Learning Center – The Automotive Insider Blog

Erik Tanghe may have said it best: “Fear of change is like standing under a hot shower and knowing the moment you turn it off you'll be freezing cold.” 

We all imagine the happy path. Simple instructions. An autonomous vehicle that arrives upon request, drives itself from our doorstep to our office’s lobby and then either parks itself or journeys to its next rider. No hassles. No worries.

According to the cliché, two things rule the world: reward and punishment. Pavlov knew this 120 years ago. And nowhere is this more evident than inside the average automotive company.

Wait, what?? Customer as supplier doesn’t make any sense.

The Average Joe buys the car for a standard set of mundane reasons. Yes, for any given vehicle, exterior styling usually ranks somewhere within the top five criteria – and, in fact, ranks #2 overall according to J.D. Power – but most often the reasons mirror Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Cost. Safety...

In the 1998 classic “The Truman Show”, the supposed director, Christof (played by Ed Harris) is asked why he thinks the protagonist of the global-hit reality TV show, Truman Burbank, has never discovered the truth of his entirely-fabricated world. Christof’s response is arguably the most poignant st...