WEBVTT - Omotenashi

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<v Speaker 1>Pushkin. When I was a kid, my father would take

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<v Speaker 1>me to the Big Art Museum in Toronto. He would

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<v Speaker 1>go inside and I would stay outside the whole time,

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<v Speaker 1>sitting on the steps so I could watch the cars

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<v Speaker 1>go by. At the age of ten, I would much

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<v Speaker 1>rather look at traffic than Rembrandts. I'm not sure anything

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<v Speaker 1>has changed. My name is Malcolm Gladwell. I'm a Carnot.

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<v Speaker 1>When I go online in the morning, my first stop

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<v Speaker 1>is bring a Trailer dot com, where people like me

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<v Speaker 1>auction off their cars to other people like me. Just

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<v Speaker 1>so we're clear, I read the comments I'm bring a trailer,

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<v Speaker 1>which is one level of obsession beyond the standard bring

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<v Speaker 1>a trailer obsession. I have on a shelf in my

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<v Speaker 1>office every issue of Car magazine, the British Vogue of automagazines,

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<v Speaker 1>going back to April of nineteen ninety nine, with the

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<v Speaker 1>exception of the June and October issues of two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>and one, which for the life of me I cannot find.

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<v Speaker 1>And I'm almost embarrassed to tell you how many cars

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<v Speaker 1>I've owned over the years. A nineteen seventy two Mercedes

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<v Speaker 1>two eighty in original factory lime green, a bunch of

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<v Speaker 1>VW golf rs a push of Boxter gts and Immaculate

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<v Speaker 1>E thirty nine BMW M five And once many years

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<v Speaker 1>ago Alexis I s to fifty, a delightful little Japanese

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<v Speaker 1>sports Dan fantastic gearbox. I loved it, but then the

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<v Speaker 1>lease was up and I replaced it with a Golf GTI.

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<v Speaker 1>In my memory, I somehow filed away Alexis has just

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<v Speaker 1>another kind of luxury car, like an Audie, only from Asia.

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<v Speaker 1>Then one day Alexis called me up and said, Malcolm,

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<v Speaker 1>we'd like to prove you wrong. Lexus is its own thing.

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<v Speaker 1>My first thought was, oh wow, they're going to give

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<v Speaker 1>me a free car, which, by the way, I would

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<v Speaker 1>totally be fine with. But no, it was better than that.

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<v Speaker 1>They said, come to Japan because we think what it

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<v Speaker 1>means to be Lexus is something that you can only

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<v Speaker 1>understand firsthand in its home country. Go and see, so

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<v Speaker 1>I said what any self respecting carnut would say, twist

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<v Speaker 1>my arm from Lexus and Pushkin Industries. This is go

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<v Speaker 1>and see. My producer, Jacob Smith and I packed our bags.

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<v Speaker 1>We flew to Japan. Jacob actually went a little early

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<v Speaker 1>because he's also a car nut and he wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>spend a few days thrashing a sports car up and

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<v Speaker 1>down Japanese mountain roads. We met up in Tokyo and

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<v Speaker 1>took the bullet train to Nagoya, which is in itself

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<v Speaker 1>an experience. Checked into our hotel, which had I should add,

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<v Speaker 1>the greatest breakfast buffet in the history of breakfast buffets,

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<v Speaker 1>because this is Japan, a country dedicated to getting even

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<v Speaker 1>the smallest details perfect. And then we drove an hour

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<v Speaker 1>north to Toyota City, a town of about half a

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<v Speaker 1>million in Naichi Prefecture, where all things Toyota originate. And there,

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<v Speaker 1>in a discrete set of buildings, is the home of

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<v Speaker 1>Toyota's luxury division, Lexis HQ. Over the course of the

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<v Speaker 1>next six episodes, I'm going to tell you what we

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<v Speaker 1>learned there. Yeah. Yeah, that's great, fantastic. That was one

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<v Speaker 1>of the most fun I've had as a passenger in

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<v Speaker 1>a car, maybe ever, getting brief by race car drivers,

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<v Speaker 1>testing sports cars, making microscopic adjustments in a simulator, and

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<v Speaker 1>listening to the general manager of Lexus International hold Forth

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<v Speaker 1>on Star Wars and why he loves the shape of

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<v Speaker 1>the ones controversial Lexus front grill DA's bedder is an

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<v Speaker 1>atom the Batman and the first movie. People doesn't like

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<v Speaker 1>it Tout Beta, but finally he is a most famous

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<v Speaker 1>a hero in the Star Wars. The Lexus grill is

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<v Speaker 1>in the shape of a spindle, wide at the top,

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<v Speaker 1>wider at the bottom, and cinched in the middle. That's

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<v Speaker 1>the same story Lexus spindle. I hope, Oh it reminds

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<v Speaker 1>you mean the grill reminds people of Darth Vader's mask, right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>though he was asked, you know, in an interview, some

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<v Speaker 1>people will say that it looks like I have the

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<v Speaker 1>idea of Star Wars. I liked because also Toast Beta

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<v Speaker 1>is inspired a Japanese although Sumlise so yes Star Wars

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<v Speaker 1>to Samuraize to the sound and engine Max and much more.

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<v Speaker 1>We're going to cover a lot of ground in this series,

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<v Speaker 1>but this first episode is about something very specific, something

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<v Speaker 1>that happened right at the very beginning of our visit

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<v Speaker 1>to the Toyota City campus, which, even given my massive

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<v Speaker 1>jet lag, kind of blew me away. Are we going

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<v Speaker 1>to go to the Japanese worked for visitors. Every corporation

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<v Speaker 1>has a taikon. The kaikon is a big open showroom

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<v Speaker 1>on the second floor of a glass office building. There's

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<v Speaker 1>a Toyota Sienta in one corner, wrapped entirely in white

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<v Speaker 1>faux fur with two giant puppy ears attached to the back,

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<v Speaker 1>which is like Japanese car, not humor. We took like

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<v Speaker 1>twenty pictures in it. Next to it is a race car,

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<v Speaker 1>the famous Lexus LFA. This particular LA I'll point out.

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<v Speaker 1>So this LFA is one that we've raced in the

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<v Speaker 1>Endurance Racing Series in Germany. Our guide is a guy

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<v Speaker 1>named Paul Williamson, big bushy, white mustache. Alexis Lifer, our

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<v Speaker 1>president of Occultota drove an LFA in two thousand and

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<v Speaker 1>nine and I think they finished fourth in Plass, So

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<v Speaker 1>you know, kind of a big deal to have a

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<v Speaker 1>company president that actually drives. Toyota is actually what the

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<v Speaker 1>Japanese call a master driver. Oh here we are just

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<v Speaker 1>the centry. They don't sell the centry outside Japan. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a totally old school limousine, very Japanese circa nineteen eighty boxy,

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<v Speaker 1>understated white lace curtains on the side windows. The seats

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<v Speaker 1>are covered with a soft woolvlure used to have a

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<v Speaker 1>v twelve engine. They are basically handbuilt. We can build

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<v Speaker 1>about one hundred or so per year. It's always a

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<v Speaker 1>tough one to come out with a new one because

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<v Speaker 1>every CEO has to have one the first year, but

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<v Speaker 1>only one hundred can get him. The other CEO's got

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<v Speaker 1>to wait till the second year, you know. Paul then

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<v Speaker 1>pointed to what's called the C pillar, the panel just

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<v Speaker 1>behind the passengers window. I'll point out one of the thing.

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<v Speaker 1>The m the vertical panels get a lot of handstanding

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<v Speaker 1>before the painting. This particular panel gets most attention because

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<v Speaker 1>this panel is a mirror for the VIP who just

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<v Speaker 1>got out of the back door before he turns around

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<v Speaker 1>and faces the cameras. It's like, what Human Center designed?

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<v Speaker 1>This is CEO Centers Center design exactly. That's right, that's right.

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<v Speaker 1>Then we came to the LS, the top of the line.

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<v Speaker 1>Lexus starts at seventy five thousand dollars. Lexus is answer

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<v Speaker 1>to the Mercedes S class or to seven series BMW.

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<v Speaker 1>There is an LS five hybrid, so this is the

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<v Speaker 1>new flagship sedan for the corporation for Lexus in Japan.

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<v Speaker 1>You know. In the LS, a very artistic interior so

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<v Speaker 1>you can see the details of how the lighting is

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<v Speaker 1>designed on the pleats of the door, this effect of

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<v Speaker 1>sort of floating handle on the door, the herringbone. Would

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<v Speaker 1>we do a lot of artistry on the ls. And actually,

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<v Speaker 1>you've got to sit in the back of this car, Malcolm,

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<v Speaker 1>because this is the long wheelbased car, and you've really

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<v Speaker 1>got to appreciate the backseat. Did you hit the sound

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<v Speaker 1>of that car door? The clunk? People like me live

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<v Speaker 1>for clunks like that. Not quite as luxurious as a

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<v Speaker 1>century but pretty darn good place to spend a couple

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<v Speaker 1>hours if you have to. It's not bad. Yeah. And

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<v Speaker 1>then I reached up and I hit the button to

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<v Speaker 1>roll up the window, and that first time I have

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<v Speaker 1>to confess I missed it. I missed the small, subtle,

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<v Speaker 1>quintessentially lexasy detail about the windows because it's the kind

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<v Speaker 1>of thing that you wouldn't consciously notice unless you know

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<v Speaker 1>what to look for. But after a few days talking

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<v Speaker 1>with all kinds of people at Toyota City, I was like, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>I get it. Now you will too. There's a concept

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<v Speaker 1>in Japanese called omotanashi. Amot means public face, the way

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<v Speaker 1>you choose to present yourself to the world. Nashi means nothing.

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<v Speaker 1>Amotanashi means public face, without pretense, without equivocation. Amotanashi is

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<v Speaker 1>the heart of the Japanese notion of hospitality, mindful hospitality.

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<v Speaker 1>It means can you anticipate the needs of your guest

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<v Speaker 1>and address them without your own ego getting in the way.

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<v Speaker 1>At Toyota City, this idea amotanashi kept coming up again

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<v Speaker 1>and again, Like one time we were talking to Yasahiro Sakakibara.

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<v Speaker 1>Sakakibarasan works on the lexus es and is obsessed with

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<v Speaker 1>eyesight and with driver fatigue. He's an engineer, so he's

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<v Speaker 1>super technical. But then in the middle of some complex

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<v Speaker 1>engineering speak, he started talking about how he's thinking about

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<v Speaker 1>design revolved around the five senses and their relationship to omotenashi.

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<v Speaker 1>You do it also, you gokantka, And my study is

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<v Speaker 1>actually um you know, focused upon those five senses as

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<v Speaker 1>well as um the Japanese omotenashi spirit, the hospitality spirit.

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<v Speaker 1>And for me to deepen that knowledge, I immersed myself

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<v Speaker 1>in traditional cultural experiences. Casing point was a flower arrangement.

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<v Speaker 1>I went to a master of a flower arrangement and

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<v Speaker 1>learned the spirit of omotenashi culture in flower arrangement. Now

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<v Speaker 1>let's be clear, Sakaki Barisan is an engineer. My favorite

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<v Speaker 1>engineer joke is the optimist sees the glass half full,

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<v Speaker 1>the pessimist sees the glass half empty. The engineer looks

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<v Speaker 1>at the glass and asks, why is it two times

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<v Speaker 1>larger than it needs to be. The engineer is supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to be rigorous and unsentimental. I guarantee you that automotive

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<v Speaker 1>engineers in Munich and Stuttgard do not go and consult

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<v Speaker 1>with masters of flower arrangement. A German engineer's idea of

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<v Speaker 1>flower arrangement would be to line up the flowers in

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<v Speaker 1>a straight line and number them one through ten. How

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<v Speaker 1>did that impact the way you think about cars? Well, um,

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<v Speaker 1>flower arrangement really roots back to about seven hundred years

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<v Speaker 1>ago here in Japan. So then Sakakibarasan starts talking about

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<v Speaker 1>the three tiers of flower design and its connection to

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<v Speaker 1>esthetics and omotanashi everywhere we went to Toyota City that

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<v Speaker 1>same words, Yeah, what does that mean to you? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not because we had jumpan is a kind of

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<v Speaker 1>a nature our behavior It depends on personal of course,

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<v Speaker 1>but you know when we make up some product, we

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<v Speaker 1>already think about cut customer's life. There's a famous story

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<v Speaker 1>from the beginning of Lexus's time in America. Late summer

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen eighty nine, Lexus had just launched the original LS,

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<v Speaker 1>the LS four hundred, to great fanfare. Cars were flying

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<v Speaker 1>out the door. But in late September, Alexis owner called

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<v Speaker 1>with a small complaint about the housing for his center

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<v Speaker 1>rear break light. Then another new owner called to say

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<v Speaker 1>that he had an issue with his cruise control two cars,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe three, out of the eight thousand that had been

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<v Speaker 1>sold by that point. So what should Lexus do. The

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<v Speaker 1>easiest thing would be to fix the three cars with issues,

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<v Speaker 1>because chances are these were isolated problems. This happens with

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<v Speaker 1>new cars all the time, one or two have and bugs.

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<v Speaker 1>But no Lexus recalled every one of the eight thousand

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<v Speaker 1>cars they had sold to that point, send every new

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<v Speaker 1>owner a detailed letter of apology, said that Lexus would

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<v Speaker 1>come to their homes, pick up the car, leave them

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<v Speaker 1>a loner free of charge, make the repairs for free,

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<v Speaker 1>and then return the car washed detailed with a full

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<v Speaker 1>tank of gas. Oh and when you got your car back,

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<v Speaker 1>there was a gift waiting on the front seat. That's Amatuanashi.

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<v Speaker 1>So the Lexus LS, the flagship Lexus luxury sedan. You

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<v Speaker 1>look at it in the showroom and you walk up

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<v Speaker 1>to it and sit in the front seat, and you think, oh,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just like a Mercedes S Class or a BMW

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<v Speaker 1>seven Series, the Outi of Asia. No it's not, because

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<v Speaker 1>it's conceived in the spirit of Omatanashi. Okay, we're in

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<v Speaker 1>a a brand new Lexus Ellis. This is the flagship

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<v Speaker 1>of the Lexus brand. It costs like a kajillion dollars.

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<v Speaker 1>It's safe to say this is the nice Lexury guard

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<v Speaker 1>that I've ever driven. We are just to be appropriate.

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<v Speaker 1>We decided Jacob and I to drive around Brentwood, the

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<v Speaker 1>Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, one of the most expensive

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<v Speaker 1>neighborhoods in America, the kind of place where very discerning

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<v Speaker 1>Hollywood types drive their Lexus is. We're not out of

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<v Speaker 1>place here in this car. We're not out of place.

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<v Speaker 1>No one's gonna no security guards are chasing us a

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<v Speaker 1>way in our ls and we're gonna head up into

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<v Speaker 1>some of the when Jacob and I got back to

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<v Speaker 1>the States. We borrowed an LS from Lexus, took it

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<v Speaker 1>for a spin in some fancy neighborhood in Los Angeles, Brentwood.

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<v Speaker 1>We wanted to test out something in the wild, that

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<v Speaker 1>thing i'd first noticed back into Kaikon, I'd Toyota City

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<v Speaker 1>the way the car welcomes you. When we walked towards

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<v Speaker 1>it and opened it up with the key fob, the

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<v Speaker 1>car rose to meet us. We got in, however, so gracefully.

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<v Speaker 1>Then it gently settled down again. The wheel itself, the

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<v Speaker 1>steering wheel comes out and up into your preferred position

0:15:42.516 --> 0:15:44.196
<v Speaker 1>for where you want your hands to be and your

0:15:44.276 --> 0:15:47.316
<v Speaker 1>high level and all that. And the car itself, now

0:15:47.356 --> 0:15:52.836
<v Speaker 1>that we have the adaptive variable suspension turned on, has

0:15:52.916 --> 0:15:56.556
<v Speaker 1>lowered itself into the appropriate the entire chassis of the

0:15:56.596 --> 0:16:03.196
<v Speaker 1>car has lowered itself into the appropriate driving most like position,

0:16:04.276 --> 0:16:06.556
<v Speaker 1>because it was raised when we got in, to make

0:16:06.836 --> 0:16:09.156
<v Speaker 1>even just a few inches just that much easier for

0:16:09.276 --> 0:16:12.436
<v Speaker 1>us to enter the car and sit down and not

0:16:12.596 --> 0:16:16.116
<v Speaker 1>have to kind of PLoP down. Now, the technical reason

0:16:16.236 --> 0:16:18.956
<v Speaker 1>for that is that if the car raises itself, it

0:16:19.116 --> 0:16:20.876
<v Speaker 1>makes it easier to get in and out of the car.

0:16:21.156 --> 0:16:23.556
<v Speaker 1>Your hip point should be aligned with the height of

0:16:23.636 --> 0:16:26.996
<v Speaker 1>the seat. But all I could think about was, oh man,

0:16:27.276 --> 0:16:30.996
<v Speaker 1>Olma Tanashi. Then we pulled over in front of one

0:16:30.996 --> 0:16:34.316
<v Speaker 1>of those big mansions. We let's do some clunking. Yes, yeah,

0:16:34.676 --> 0:16:38.036
<v Speaker 1>let's hear the doors. I'm gonna I want you to

0:16:38.116 --> 0:16:39.636
<v Speaker 1>stem Can you do your door at the same time

0:16:40.196 --> 0:16:42.116
<v Speaker 1>we're gonna do in unison. This is what a door

0:16:42.156 --> 0:16:45.676
<v Speaker 1>is supposed to sell. It ready? One? Two, three? Oh?

0:16:45.836 --> 0:16:50.556
<v Speaker 1>Oh yeah, let me get them just mine. Also, can

0:16:50.596 --> 0:16:52.596
<v Speaker 1>you hear the difference in the noise like you hear

0:16:52.636 --> 0:16:58.116
<v Speaker 1>all the sound of the world. It's gone. Oh the windows.

0:16:58.676 --> 0:17:01.036
<v Speaker 1>Remember back when I was in the Kaikon and there

0:17:01.116 --> 0:17:04.676
<v Speaker 1>was that little thing with the windows. We hadn't yet

0:17:04.756 --> 0:17:07.836
<v Speaker 1>heard everyone talking about Oma Tanashi, so I didn't yet

0:17:07.956 --> 0:17:10.796
<v Speaker 1>understand what I was looking at as I rolled up

0:17:10.836 --> 0:17:14.876
<v Speaker 1>the window. Now I do. The traditional Japanese tea room

0:17:15.116 --> 0:17:19.196
<v Speaker 1>has a door called the nagiri Gucci, a sliding panel door.

0:17:19.516 --> 0:17:22.196
<v Speaker 1>It's so small you have to crawl through on your

0:17:22.276 --> 0:17:25.796
<v Speaker 1>hands and knees. Understand that what takes place in the

0:17:25.876 --> 0:17:30.196
<v Speaker 1>tea room, the Japanese tea ceremony is the essence of omutanashi,

0:17:30.516 --> 0:17:35.636
<v Speaker 1>an elaborate ceremony designed to anticipate and address every aspect

0:17:35.756 --> 0:17:40.876
<v Speaker 1>of the guest's comfort. Everything is choreographed, including the way

0:17:41.196 --> 0:17:44.516
<v Speaker 1>you're supposed to open the Najiri Gucci. You use the

0:17:44.596 --> 0:17:47.876
<v Speaker 1>hand closest to the door to open it a few inches,

0:17:48.236 --> 0:17:51.116
<v Speaker 1>then you switch hands and slide the door the rest

0:17:51.156 --> 0:17:55.116
<v Speaker 1>of the way. You enter quietly and softly on your knees,

0:17:55.596 --> 0:17:58.076
<v Speaker 1>closing the door behind you in a way that draws

0:17:58.316 --> 0:18:02.756
<v Speaker 1>the least attention to yourself. There are literally books of

0:18:02.836 --> 0:18:07.076
<v Speaker 1>etiquette on how to perform this movement with grace and balance.

0:18:07.676 --> 0:18:12.036
<v Speaker 1>Because at the cruise moment that the door is almost closed,

0:18:12.436 --> 0:18:16.356
<v Speaker 1>you're supposed to slow down so that it makes impact

0:18:16.476 --> 0:18:21.196
<v Speaker 1>with the door jam as elegantly and silently as possible.

0:18:22.116 --> 0:18:26.316
<v Speaker 1>So how do you suppose the window on the ls closes?

0:18:26.916 --> 0:18:29.156
<v Speaker 1>So I've now opened the window. Okay, Now I'm gonna

0:18:29.836 --> 0:18:32.036
<v Speaker 1>I'm clicking at once and the window's gonna close. So

0:18:34.596 --> 0:18:39.676
<v Speaker 1>it goes up up, it slows Outshi, it's the tea ceremony.

0:18:39.956 --> 0:18:43.316
<v Speaker 1>Even just the little funk of its ceiling is okay.

0:18:43.996 --> 0:18:46.596
<v Speaker 1>And you know that someone spent like you know, good,

0:18:46.756 --> 0:18:51.596
<v Speaker 1>probably fifty just on that little noise. Yeah, every other

0:18:51.676 --> 0:19:06.436
<v Speaker 1>car window goes except Lexus. That's mutanashi. Go and See

0:19:06.956 --> 0:19:11.076
<v Speaker 1>is produced by Jacob Smith with Emily Rostek and Carl Migliari,

0:19:11.636 --> 0:19:15.516
<v Speaker 1>edited by Julia Barton. Evan Viola composed our theme music

0:19:15.756 --> 0:19:19.596
<v Speaker 1>and mixed and mastered our episodes special thanks to Jacob

0:19:19.636 --> 0:19:23.396
<v Speaker 1>Weisberg had a fame, Paul Williamson, the Mark Levinson engineers,

0:19:23.716 --> 0:19:28.236
<v Speaker 1>and all the Lexus executives, engineers and designers who participated

0:19:28.396 --> 0:19:31.876
<v Speaker 1>in our recordings. Go and See is a production of

0:19:31.956 --> 0:19:35.836
<v Speaker 1>Lexus and Pushkin Industries. I'm moltain Ba