Reilly Brennan

Reilly Brennan (RPB) is a partner at Trucks Venture Capital and an adjunct professor at Stanford University. He has more investments in advanced transportation technology than anyone else in the world. Colin and Noah enjoy reading his transportation newsletter FoT. Reilly here. Recently, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its report on a 2018 vehicle crash whereby a Tesla driver rammed into the back of a parked fire truck. The report suggests the driver was using the car's advanced driver assistance system, aka Autopilot, at the point of collision. Like most crashes involving this system, it's quite difficult to know how much the driver was paying attention to the road (if at all) at the point of impact. This is because Tesla vehicles do not currently use an interior camera to monitor the driver’s state of awareness.Why is this interesting? is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Tesla's Autopilot is not a self-driving or autonomous vehicle system, but drivers of those vehicles could be forgiven for believing that's what they're getting. Note the language used to describe the equipment on Tesla’s cars (see image below, taken from the company’s website earlier in the year). Thankfully, the driver in this 2018 crash was not fatally injured. Afterward, he told the NTSB “that the name 'Autopilot' did not accurately describe the technology because the car did not fully drive itself.”Why is this interesting?Systems like Autopilot can significantly reduce driver fatigue and curtail fender benders, but only if the driver pays attention 100% of the time. They are designed as assistive technologies, not intended to be a primary method of control. Advertising legend David Ogilvy once described his company’s misuse of research “like a drunkard using a lamppost—for support, but not for illumination.” The same could be said today for advanced driver assistance systems. We're probably using these technologies the wrong way and I believe a significant contributor to that problem is the branding and marketing of these systems.Although Autopilot may have serious consequences for the driver, passengers, and those in the vicinity, car manufacturers have nearly free rein when it comes to labeling those systems. Contrast that with the USDA's food labeling standards, which are regulated with the seriousness of an application, approval, and review process. Specific labels are given tight boundary controls (“Arroz con pollo must contain at least 15% cooked chicken meat”). But if you want to brand your car's systems as Auto-magic-pilot-drive-yourself, there is little today that the US Department of Transportation or Federal Trade Commission will do to prevent you.If food labeling is important enough for such scrutiny, vehicle systems should be given equal attention. Errors caused by mislabeling in the food category tend to be limited to an individual consumer. Driving motor vehicles, on the other hand, can have a very large amplification effect for non-consenting pedestrians, bicyclists, and other drivers. Language drives expectations, which establishes our relationship with technology. In using terms like Autopilot (Tesla), ProPILOT (Nissan), and Pilot Assist (Volvo), research shows that 40% of survey respondents believe those systems “drive themselves.” In order for a new wave of vehicle technologies to show their real safety benefits, we must begin by calling them by their right name. Or at least not calling them by the wrong one. (RPB)Chart of the Day:We’re not consuming nearly as much fruit juice as we used to. “Americans consumed 5.2 gallons of fruit juice per capita in 2017, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the summer. Not exactly consumed — the USDA doesn’t follow people around watching what they eat and drink, so what it measures is ‘food availability,’ which effectively means foodstuffs that are either consumed or wasted. In any case, this is the lowest fruit juice number since the USDA began tracking its consumption in 1970.” (NRB)Quick Links:CUEPAT is a Canadian urban environment pattern camo (RPB)The original printed catalog for Guigiaro's SEIKO collection (RPB)Framing a product benefit as unexpected increases desire for the product (RPB)Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Reilly (RPB)Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).Why is this interesting? is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Why is this interesting? - The Autopilot Edition

Reilly Brennan (RPB) is a partner at Trucks Venture Capital and an adjunct professor at Stanford University. He recently wrote about advanced driving systems and automated vehicles in The Autopilot Edition for WITI. His weekly newsletter, FoT, is read by most everyone in transportation. Reilly here. Recently, we’ve seen global taxi, ride-hailing, and public transportation ridership drop by over 70% in the wake of COVID-19. The cause is, of course, that the majority of the world’s population isn’t leaving the house. But in places where shelter-in-place orders aren’t restricting travel, those shared spaces are seeing softer revenue numbers than expected. To regain consumer confidence, taxi operators such as Didi in China are communicating with users in-app about safety and cleanliness protocols for both the driver and rider (the former wrapped in a protective plastic shell and required to have a temperature check within the past 24 hours, the latter recommended to wear a mask). These are design and communication tactics far beyond what Uber and Lyft are currently doing in the US and provide peace-of-mind that’s likely responsible for Didi’s ridership rebounding over the past month.Why is this interesting?Shared environments like taxis used to have limited consumer expectations around cleanliness. But how will a consumer define “clean” during this pandemic? Didi’s solution is mostly focused on the human component of the interaction but doesn’t explicitly discuss how surfaces stay safe. “To clean” has a straightforward definition, almost trite compared to the rigor of disinfecting and sterilizing. From the CDC, in ascending order:Cleaning removes visible dirt and debrisDisinfection destroys most pathogenic and other microorganismsSterilization destroys all microorganisms, including substantial numbers of resistant bacterial sporesIn the midst of the pandemic, consumers are wary of any surfaces outside of their homes. Barely any are considered clean, even fewer disinfected or sterilized. Today on our streets, people bear the responsibility by covering themselves completely—a prophylactic against the out-of-home world. But re-opening and re-acclimating to shared spaces will require a shift of responsibility in the other direction: eventually, we’re going to have to trust the world again.That return will be bumpy. Consumers who use the term clean might have expectations closer to disinfected. They’ll want to know they’re the first person to use a surface since it was cleaned, so environments will have to also communicate a level of readiness. The higher-order task for these shared spaces—taxis, sporting arenas, airports, restaurants—will be to communicate their state of clean and get explicit about their protocols. We’re bound to see new technical approaches to cleaning (UV lights), but also new communication design as well (consider visible changes such as Hypercolor, but for clean surfaces instead of hot ones).Service industries have performed these magical design tasks for decades. Consider the following, across a range of markets and complexities:From left: A) tamper-evident seals prove if something has been used before the intended consumer; B) hotel toilet paper folding assures guests that the bathroom has been cleaned; C) Highlight powder was invented as an additive to bleach and disinfectants for frontline workers battling the Ebola outbreak; D) chlorine indicator strips are used in labs to measure the concentration of free available chlorine in sanitizing solutions; E) Color indicators confirm the cleaning efficacy of an ultrasonic bath. The business of getting back to “normal” will require new science and new design communication. To fill the void of trust around cleaning, expect the best-performing companies to over-communicate how they’re clean and why you can start feeling safe again. (RPB)Newsletter of the Day: Matt Levine’s Money Stuff has the distinction of being both a super insider-y finance newsletter (Levine was a former investment banker and M&A lawyer) but is also a really fun and informative read for the layperson. It is astounding how many people working in creative realms far away from finance love his stuff. Levine is also consistently hilarious with often technical analysis (e.g. explaining derivative structuring on specific deals) punctuated by dry wit and really vivid ways of explaining complex things. For a taste, read this on WeWork. There’s a hint of Scott Galloway, but with more subject matter expertise and less ego. I’d love to see this jump from the page onto a dedicated TV show. It would surely liven up the coverage of the financial markets that can be a tad boring at times. (CJN)Quick Links: Cleaning and restoring an antique rusty cleaver (RPB)Archive documentary about the arrival of Detroit’s iconic Marshall Fredericks sculpture ‘The Spirit of Detroit’ (RPB)CIA tradecraft primer: techniques for improving intelligence analysis (RPB)Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Reilly (RPB)Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).

Why is this interesting? - The Designing Clean Edition

Reilly Brennan (RPB) is a partner at Trucks Venture Capital and an adjunct professor at Stanford University. His previous WITI contributions focused on communication cleanliness in the era of COVID-19 in The Designing Clean Edition and advanced driving systems and automated vehicles in The Autopilot Edition. His weekly newsletter, FoT, is read by most everyone in transportation. Reilly here. My wife and I just drove 3000 miles across the US, during the pandemic. With our two kids and dog.What could have been a 6-hour flight to be with family turned into a 6-day road trip. Of course, few people consider such a thing even in normal times, but during a pandemic, this necessary trip felt like experimental spaceflight. After digesting the CDC guidelines on travel, off we went.Why is this interesting?Road trips are deep-sea freediving for the mind. They're difficult, yet return countless benefits for the hours put in. Somehow I've never really enjoyed day-long road trips, which always tend to render you tired and in constant anticipation of the destination. On the other hand, multi-day trips are so cartoonishly long that they invite mind-wandering, boredom, and detachment. Absolute bliss.Last week's trip was done under the added weight of COVID-19, which turned my wife and me into a nervous NASCAR pit crew. Stops were limited and tensions were high. I hoped our blended sense of honor and hysteria for the virus would rub off on our 3- and 6-year-old children. At the end of the first day, I overheard: “You just walked around OUTSIDE and now your shoes are TOUCHING my pant leg.” I beamed.Our planning was typical for traveling with children (snacks, iPads, snacks) fortified with the masks, gloves, and sanitizer we take as default now. My 3-year-old son can go to the bathroom in any remote wooded area now; he might actually prefer it. A few oblique strategies which we found invaluable:On-board water containers meant never having to fill up bottles from another source. Two 2.5 gallon containers lasted us 3000 miles.Our hotel room protocol meant one of us disinfected the room for about 10 minutes before anyone was allowed to enter or touch anything. We opted for larger suite rooms so there was a kitchen area in case we needed to eat in the room without sitting on beds.Taking our kids' shoes off upon getting into the car prevented them from accidentally touching everything else / someone's pant leg.What we found out there on the road was...nobody is wearing masks. Only food service workers and hotel employees are wearing them reliably, and then only at the big brands. A truck driver in Grand Junction, Colorado scoffed at me and my mask like a Reddit comment come to life.Common assumptions could not be trusted and rearranged the very idea of highway travel. Restaurants often closed their bathrooms, even for their own customers. Food courts closed or went down to only one pitiful option (even the big, clean ones on the Ohio turnpike). Small, off-the-map diners you'd read about were closed or generally had no safety protocols.Big national brands were the only things we could reliably trust for supplies—Starbucks, Holiday Inn Express, Shell. This created a road trip almost devoid of locality and place. Blur a few hours down the road, get your things, keep going.Some of the key safety mechanisms of big food brands I noticed consistently throughout the week:Cashiers handle payment but are separate from those who make or transfer food to customers. No cash allowed for payment (contactless only)Orders are sealed and placed in a transfer tray, you never really grab anything from anyone anymore (see above image from Starbucks delivery window)Plexiglass is everywhere, with unusual cutouts and places for workers' hands to appear like a modern art puppet showOutside of supplies, our activity stops were devoid of people and selected for their isolation. We found wonderful fluffy grass in Iowa, icy ridges to climb in Nevada, throw-it-at-your-sister snowpack in Colorado. All out of sight from anyone and everyone, where we could finally take off our masks. Our kids probably think of America as a string of Taco Bells or wide, empty spaces.Later this summer I will return to California and do this trip all over again. It will be another airlocked and streamlined trip across the country—us, our masks, and probably a few Chalupa Supremes. (RPB)PPE of the Day: The Tychem 10000 FR will distinguish you at a Grand Junction truck stop. The 10000 series is DuPont’s ‘top of the line’ Level A hazmat suit, which means it is gas and vapor-tight, fully encapsulated against the most noxious things imaginable. This new model for 2020 has been improved with small usability upgrades like larger armholes so a worker can get his or her arm out of their sleeve while inside the suit to check gauges. It only comes in high-visibility silver, costs over $3000, and will withstand exposure to over 322 of the very worst chemicals for 30 minutes or your money back. (RPB)Quick links: ‘Into the Wild’ bus removed from Alaska wilderness (RPB)A Communications Primer (1953) film by the Eames Office (RPB)Cocktail making and ingredients matrix (RPB)Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Reilly (RPB)Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).

Why is this interesting? - The Masked Road Trip Edition

Reilly Brennan (RPB) is a partner at Trucks Venture Capital and an adjunct professor at Stanford University. Past contributions to WITI include the Autopilot Edition, the Designing Clean Edition, and the Masked Road Trip Edition. His weekly newsletter about transportation, FoT, is even read by Colin’s mom. Reilly here. While U.S. election vote-by-mail deadlines vary by state, many millions have already been received, and some already counted. It is likely that 2020’s mail-in total will be significant—estimates are as high as 80 million ballots, or double the number from 2016.Consider your ballot, swaddled in its 28 lb. cardstock envelope, making its historic voyage from your kitchen table to your state’s tabulation center. It’s arguably your most important trip of the year, and in keeping with the times, you’ll have to remain at home in athleisure while logistics professionals handle the hard work. Most of those ballots will travel all or part of their journey in trapezoidal marshmallow shuttles known as USPS mail trucks. Why is this interesting?The mail truck is everywhere. It moves 500 million pieces of mail per day to 160 million addresses. It’s also quite old and overdue for an upgrade: today’s fleet of 100,000 USPS mail trucks has an average age of nearly 30 years. The little trucks are still running because they were built that way. Defense contractor Grumman designed them in the mid-1980s on top of a 1982 Chevy pickup truck engine and chassis, naming it the LLV, orlong-life vehicle. This was a new idea. Prior postal vehicles were mostly standard Jeeps, but the new-for-1987 LLV married a custom design on top with a simple truck underneath. Replacement parts were already available nationwide via GM’s vast dealer network.That design pragmatism prioritized the service and repair of the vehicle, but in exchange mostly neglected the operator. The LLV arrived with no air conditioning, airbags, anti-lock brakes, or even shelves in the rear cargo area. The truck averages 10 miles-per-gallon with standard gasoline, translating into somewhere approaching $1B per year in fuel costs, the largest burn of any civilian fleet in the nation. Reliable design insights about the vehicle’s problems are best found on letter carrier message boards and aftermarket parts retailers. The LLV has terrible traction in the winter, so drivers put bags of sand in the back or buy these jigsaw weights and lay them across the cargo area. To combat the summer heat, carriers buy tiny fans or drive their vehicles into friendly meat lockers during their lunch break. A walking tour of the common postal truck reveals unusual decisions and a few hidden secrets.From left: A) mail trucks have no license plate, but each has a registration number: the first digit indicates the year the vehicle was produced in the range from 1987-1994, which is why you’ll never see a mail truck with a registration number beginning with a 5 or 6. B) Mail truck enthusiasts have wondered for decades if the USPS logo matched the vehicle’s rear body angle. Unfortunately and frustratingly, the answer is no. C) As right-hand drive vehicles with poor rearward visibility, designers attempted to reduce reverse maneuvers by creating a tighter turning radius. This was done by making the front wheel track narrower than the rear.It’s clear that a new vehicle is needed. A few prototypes are underway after USPS first opened up a call for entries in 2015 for a “Next Generation Delivery Vehicle,” but budget delays pushed a contract decision back to sometime within the next year—maybe. Today’s fleet is so old it’s more costly each passing day, and some vehicles are catching fire unexpectedly.2015 New York Times illustration outlining areas of improvement for the next-generation mail truck.I would echo this call from David Roberts to build the next fleet with electric powertrains—it would reduce both maintenance and fuel costs. Doing so would also keep pace with Amazon’s plan to electrify its fleet using new vans built by the Michigan startup Rivian. Other interesting ideas include equipping the go-anywhere vehicles with cameras to create a mapping/streetview database that would make Google’s offering feel like media mail. The next postal vehicle is almost here. Until then let’s appreciate how this year’s unusual, confusing, and problematic election cycle has a most appropriate chariot.Photo Caption of the Day:From the NYT piece Sharks Wash Up on Beaches, Stabbed by Swordfish. (Via Edith) (NRB)Quick links: Hot rod postal truck with a V-8 engine (RPB)Etsy listing for letter carrier-designed LLV cupholder (RPB)A CIA officer and mysterious, crippling headaches after visiting Moscow (CJN)Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Reilly (RPB)Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).

Why is this interesting? - The Postal Truck Edition

Reilly Brennan (RPB) is a transportation investor at Trucks Venture Capital and author of the widely-followed Future of Transportation newsletter. Past contributions to WITI include the Autopilot Edition, the Designing Clean Edition, the Masked Road Trip Edition, and the Postal Truck Edition. Reilly here. Late 2021 might be the late COVID-19 era, or the middle COVID-19 era, or just the beginning. For work meetings, it is at least an in-between time, with some in-person and some on Zoom. But to take advantage of the last few great months of weather in the northern hemisphere, outdoor meetings on foot are my favorite.Last week in Detroit I combined my love for walking meetings with the map of a defunct Formula 1 race track -- the street circuit of the old Detroit Grand Prix, run from 1982-1988. Of the 78 tracks in Formula 1's history, only 17 were run entirely on city streets, with the 2-mile Monaco GP being the most famous of all. Detroit is a lot of things but Monaco it is not. However, it is a better walking city than Monaco because comfortable shoes are acceptable and the track is 2.5 miles, the exact perfect length for a 1-hour walk. My meeting partner was Andy Didorosi, founder of Detroit Bus Company and also curious about F1's history in the city. Together we walked from start to finish and made race car sounds, pretending we were Ayrton Senna and Michele Alboreto blasting up the Goodyear Tunnel. Why is This InterestingOutdoor meetings are devoid of presentation decks, whiteboards, and Keurig coffee. They are shared experiences, with only occasional direct eye contact if you need that sort of thing. Save your meeting partner from stepping on dog poop and win a friend for life. There's just the world, you two, and whatever you're talking about. In that order. A handful of studies have shown that walking makes your meetings more divergent and creative than a conference table, both during and immediately after your meeting. Opprezzo and Schwartz also found that 'walking outside produced the most novel and highest quality analogies' and we all know that analogies are the riboflavin of business-speak. There are also some interesting social dynamics when you go for a walk, most notably that supervisor and subordinate are on a more level playing field. These short walks act as a 'micro version of the bonding that can be experienced when coworkers travel together on business trips.' HBR's tips for walking meetings include the following: Consider including an 'extracurricular' destination on your route. An old 2.5-mile F1 track is a great excuse.Avoid making the destination a source of unneeded calories. Do not surprise colleagues or clients with walking meetings. Stick to small groups. Three or fewer.For your next walking meeting, select an old race track or plot your own adventure using tools like Plotaroute. Three miles is great for a quick one-hour walk by yourself, but shave it back to 2.5 miles for a comfortable talking and walking pace with a partner.Quick links: Ayrton Senna wins the 1987 Detroit Grand Prix, waving at the crowd well in advance of victory (RPB) Postcards from Detroit: Remembering F1 in the Motor City (RPB)TV’s most confusing episodes (CJN)Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Reilly (RPB)Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).

The Walking Meeting Edition

Reilly Brennan (RPB) is a transportation investor at Trucks Venture Capital and author of the widely-followed Future of Transportation newsletter. Past contributions to WITI include the Postal Truck Edition and the Walking Meeting Edition. Reilly here. Electric vehicles are starting to arrive with “bidirectional” or two-way batteries. Instead of just putting power into an EV and draining it, you could transfer it to a different device like a house, or another vehicle. Ford's new F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck and Volkswagen's ID.4 are examples arriving with this feature, but soon these kinds of vehicles will be everywhere. It follows that buying something like today's “one-directional” batteries might eventually feel a bit limiting. By the end of this decade, doing so will be antiquated.Why is this interesting?Making car batteries bidirectional makes them more useful. Huge packs store so much energy that the best use for all those saved electrons might not be a road trip you'll take next Tuesday. They could be used for something more immediate like helping a stranded car, or the clever saving of power you charged cheaply during the nighttime and redirected elsewhere when utility rates climbed. The off-the-grid version of this would be to capture energy through solar cells, stuff it into your pickup truck's battery, then discharge it into your house when you need it.Doing this isn't easy. It requires designing the battery packs and software differently. And not all charging protocols know how to handle accepting power back into the grid. Researchers have found continual bidirectional use of a battery wears it down faster than normal, too.  But it's more convenient for each consumer. It also might be the thing that starts to untether EVs from the metaphors of the past. Consumers who don't buy EVs today cite a lack of charging infrastructure as one of the biggest hurdles. Gas stations are just more common—roughly 3x more so than charging stations. But if every one of the estimated 1,000,000 EVs on US roads today were bidirectional, it would represent a charging network seven times larger than our nation's filling stations. Even if you accounted only for Ford's planned F-150 Lightning production targets, there would be more bidirectional Ford “distributed power stations” by the end of one year than all the gas stations in America. While these wouldn’t be charging stations in the sense that you’re going to sit there and fill up your batteries, they would represent a totally new way to think about how we power automobiles. We’d move from planned, large gulps of “fuel” to the freedom of ubiquitous power-sipping if we need it. ‘Range anxiety’ for an individual car might persist, but the nearest charging station might be your neighbor's truck. The network and economic implications of this are unclear. Will automakers design their vehicles so they can charge only other cars of the same make, and will this boost brand loyalty within multi-car households? Or will they do as Ford has done, in allowing an F-150 Lightning to charge any vehicle regardless of brand? Will charging other vehicles become a revenue source for each car owner? How will owners signal their vehicle has enough power and the willingness to share some with others? I don't know, but the implications for each of these are significant. 120 years ago, cars weren't very useful until they manifested a necessary system around them: roads, gas stations, traffic laws. Bidirectional charging feels like the first real dent in the old system. Just as car design will evolve with EVs, once we move away from fuel destinations and from cars as mere consumers of energy, we begin to rewire the ecosystem. (RPB)Quick links: Understanding ‘vehicle-to-grid’ technology (RPB)Mercedes EQXX EV concept has a longer range, but not from a bigger battery (RPB)How I would build the Great Pyramids (RPB)WITI x McKinsey:An ongoing partnership where we highlight interesting McKinsey research, writing, and data.2021: McKinsey Global Publishing’s year in review. What were 2021’s biggest stories? Revisit some of McKinsey’s sharpest insights on the pandemic, the evolving talent crisis, digital and the growth agenda, and sustainability. Explore highlights and gear up to drive sustainable, inclusive growth in 2022 with McKinsey Global Publishing's year in review insights. Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Reilly (RPB) —Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Reilly (RPB)Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).

The Bidirectional Battery Edition

Reilly Brennan (RPB) is an investor at Trucks Venture Capital and author of the widely-followed Future of Transportation newsletter. Past contributions to WITI include the Postal Truck Edition and the Walking Meeting Edition. Reilly here. When Hollywood filmmaker Nancy Meyers opened up her Los Angeles residence for a recent photo shoot with Architectural Digest, no artificial light regulated our views of the home’s 10-foot drapes, pool house, and abundant wicker seating. Residuals from the film business do, in fact, support ​​wide expanses of de Le Cuona linens and kitchens suitable for a Diane Keaton dinner party. The most winsome of all was not an interior shot, but a single photograph of Ms. Meyers on the lawn, one-handing a Milwaukee M18 leaf blower, model No. 2724, her other hand casually tucked into her shirt dress. Within this photograph, she is doing more than directing the fate of 37 Brentwood leaves; she offers a tidy summary of the global power tool market.Miles Dumont voice: Legend has it, when the Milwaukee M18 blows, anything can happen.Why is this interesting?The modern consumer power tool industry is both propelled and protected by the magical, efficient lithium battery.Power tools like your standard household drill have around 100 years of history. Battery-powered (cordless) models emerged only in the 1960s, although most were either too heavy or underpowered to beat corded equivalents for tough, continuous work. The best tools in your grandparent’s workshop were likely corded, housed in an aluminum case, and often stamped with the Craftsman logo.After some false starts with less efficient battery chemistries like NiCad, everything changed in 2005 when the Milwaukee brand introduced lithium-ion batteries in a line of power tools. These packs were small and powerful (NiCads, in contrast, had hit a performance wall due to their weight, and increasing their running time and power only made them heavier). A world without lithium-ion packs forces us to consider Nancy Meyers with both hands on her leaf blower. Like Stallone holding his machine gun in the final battle scene of Rambo.Lithium-ion is expensive, however. Those high costs necessitated battery interchangeability as brands realized that consumers would be unlikely to pay for packs for each device. The secondary effect of that was game-changing: the high cost of batteries breeds a natural lock-in habit with consumers. Once you’ve bought one Milwaukee leaf blower with an expensive lithium-ion pack, you’ll likely buy from Milwaukee again if you need a drill, sander, grinder, or any of the other 200 tools that run on its M18 system. Few customer retention strategies are more potent than the battery platform commitment you make to a power tool company. Makita’s line of 18V LXT battery packs can fit a mind-boggling portfolio of 300 different products. The message is clear: you never have to leave us.Power tool companies have become battery-moated customer retention businesses. And since larger manufacturers can buy cells at scale, there’s been an all-out race to consolidate power tool brands under massive holding companies, lock up supply contracts, and go big. Just 18 megabrands control over 90% percent of the global power tools market. Of those, four companies control 48% of all sales. In the future, more consolidation is expected. Nancy Meyers might not realize that she holds in her hand the scale purchasing power of Hong Kong-based TTI, corporate brethren of Ryobi, Oreck, and Dirt Devil. But maybe Nancy can afford to just buy lithium-ion packs for whatever she wants. You’re supposed to be the leading lady in your own life, for God’s sake. (RPB)Quick links: Stumpy Nubs Woodworking Channel (RPB)Why I chose Makita 18V packs (RPB)Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Reilly (RPB) —WITI x McKinsey:An ongoing partnership where we highlight interesting McKinsey research, writing, and data.State of fashion. Fashion suppliers and brands, like other companies, are facing significant economic and geopolitical challenges. How are the top-performing fashion suppliers and brands responding to these disruptions, and what can the rest of the industry learn from them? Here’s what they can do to adapt and thrive.—Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Reilly (RPB)—Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).

The Nancy Meyers Leaf Blower Edition

Reilly Brennan (RPB) is a transportation investor at Trucks Venture Capital and author of the widely-followed Future of Transportation newsletter. Past contributions to WITI include the Nancy Meyers Leaf Blower Edition, the Postal Truck Edition and the Bidirectional Battery Edition.Reilly here. This weekend is the centenary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the famous endurance motor race run in the Loire region of northern France. The cars all look a little different; it is not a traditional ‘formula’ race like NASCAR or F1 where the silhouettes are all alike. Although this style of motorsport can be difficult to understand – different types of cars run on track at the same time, each running their own class race (imagine the freshman, junior-varsity and varsity football teams all playing simultaneously) – the 24 Hours of Le Mans is easier to grasp because of its utter insanity, laid bare in its title. We all appreciate that doing something for an entire day is difficult, and that the human body isn’t really made to do much for 24 hours straight, and certainly not at 200 mph. Even if a human could do something that long, surely their machines would break first.This is what makes endurance sports so special, because we are witness to exceptional performance multiplied by the difficulty of time. In that endeavor, simply completing the race is an accomplishment. Finishing first, however, feels closer to something celestial. This year, amidst the French cigarette smoke and exotic hypercars from Ferrari, Porsche and Toyota, there will be one particularly unusual vehicle: an asphalt-thumping NASCAR race car, with a V-8 engine tuned out of North Carolina and a driver by the name of Jimmie Johnson. This is the special ‘Garage 56’ entry into the race, competing in a class all its own.Is that a NASCAR race car in France? The blue Chevrolet Camaro looks out of place at Le Mans, but also fits right in. Why Is This Interesting?The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the oldest motor races in the world and has all of the tradition and heritage you would expect from a century-old French organization. Teams must apply to race in the event and all follow the strict guidelines set forth by the sanctioning body. With this backdrop, the concept of ‘Garage 56’ is so notable. The car in this class is not part of the official Le Mans competition and doesn’t follow technical regulations, yet it runs in the race anyway. When this was introduced in 2012, organizers said, ' the idea is to leave as much room for creativity as possible.’ Consider any other major sporting organization with heritage baggage – the Masters, Wimbledon, et al – taking their centerpiece event and introducing a complete anomaly, devoid of rules, running while their main stars are also on field. It is a specific kind of creativity that allows this type of counterprogramming, and it allows Le Mans to remain one of the most significant sporting events in the world.Comparing the version of the NASCAR at Le Mans (left) vs the one that races at Talladega (right). Since NASCAR races are only a few hours and run on Sundays, the cars don’t typically have headlights (just fake stickers). But at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, they are a necessity.The race begins at 3PM local time in France (9AM Eastern) on Saturday. Nascar G56 Night Onboard ✨ I 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans I FIA WECQuick links: How to watch the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans (RPB)Spotters guide to all the cars in the 24 Hours of Le Mans (RPB)Thanks for reading,Noah (NRB) & Colin (CJN) & Reilly (RPB) —Why is this interesting? is a daily email from Noah Brier & Colin Nagy (and friends!) about interesting things. If you’ve enjoyed this edition, please consider forwarding it to a friend. If you’re reading it for the first time, consider subscribing (it’s free!).