I love, or it could be

489
00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:17,280
Speaker 2: another experience if I'm in an EV.

490
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:19,640
Speaker 1: And you know what I don't. I don't need.

491
00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:22,640
Speaker 3: I don't need every car to have soul. True, you

492
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:25,440
Speaker 3: know I need some cars to have soul. But I

493
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:28,960
Speaker 3: personally love taking away Mo. You know that car doesn't

494
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,000
Speaker 3: have soul, but it gets the job done for sure.

495
00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,560
Speaker 2: I mean, maybe the term soul is wrong. What I'm

496
00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:40,000
Speaker 2: really thinking is when you when you're driving your Corvette

497
00:29:40,280 --> 00:29:43,000
Speaker 2: or your Rolls Royce or a nine to eleven. Right,

498
00:29:43,200 --> 00:29:46,680
Speaker 2: there's something about the driving experience that you like the

499
00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,120
Speaker 2: first time, that you like the tenth time, that you

500
00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:52,640
Speaker 2: like the one hundred times that years into the ownership experience.

501
00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:56,000
Speaker 2: If it's a good car, years into driving it every day,

502
00:29:56,600 --> 00:29:58,920
Speaker 2: it's still going to turn you on, right. And the

503
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:04,480
Speaker 2: thing about pushing evs on acceleration or on whatever the

504
00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:07,200
Speaker 2: fake horse power numbers or I'm gonna leave your nine

505
00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:10,000
Speaker 2: to eleven in the dust, right, That is exciting the

506
00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,480
Speaker 2: first time, and that acceleration is exciting the tenth time.

507
00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:16,480
Speaker 2: It's not so exciting the fiftieth time. And I doubt

508
00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:19,120
Speaker 2: that years later you're gonna be that pumped about just

509
00:30:19,200 --> 00:30:21,440
Speaker 2: that one trick pony of it. It's got to have,

510
00:30:22,480 --> 00:30:25,800
Speaker 2: like the door's closing has to make you feel something,

511
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,000
Speaker 2: or the suspension, the way it rides has to make

512
00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,440
Speaker 2: you feel something. The design definitely has to make you feel.

513
00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:33,160
Speaker 2: There's gotta be some aspect of it where even after

514
00:30:33,280 --> 00:30:35,440
Speaker 2: years of ownership, you still are in love with that

515
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:37,400
Speaker 2: car right totally.

516
00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:40,200
Speaker 3: And by the way, I don't click with every combustion

517
00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,360
Speaker 3: engine car either. There are plenty of combustion cars that

518
00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:45,600
Speaker 3: I'm like, Eh, I don't I drive it once and

519
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:46,360
Speaker 3: I'm good.

520
00:30:46,560 --> 00:30:48,040
Speaker 1: I don't need it again, so.

521
00:30:48,240 --> 00:30:53,600
Speaker 3: Like yeah, I'm again like the right tool for the job,

522
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:59,360
Speaker 3: I think is the proper approach. And I if you

523
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:01,080
Speaker 3: and I are both the same that we want a

524
00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:04,239
Speaker 3: car that makes us feel, something that we remember, that

525
00:31:04,280 --> 00:31:06,920
Speaker 3: we look forward to, that has something of a personality,

526
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,040
Speaker 3: even if for me, even if it's an obnoxious personality,

527
00:31:11,080 --> 00:31:12,040
Speaker 3: I actually like it more.

528
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:14,040
Speaker 4: I love that.

529
00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:18,360
Speaker 3: But I'm also a pragmatist and sometimes I just need

530
00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:20,200
Speaker 3: something to get me to a spot real quick.

531
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:22,440
Speaker 1: And that's okay too, for sure.

532
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:25,480
Speaker 2: What do you got going on anything? Oh?

533
00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,520
Speaker 3: You know? So I'm joining you from Carmel right now.

534
00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,600
Speaker 3: I'm here to do. I'm working on a feature with

535
00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:36,240
Speaker 3: Sondra Button, the head of the Pebble Beach Concord Delegance,

536
00:31:36,320 --> 00:31:40,640
Speaker 3: and Vince Finalde, who is her successor. So I'm meeting

537
00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:43,760
Speaker 3: with them today and tomorrow. I can give you a

538
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:47,800
Speaker 3: lovely weather report here from Carmel by the Sea. And

539
00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:52,320
Speaker 3: I have to say it's downright charming when it's not

540
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:55,040
Speaker 3: car Week, and of course we love car Week and

541
00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,520
Speaker 3: every morning when the sound of the v twelves are

542
00:31:59,040 --> 00:32:01,440
Speaker 3: raging through the FI at six am. But also it's

543
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:06,480
Speaker 3: really nice when it's truly quiet. I'm sure that's yes,

544
00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:08,840
Speaker 3: that is that is where you find me, Matt.

545
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:10,880
Speaker 2: I always you know what, Yesterday I was talking with

546
00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,880
Speaker 2: a woman who's from Santa Barbara and she now lives

547
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,400
Speaker 2: in DC, and I was like, I always wonder about

548
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,640
Speaker 2: people who move somewhere else from California, Like, why would

549
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:23,600
Speaker 2: you leave Paradise? What She's like, Oh, I had to

550
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:27,680
Speaker 2: get a job, taxes. Yeah, I'm I just if I

551
00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:32,320
Speaker 2: could live in Carmel by the Sea or in San

552
00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:36,520
Speaker 2: Diego or these are the best places in the world

553
00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:39,440
Speaker 2: to live, I mean, short of Hawaii. I can't imagine

554
00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:42,560
Speaker 2: a better place to live. It's so weird when people

555
00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:43,600
Speaker 2: move out of there, isn't it.

556
00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:48,240
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean there are I understand certain reasons. I'm

557
00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:51,800
Speaker 3: I'm very unhappy with the leadership in LA, for instance.

558
00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:54,320
Speaker 2: At the moment, La is a different story, right because

559
00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:58,320
Speaker 2: it's like the Jakarta of California.

560
00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:02,760
Speaker 3: Carmel, though, is so nice, and I love that it's

561
00:33:02,840 --> 00:33:06,600
Speaker 3: cooler here. I actually prefer a cool a colder climate.

562
00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:08,560
Speaker 3: Let's not forget I'm from Oregon and I lived in

563
00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:11,000
Speaker 3: New York forever. I don't know, maybe same as you

564
00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:13,840
Speaker 3: coming from Ohio. But I like the cooler temperatures.

565
00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:16,160
Speaker 2: I like to wear a sweater. I'm a leather jacket man.

566
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:18,000
Speaker 2: I see that you're wearing a cool leather jacket.

567
00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,360
Speaker 1: I'm wearing both of those, a sweater and a jacket.

568
00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:23,320
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree with you.

569
00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:26,600
Speaker 3: Maybe you know, if we disappear sometime finally.

570
00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,400
Speaker 2: But most places in California, like California is not Miami, right,

571
00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,360
Speaker 2: even San Diego, which is way down south, is still

572
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:33,920
Speaker 2: like seventy five degrees every day.

573
00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:36,920
Speaker 3: So, I mean, there's a reason why Oprah and Harry

574
00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:40,000
Speaker 3: and Meghan and everyone else who's wealthy lives in Mendocino

575
00:33:40,080 --> 00:33:42,440
Speaker 3: and Santa Barbara and those, oh.

576
00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:44,200
Speaker 2: High those are your benchmark people.

577
00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:47,280
Speaker 1: Those are the ones that came to mind area in Megan.

578
00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:49,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know the air.

579
00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:52,920
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, they did, they did, they did?

580
00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:58,320
Speaker 2: All right, cool. Well, I'm just I'm just enjoying this

581
00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:02,440
Speaker 2: Mercedes C LA E. It's like so, I mean, it's

582
00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:04,720
Speaker 2: on the one hand, so luxurious, and on the other hand,

583
00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,480
Speaker 2: it doesn't really stand out except for the color.

584
00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:10,319
Speaker 3: Sometimes that's nice also too.

585
00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:12,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, actually to not stand out.

586
00:34:12,920 --> 00:34:18,000
Speaker 2: It's pretty reliable. And we'll see what I get into next. Week.

587
00:34:18,040 --> 00:34:21,000
Speaker 2: But that does it for Hot Pursuit this week.

588
00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:25,200
Speaker 3: Remember to follow and subscribe to Hot Pursuit on Apples, Spotify,

589
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:28,120
Speaker 3: and anywhere else you listen. You can also send us

590
00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:32,320
Speaker 3: your comments. Email us at hot Pursuit at bloomberg dot net.

591
00:34:32,520 --> 00:34:35,080
Speaker 2: And check out Hannah's columns and stories on Bloomberg dot

592
00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:37,719
Speaker 2: com and on the Bloomberg Business app. Go there for

593
00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:41,080
Speaker 2: car reviews, events and stories that you won't find anywhere else.

594
00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:45,440
Speaker 2: Find it all at Bloomberg dot com, slash Pursuits, slash Autos.

595
00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:49,439
Speaker 3: I'm Matt Miller and I'm Hannah Elliott will be right

596
00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:53,280
Speaker 3: back in your podcast speed again next week