Apple Bites Into Auto, Ford’s Summer Camp Initiative, Summer Gas Prices

June 7, 2022
There was lots of excitement for Apple fans yesterday around the WWDC22 event and broader implications for the future of flexibility for in-vehicle UIs. We’re giving you a summary of both. We also cover Ford’s contribution to a middle school summer camp in the Tampa Bay area, and also talk about summer gas prices and consumer driving habits.
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Apple WWDC22

  • Tap to Unlock, start, share access. BMW starts next month
  • New UI across multiple screens for apple carplay (ads?)
  • Messaging and Email
  • Say goodbye to that awkward time you called your coworker the pet name you gave your special someone
  • Also announced several new iOS customization options, collaboration tools, more seamless experiences between devices, a new MacBook Air, and 13’ MacBook Pro featuring the new M2 chip. Read a full summary here.
  • Take away: Give the people the control they want while making it feel like no work at all.

Ford partners with Tampa Bay Area St. Petersburg Pinellas Technical College for Middle School summer camp program

  • Petersburg Pinellas Technical College, who typically offers programs for High Schoolers only, launched a summer camp for middle schoolers to get students interested in high-demand trade industries like auto tech, especially EVs
  • Ford supplied plastic motors and other parts so students could build mini vehicles in order to ‘see how it all worked’
  • Keith Whiteley, Lead Automotive Instructor says getting students interested early is a great way to give them a head start on programs designed for their Jr and Sr years
  • Take away: The next generation is tech-naitive. Focusing their interest on Automotive early is great opportunity for them and fills an essential need for society

10 States with average gas prices over $5

  • “the EIA predicts that for consumers, the average U.S. household will have to spend around $450 more for gas this year than they did in 2021, on an inflation-adjusted basis.”
  • Highest average is in California with some stations charging well over $7/ gallon
  • AAA says consumer driving habits haven’t been affected much but this could change soon
  • Take away: Consumer pain points make great promotion or community service ideas



SPEAKERS

Kyle Mountsier, Paul Daly


Paul Daly  00:00

Trouble Making Tuesday, troublemaking Tuesday, June 7, we're talking about Apple's big announcements yesterday really are kind of game changing and short for getting into summer camp. People. Summer Camp what summer did you go to summer camp? As a kid?


Kyle Mountsier  00:43

Okay. like summer camp like movies. Like, you know, you go to the lake and you get flipped over in the canoe. No, never done that.


Paul Daly  00:55

What kind of summer camp did you go to?


Kyle Mountsier  00:57

Oh, man. So we went to a lot of like, so my dad and I went to Southern Baptist churches growing up and so in church camp in it and so we went church camp lots which was basically you go to a college and it was a very like sports oriented church camp. So you go stay in a dorm at a college and play soccer all day as great was the life


Paul Daly  01:20

that sounds great. I'm trying to think if I went to like day camps, not really. overnights, I went to some basketball camps. But um, yeah, well, sir, we're talking about 14 summer camps and just about I don't know, I just got it's summertime. Right. And so it's like, let's talk with the nerd camp. Nathan's gonna get it? Yeah, he's, you know, Nathan was running the nerd camp.


Kyle Mountsier  01:39

So running it.


Paul Daly  01:40

So there's a lot of things to talk about today. But we're super excited because we're going to be on the ground in Philly. On Thursday. We're scoping out the venue for a soda con, which if you'd hadn't heard about it yet, go to ASOTU con.com, and put your email in so you can know all the things we're planning. We're about to release a bunch of information, but the speakers and the collaborators and the activations


Kyle Mountsier  02:02

I've had like eight people asked me, What are the dates? So for those that listen or watch the podcast track with me, it's September 11, you should be able to remember that and remember that through the 13th. And yes, we do know it's a Sunday through Tuesday, it's on purpose. We want you to be able to get back to your stores and have that nice travel kind of break only be away from the store for one full day as dealers. So yes, it is September 11. Through the 13th. It is a Sunday through Tuesday, and we couldn't be more excited.


Paul Daly  02:34

No, we're following around on our social media, because we're going to be posting as we're out there, giving you a little sneak peek, but so much more to talk about with that coming up soon. But today, we have a few stories to talk about that we're excited about you and I were texting late last night because you know we if you haven't noticed we like kind of run at the speed that you see us in the morning show from like, point we wake up until we collapse.


Kyle Mountsier  02:58

And you know, I normally I'd be like I'd have my remarkable and I'd be at WWDC full on nerd camp, like, okay, so they're coming out with the new iOS. Oh, boy. Right. But I couldn't do it yesterday. So it was like it was


Paul Daly  03:12

busy working.


Kyle Mountsier  03:14

And we're and Paul and I are texting about all of the, you know, all of the things that that Apple is going to be coming out with. Now, if you don't know about Apple at the WWDC, which is basically their developers conference. They're actually not talking about products that are coming out in the next month. They're talking about things that developers but they're working on for a while, but they talked about products, right? Yeah, they'll talk about products, but a lot of it's around like the iPhone or Mac operating systems. And so that developers can like dive into the work of creating apps systems creating, like with all of the new things that you can do, leaning into that app development space. So it's kind of like the you know, they do some beautiful, like, here's the new Oh, man, the new Apple. The MacBook Air is just, it's just a whole new reworking of the frame. But I'm really excited about some of these UX UI upgrades. Yeah, the


Paul Daly  04:08

biggest the biggest things to come out of that, like, you know, we were texting like, they're changing the game on a few different areas. But as it's related to automotive, they announced a totally revamping of CarPlay, which marques if you're not familiar, I want to assume everybody's familiar. So CarPlay is the interface when you plug in your iPhone to your vehicle, you kind of take over the vehicles entertainment screen right now. So like all of your apps in the familiar Apple interface, you can navigate it all right from your infotainment screen but Apple has been working on and collaborating with OEMs and now you will not now but soon you'll be able to not only have to plug it in now it's just wireless CarPlay you bring your phone in your car and it takes over the entire display of the vehicle that means all the displays the the speedometer, the fuel level, engine temperature, you know, climate control everything, all of the car As information will be in this beautifully at you know, beautiful Apple design seamlessly integrated with your phone. And not to mention, I didn't even think about this imagine the data they're about to collect.


Kyle Mountsier  05:11

Oh my goodness. Yeah. And I think it was Chris Martinez or Chris Chris Vasquez, sorry, posted on LinkedIn, he was like, you think they might be gearing up for some ads networking, whether in the car or outside of the car, right? Without a doubt, but the Yeah, can you see the


Paul Daly  05:31

headline like to drive fast? No,


Kyle Mountsier  05:36

no rates going up it is it's wild, what they're going to be able to do with that technology and kind of taking over that ecosystem. I thought about this this morning, as I was driving in the contrast between a manufacturer choosing to essentially partner with Apple about the same exact thing, or Volvo partnering with Epic Games, right? It's like, Do you own the system? Do you create the better infotainment system? Or do you pass it off to, you know, to give the that capacity to an Apple or Google and own, you know, the vehicle technology so that the r&d money is spent on something different? Really interesting? Like, we'll see what OEMs kind of choose which path over the next two? I


Paul Daly  06:21

think it could probably be a both end. I mean, sure as because you think people are very, I don't know if you've noticed, but Apple people are a little snobby when it comes to the blue bubble thing. So they want things the way they want them. So it will be like what has worked into the the Heads Up displays and all that. How does it all play nice together. But one thing is for sure, the days of the OEM deciding, right, think about the time the energy goes into gauges and placements and coloring and in vehicle experience, that's about to become a blank slate for someone's like, creative mind. Like, I'm just trying to start to think of like, what some of these displays are going to look like, right like the Benton some are gonna be anime, and someone's gonna be like analyzer


Kyle Mountsier  07:02

in car Personalizer.


Paul Daly  07:05

Yeah, it's so I mean, the whole change of the customizable in user experience that has really been protected territory, like the vehicle dash, and it's just been completely untouchable. Until now. So that's gonna change a lot. They also released some other cool stuff that's going to be available like next month, like being able to unlock and start your car, just with your phone. So like tap to start. And they said BMW is rolling out next month, you can share your car key with someone else to borrow the car or a valet, just a lot of again, more flexibility and options. And you said pretty soon, you know, using their proprietary chip technology, it'll be like you don't even just like when your key is in your pocket. You don't have to, like touch anything. So you have your phone with you. You're good to go. I don't know how much I will trust that it'll take a while before I trust it still don't want the key on me. Right? Because


Kyle Mountsier  07:53

no software update.


Paul Daly  07:56

It can't go anywhere 30 minutes. But But all that to say, this is just a big step forward for like what the consumer demand is for user interface. And this unlocking this whole world of customization, and data. And like you said, Paul, we'd


Kyle Mountsier  08:11

be remiss if we didn't get out of this if we got out of the store and didn't talk about the fact that the next time you text your coworker babe, I love you, you can actually delete it.


Paul Daly  08:22

I don't actually don't do that. You mean by accident by accident, but you gotta clarify. Yeah, like look, I'm super excited that I can mark text messages unread. Because if you've sent me a text message and I've ignored it, it's not because I wanted to ignore it. It's just because it got buried


Kyle Mountsier  08:39

in it all of a sudden like you clicked it and we're like I'm never gonna remember to go back to that one. Yeah,


Paul Daly  08:44

also a little Mail feature that's fun. Another thing that I do more frequently than I'd like to admit is that if you like reference like see attachment right or attached and you don't put an attachment on there, mail is gonna be like hey, did you forget something? Right put the attachment in Well yeah,


Kyle Mountsier  09:01

I will say I will say Google's like yeah, we've been doing this for a hot minute over here just as it


Paul Daly  09:07

doesn't hasn't integrated with my world doesn't exist


Kyle Mountsier  09:13

man we got to get to this summer Yeah, we do. We do.


Paul Daly  09:15

Let's talk back to summer camp. Go ahead leave in the summer camp calm.


Kyle Mountsier  09:19

Yeah, this article but I thought it was really cool. It's not it's not summer camp, as you would expect it right. Obviously, a manufacturer getting in into summer camp. I'm telling you what Ford is in the news like crazy recently, they got a podcast direct to consumers, all this type of stuff. I would just look you might love to hate them. We had the conversation with Brian paths yesterday. If you missed that you're gonna want to listen to that pod. But you should pay attention because from a brand build perspective, they are doing something very right. So they're doing an automotive focus tech summer camp. They're partnering with Petersburg Pinellas Technical College, who typically is doing only high schooler type education. But they're going into middle schoolers to try and get those students interested in high demand trade industries like auto tech, especially E. V's. And if you think about the, the people that are going to need to be working on and interfacing with these technologies on a daily basis are technology native young people who understand the native need to be holding or integrated with a device or battery, and then entering the workplace excited about being in those job fields. And so going at this, in my opinion, is a no brainer for manufacturers. We've always talked about OEMs and dealers, getting into trade schools for technicians, but diving deeper into that into like the middle school ranges right now. I mean, think about it in the year 2030, right, like a middle schooler will be working age in the year 2038 years from now


Paul Daly  10:59

on. So I mean, they they're not like Kyle said they're not running the camp. But this Tampa Bay School Petersburg, Pinellas Technical College, who typically only offers programs for high schoolers, decided, hey, let's let's kind of on ramps and middle schoolers. So by the time they get to our high school program, there's a rolling start. So for basically provided the parts, right, little electric motors and little plastic things in there, teaching them about how the systems work together as they assemble. And they go Keith whitely, the lead automotive instructor, he's excited just to get students excited earlier on. So this Tampa Bay area, again, something people are doing, and I think something that all of automotive can take cues from, right, it's not too early to get kids interested in these high demand, high paying trades, right, let's let's stop the that stop the whole thing that like if you don't go to a conventional College, like you're not going to make it like we know how that tape is playing out. And these trades, automotive, all of that converging at this one point. Like it really is a no brainer.


Kyle Mountsier  12:01

All right, we got one more with it's in Tampa Bay, if you work with or are part of the digital dealer conference ecosystem. If the if if digital dealer is going to be in Tampa Bay next year and experiential visit to this place would be a no brainer. Just throwing it out there. If you're listening or you're listening,


Paul Daly  12:18

you should be listening. You should be listening. You know, this kind of pivots really great off the story. We focused on folks in the newsletter was it was it Monday, was it last week? I don't know there was one big blur of newsletters the CMA Carter Myers automotive and their initiative to reach into and fund and support young people learning about the technical trades and recruiting them into their stores.


Kyle Mountsier  12:45

We're gonna be talking about that all day because they did a signing day, just like you would sign an athlete. Duh. That's how


Paul Daly  12:54

it's done. It's how it's done. All right, we're gonna end on a super high note today. 10 states, gas prices over $5 a gallon. If you weren't excited enough about Monday, but summer driving seasons kicking into gear, there are places where gas is over $7 a gallon.


Kyle Mountsier  13:15

And we actually had a conversation with someone yesterday and they were like, I live 20 minutes from my work. So I work from home more often. Now, the state


Paul Daly  13:23

rhymes with the word mela Fornia. And so gas prices are high right? We all know this. They are reaching peak levels probably getting close to historical peak levels like forever and ever. But they're estimating that somebody some it's linked up in the article, some important data tracking Organization estimates that the average household will pay $450 More for gas this year than they did in 2021. However, AAA is saying that people are not pulling back at the pump, they are still spending money on gas. And they are not the the actual demand level and how people are driving isn't being affected at this point by the prices. But they say that that is likely to happen soon. You know, they say people are just spending money on travel and experiences big surprise when they look at it now for a year and a


Kyle Mountsier  14:14

half. They look at it as a percentage of disposable income. And so in comparison to like 2015 and 2008. When we saw other highs, the actual percentage of disposable income to gas purchase throughout the year is still in a lower high than then those two time periods. So it doesn't mean that it won't reach that. But as a percentage of disposable income. We're still in not the highest, the highest gas prices of all time, even when gas reached $100 a barrel.


Paul Daly  14:45

Isn't that awesome? Leave it to us to tell you the bad news in a good way. So you still kind of feel good about it. But here's our takeaway for you for this the we're really serious now whenever there is a pain point for all of you brand marketers out there. This is an incredible opportunity To practice empathy, and like put some salve on the pain point, right like gas is a great promotion right now if $450 is the average loss of a household for a year, you can start to figure out a way you can give some households right offset that cost for them. It's around travel, it's around summer, it's around vehicle maintenance around all of these things is the public conversation that you happen to have solutions for. So on all of those high notes, we can't help but say we hope you have an amazing day because it doesn't matter what happens. It matters, how we respond to it, how we react to it, how we band together to go get some some go get some today.

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