Speaker 0:05

Still Driving, honest conversations about the cars, people, and ideas that make driving matter. With automotive industry insider, Shinoo Mapleton, and accomplished driver and enthusiast, Blair Smith, joined by the people shaping the automotive world. Here are Shinoo and Blair. This is really exciting stuff. Shinoo Mapleton, welcome to Still Driving Absolutely. Our new podcast that, that, uh, you and I have launched after having recorded, what? 20-plus pods together. Yes. And, right? And, and developing this great chemistry. I mean, I, I'm, I'm excited to be working with you, Blair, on this. Yeah. Well, we are excited because we wanted to create something that was our own. We wanted something in this pod that reflects our identity as enthusiasts. So we named this thing Still Driving. Shinoo, can, can you elaborate a little bit on why we did that and what that means? Yeah, I mean, Still Driving, you know, and, and, and a tagline of, like, you know, driven by feel, right? You and I, you know, we wanted to create a podcast for driving enthusiasts. You know, for, for people, for, for the ideas that make driving more engaging and more fun. And so that's really our intention right here with this, with this podcast, and bringing in industry experts as well as guests, you know, once a month to, to give us a look behind the curtain. Driven by feel, a tagline, is, yes, relates to the cars. We love cars that feel a certain way. Right. But we also love cars that make us feel a certain way, so we're driven by the feels that we want out of the experience as much as what the car in itself feels like. And so, you know, that, that really is the, the ethos. That's the North Star. That's the, where the enthusiasm comes from. And, you know, we, we are excited to be, you know, kicking this thing off and building something with that spirit in mind. Um, before we really talk more about what our plans are, what our goals are, I think it would be great, Shanu, because in our prior podcast, we didn't make formal introductions really. And, you know, you've got a much more interesting introduction to make, I believe, than I do. So te- tell us where this all started for you. How did you become kind of an insane hobbyist, but also an industry guy? You know, it's funny. We, we both have these interesting, you know, perspectives, right? You're, you're a genuine enthusiasm. You bring so much passion to, to, to, to the pod. Y- you know, what I bring is this kind of industry experience, right? My first memory, I grew up in Detroit, is looking out of my preschool window on Warren Road and watching cars go by. I mean, I have been- yeah, crazy about cars ever since. And so since I was 17 years old, I've been in the industry. And so having worked at, you know, General Motors, then I went to 3M Automotive, and I was there for 10 years before starting my own business, um, and getting, you know, into the aftermarket, if you will. So, yeah. So was this in the blood? Was it in the DNA? Did your dad- N- n- not at all was he a car guy? Man. Yeah, not at all. Y- you know, we, we came from India- I'm, I'm, you know, I'm an immigrant myself. I came here when I was three years old, and my dad didn't own a car till he came to this country. And, and so he likes cars, but he, he's, he's a physical therapist. He's retired now, but he, he was not in the industry at all. Yeah. Uh, but he worked in Detroit, and that's where I grew up, and so it's hard to, to not, um, get a bit of automotive in your blood when you live there. Well, not, not only are you a good guy and a genuine car- m- enthusiast, but, you know, so passionate about this. You maybe have the most interesting name and the coolest name of all time. That's the real reason, you know? I like, uh, it's, uh- Larry, you, you and I just, you know, we clicked, man. It was like we had this chemistry, and I love that, right? And, and so tell, tell, tell, you know, tell our listeners w- you know, what's your tap root, man? How did you get into this? Well, my dad also was not really a car guy. He had some interesting cars. Well, not that interesting, but some nice cars, you know? He'd ra- he'd rather drive an Acura TL than a Toyota Camry, you know? Or- Sure, sure so ba- ba- back in the day, or Acura Legend, I should say, say- Mm-hmm back in the day. But, you know, for me, it's funny. It just, I was obsessed from an early age with engines. I was obsessed one day after school when a buddy of mine took me to his house, and he had a field behind his house. I was probably in second grade or something. Mm-hmm. And he had a little Honda 50cc dirt bike. Nice. And he said, "Yeah." He fired this thing up and he said, "Go drive that thing," and he's got a field and a little trail system that he had back there. I will never forget thinking I could literally do this all day long. And so then that- morphed to, "Dad, I want a go-kart," you know? There's just something so e- exciting, was so exciting and freeing about hearing the engine go, where the thing could take you, the speed, the exhilaration. I mean, that, honestly, I never did get that go-kart. So now that I'm like d- wacky car guy who is, like, can never get enough, I say, well, if only my dad would've bought me that go-kart, I, uh, I probably would have more balance in my life now. So- you know- So, so your love of the hobby came from what? It came from a motorcycle f- first, really. Awesome. Awesome. And- But, but, but it was, it w- it was, it was vehicles powered by an engine. Yeah. And it was the sound, the feel, the acceleration, the connection, and, and the freedom associated with it. That's, that's where it came from me. But fast-forward many years- Mm-hmm I, like, you know, I had life to live. Again, I, I don't, I don't have money. I'm not mechanical. I gotta go set up a, a family, a job, a career, h- a house, all of these things. So it wasn't, you know, until much later when I really dev- you know, felt like I could do the car thing responsibly. Sure. So, you know, I was also a, like, an addictive golfer- Mm-hmm and I did that competitively. Yeah. So- Didn't you get, like, a scholarship to college? Yeah, an offer to play college golf, and that's what I loved to do, and then one day my body decided it didn't love golf as much as- Ah I loved golf. Mm-hmm. And then I was kinda depressed, and it coincided perfectly with- Hey, I actually kind of have my life set up- Mm-hmm and I have some disposable income, so maybe it's time to, uh, to dip my toe in this enthusiast kind of car world. Right. And, and I'm an obsessive personality, so if I'm going to, like, pursue something, then I just literally jump in. So, but, y- you know, and, uh, but before we talk about kind of those first cars, Shanu, you, you, you skipped a lot of stuff, and you have a very interesting story. I think you should just share a little bit of how then you got into the industry. I think there was something to do with a Pontiac Fiero, if anybody- Yes remembers that car. Yes, yes, yes. I, I worked at Pontiac Fiero assembly. Like, I worked on the assembly line, man, you know? And, and so- So what did you do? I've never asked you. What was your role? Were, were, were, were you screwing together a, you know, a rear view mirror? What was the job? So, so I was an engineering intern, okay? The school I went to, the engineering school I went to, it's called Kettering University now, but at, in, in those days it was GMI or, as in General Motors Institute. Um, and they had a co-op program. Three months of school, three months of work, three months of school, three months of work, right? Wow. And it just rotated like that. And so my co-op or my internship was at Pontiac. And so that first- three months of work, they put us on the assembly line. We were actually the first students that they did that with, and we were... They didn't, you know, the UAW was, was crack, you know, they, they, they could be a bit strict, but, about things. But they, they allowed us to work on the assembly line. And to this day, I tell you, it was one of the best experiences, work experiences- Wow I've ever had in my life, because it really shifted my perspective, um, to, to better understand. You know, I literally had to, you know, walk a mile in the shoes of guys working on the assembly line, and that's driven so much of what I do to even today, trying to understand, you know, how best to create the, the things that we create, right? And so I went from working on the assembly line. I worked, w- went to work f- to, for 3M company, where I really cut my teeth in product innovation and new product development. Yeah. And I realized what I really, uh, absolutely love is creation as well. Yes, I love driving cars. I'm, you know, like you too, I'm crazy about driving cars on the racetrack, blah, blah, blah, right? Road trips everywhere. But what I actually also really love is cr- the creation side. And in- Yeah this industry, you know, I've created now hundreds of products, um, from parts for, for these Lotuses and other cars, to, to an actual car, right? The Draken Spyder, um, is, is a sports car I created and, you know, I've, I've, I've, I've b- it's been a rollercoaster ride. So but that, that, you know, I would say to you is, you know, probably at the core one of the things that I love about this hobby is my ability to then create, you know, solutions to problems that I kind of see out in the market. One of my favorite things about you, Shanu, truly, is now you own a business called Innokinetic, formerly Sector 111. Right. You've been a big Lotus guy for the last bunch of years of your career. But we'll talk about our motives and what we're trying to build here, and it's not a sales arm of Innokinetic. Uh, and, and I think- No p- people will come to see that at some point. But what I love so much about you is you've stubbed your toe, you've had successes, you've felt the pressure and the stress of providing for a fantastic family through this passion and hobby and what, and this crazy industry, and yet you spend any time with you in your shop or outside of it, you still can't get enough. It's like you love to drive, you love to, you know, experience new cars. You have cars still on your p- bucket list that you plan to own. I mean, that, that's what I find so fascinating is this, this career and the pressure and stress associated with it has not ruined that, that, you know, preschooler looking out his window who's, loves cars. You're still very passionate about them. Yeah, I mean, that is true, but I, I will t- be honest and say to you, there are times when I've woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat going, "What in the hell am I doing?" You know? And so, but, but fortunately, yeah, the, the, the over, you know, arching passion that I have, which is a bit over the top, you know, like, I think a bit like you, a bit obsessive about certain things, and those are the things that, that just I keep pursuing. And- Yeah yeah, I mean, it's just, look, man, that's just the way, you know, like, you know, your love for driving, right? You know, is, is, I, I share that with you, too. You, you, you know? So, like, what were some of the first cars, Blair, that, that you got that were really fun that, that have kind of burned into your psyche as, as, as these amazing f- you know, first fun cars? Yeah. I, I had the privilege back in the day, I speak German, actually. So I had this opportunity, I lived in Germany from 2001 and 2002, but then I came home, went to school, was trying to set this life up of mine. I had an opportunity to go work for BMW in Munich, Germany. Nice. It was a six-month internship. Yeah, that's amazing. And so when, when you think of 2001 in Bavaria, Munich- Mm-hmm and you think of 2006, those happen to be the bookends of the E46 M3. And- That's right w- when you say seared into my mind, it's- Those cars in, you know, spectacular scenery, culture, architecture, the E46 generation car and then the M3 really became that taproot first love of mine- Mm-hmm where I thought, you know, "If I could ever own one of those cars, I've got to do it." So when I finally was... I was telling my wife one night, I was depressed 'cause I couldn't really golf much anymore. And, and I said, "You know what? I'm, I'm fiscally very conservative. I don't... I, you know, I've always been really methodical about how I spend money and making sure we're set up and we're not doing stupid things." But I said, "You know what? I'm going to buy that first E46 M3," and I dipped my toe in the water. It w- with a convertible. Mm-hmm. It was a manual. It was not an SMG. It had to be- Okay a manual. I knew from- Yep from the get-go. So I bought a titanium silver, perfectly maintained, driver quality E46 M3 convertible. It was spectacular, and that snowballed into more cars than I can even begin to, to count and describe right here on the podcast. I've since owned three- But what, what, what were a couple? G- give us a, give us a, a, a taste of a couple that really- Well, I went from that to kinda the ultimate E46 spec, which was a phoenix yellow coupe manual with only 20,000 miles. C- controversial color, by the way, when it came out. Yeah, my favorite color. And then, and then I had to delve into the world of Porsche, so I started, uh, experimenting on that. Mm-hmm. I've got m- I've had some good friends along the way buy Porsche Caymans and 911s, and then helped me get into track driving because of that. And that was a whole new scary world of financial commitment, and, but, but I loved it, was excited about it. So I've gone from Porsche, you know, G- German cars primarily. I've had a whole side list of daily drivers as well. I commute from Civic Type Rs to Golf Rs. I mean, you name it, it's... I've, I've owned a lot of these things. I've had great friends who've let me drive innumerable amounts of cool cars, and that still, like, drives me today, the passion to get behind the wheel as much as I can. Yeah. Um, so yeah, that- But you're also a track, you're also a track day guy, too, right? I love it, and it's, it's led me to this, uh, Lotus Elise 111 RS that you built. Sure. Um, and, and I think it's kind of the pinnacle of what can a Lotus guy, engineer, aftermarket part, tuning expert build with the Elise platform. I bought it. I love tracking it. I love driving it in the mountains. So that, that, that's where kind of my passion has led me now, but- Sure I mean, Porsches, Lotuses, uh, Corvettes, Mustangs, BMWs, Toyotas. I like, I wanna drive it all. I kinda wanna own it all, Shanu. So that, that's a little bit about where my journey has brought me. What about you? You've had some cool stuff. Was there a taproot car? Yeah. You're known as kind of a lightweight sports car guru. Yeah, I mean, it's kind of funny, and, and, and, uh, I think the Lotus people hate it when I say this, but, you know, having worked at Pontiac Fiero, you know, a, a car that I y- you know, could not afford, 'cause I was a broke s- broke-ass student. That car certainly, you know, uh, was in my head because, you know, mid-engine, composite, space frame, rear drive, manual gearbox, two-seater, right? And when the Elise came out, that was like, "Oh my gosh, here's, you know, a modern-day Fiero," right? And, and so I even looked- That had to have been... Sorry to interrupt. Yeah. That had to have been cool as a young guy doing these internships on and off the assembly line to see these Fieros coming down, because that had to have been- Mm. We sometimes You know, turn our nose up a little bit at the Fieros. Yeah. But back in the day when they launched this mid-engine sports car, w- was, was that an exciting proposition both for you and- It, it was for the industry? It, it was incredible, okay? That place, and we could do an entire pod on that, okay? We should. But- A Fiero pod. Yeah, we should. In fact- And, and yeah, that's actually, let's, let's, yeah, bookmark that, right? Put, put a pin in that one. Because there's so many things about that that are, in fact, I think very, very incredible and were very innovative for its time, okay? Yeah. You can look back at it now and say, "Okay, well, whatever," but back then, lots of innovations. And so, but you know, for me, my first really great car, um, was a GTI, and, in, in fact, James May I think just did a video about, you know, about my, the, the one that I had. You know, it was an, a, an A2 eight-valve GTI. Loved that car, right? I joined the BMW club in the early '90s when I bought a 325, an E36, and then I joined the BMW club, or the Porsche club, sorry, in the late '90s when I bought a 993. I tracked all these cars, had so much fun with them, and then I tracked- Really? You put them all on track when you bought these things. Yeah. I mean, not the Volkswagen, actually. You know, I had the- Well, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so, so my first online track experience was with BMW CCA in that 325i. Oh, cool. But yeah, I mean, since then I've tracked all, you know, pretty much all these cars. But I've had lots of cool stuff. You know, um, E36 M3s and the 993s, and, and, and then, and then obscure, lots of obscure stuff like Ariel Atoms, an Atom 2, an Atom 3. You know, a Spec Race Atom. You know, a, a BAC Mono, right? We were the importer of the BAC Mono. So, um, I had the first one in the country. And you know, then of course, you know, a, a, a whole series of, of Lotuses, right? And once I started driving the Lotuses, all the heavier cars became less interesting to me. I mean, I didn't fall out of love with them, but they just became a little bit less interesting for my use case of just driving dynamics and feel, right? But you know, we, we... I recently got a 996 that we've been turning into this rough road or road rally kind of car, and so that's been a lot of fun. Um, you know, I tracked a Z06 a couple months ago and was blown away with how fast that damn thing is, you know? Yeah. I've even publicly stated, a couple years ago I made a video, um, stating that I'm getting, you know, a Z06 as a, as a, as a, uh, road, you know, GT car to, to tour around the country. So yeah, I mean, look, fun cars, man. There's just so many of them, and I think you and I are very fortunate in that I, I would argue this last 30 years for sure has been the golden era, and you and I have been lucky enough to, to d- to drive many of these cars. Yeah. Well, it is something we still very much feel excitement for, and- Y- you know, there, there's a huge catalog if you look backwards- Mm-hmm if you look current. Yep. You know, the, the, uh, w- where this industry is going I think remains fascinating for all of us. Yeah. There's reasons to be a little pessimistic, but there's reason to be optimistic, too. And- Yeah, and I think we're gonna t- we're gonna talk about both of those perspectives, aren't we? You know, and, and we've done that, you know, in our, in the previous pod, you know, um, Full Throttle Talk that, that you and I, you know, um, w- were participating with. But, you know, when we talk about, you know, Still Driving in our podcast, you know, what are some of the aspirations that you've got, you know, for, for, for this, this podcast? Well, you know, my wife rolls her eyes every time we're at a social engagement or we're out, and may- maybe it's somebody commenting on one of the cars I'm driving as we're going into a restaurant. Because I get sucked in when I find a car guy. Yes. And it's like, "Oh," you know, and you start evaluating, how car guy is this car guy? Is he deranged? Yep. Is he pretty well-balanced, or is he curious? Yeah. And it's like... But, but, but it's all exciting for me, and these are the people I love to chat with. Right. I love to swap stories. I love to at times debate with, and it, it, it becomes a little bit of sport. And ultimately, I love driving with those people. Mm-hmm. So whe- whether it's up in the mountains here in Salt Lake City, which is where I live, or out on the track- Mm-hmm uh, you know, th- that is... So that's my vision of how do I, how do we- Yeah find those people, we connect with those people, and we build a community around, you know, that, uh, a topic that we love and we feel passionate about. Because I genuinely, you know, enjoy car guys' company and the discussions that come from it. Yeah. And, and so I'm thinking about it- You know, very much, uh, from a community standpoint- Right and building fun experiences standpoint, what, what about you? How do you- Well, you know- build on my thoughts there? You know, and Blair, it's funny because you've been talking about building a community around this for, for, from the get-go. And I remember feeling really, like, wow, this guy, he's so genuine. He's so sincere about that, and I was really drawn to that. Because I'm with you. I think the community matters. And, and that's why I've joined the, the clubs that, that I have over the course of these last, over 30 years. And because I think car guys, we, you know, we click. It, you know, we, we, it, it crosses all religions, you know, all ethnicities, language. If you're a car guy, you know, I've met with car guys in- Politics all, yeah, everywhere. You know, it's like po- yeah, yeah, politics. You know, like if, all, we, we cross all of that nonsense, right? And we just love talking about cars. And so, you know, to me, I see that there are new people coming into, into the hobby. Um, and, and, and I want them to know that, hey, there's a huge spectrum, and, and there are a lot of different things that you can enjoy in this, in this hobby. And what I want people to know, particularly people coming new and buying new cars, is that, hey, some of these old cars are still really fun because th- they are really engaging. And I feel like with this pod, we can give people, we can shed some light or put a little spotlight on things that are starting to be forgotten about. You know, whether it's- Yeah h- the, the pleasure of a perfect heel and toe downshift, right? Or, or the struggles that the industry has dealing with regulations that are kind of driving them kind of towards, you know, uh, robo taxis. Y- y- you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And so I kind of feel like, hey, I think we can collectively with this podcast start to, to y- you know, uh- educate or, or communicate more of these subjects as well so that, um, you know, enthusiasts get some other, you know, um, perspectives other than just the pure speculation by, you know, some journalists or some hobbyists that are rich and own hypercars. You know what I'm saying? We need perspective from guys like you who truly understand the industry at a deeper level. And you will more than one time have to corral me along this journey as I say that it's BS that these guys won't put a manual in this or that or whatever. And, and we've debate- debated about that before. We have. We will debate about it in the fu- into the future, and, uh, you're probably right more than, more often than not, because you see things the, the way many of these manufacturers view it. But it, it doesn't mean I'm not gonna passionately, uh, ask for it and debate you about, um, you know, the, the need for it amongst the enthusiast community. But you bring a real level of sophistication and expertise to the behind the scenes, to guys like me who just want cool stuff and get it to us now. Yeah, I mean, you, you, you've got that in- the enthusiast perspective, and I kind of bring the industry perspective. And I think, like, you know, we're gonna bring on some interesting guests. You know, I've got, you know, you and I, we both, you know, we, we, we brought one of your, your, your friends on, you know, on a previous pod. That was wonderful. And, and Derek is an engineer talking about how to engineer in the feels, right, into, into cars. And so I know enough people. We'll get some of those guys in here to, to give us additional perspectives on what's going on in this industry and what are some of those challenges to- Yeah to deliver the feels, you know, to deliver that experience that so many of us are still looking for and want to have, you know, in this hobby. Well, you, you gave a great teaser there that our next episode we've got a very exciting guest, which is Todd Deacon from Everyday Driver. Yes. Um, he's gonna be on and talk to us, uh, about a variety of topics, Lotus being one of them. Um, s- maybe a friendly debate about the 111 RS versus a stock Elise. But, you know, you, you've got a very deep and rich Rolodex of, of, uh, interesting, smart, experienced people in this industry. So yes, I'm gonna continue to push and prod you to call in some favors with those guys and, and see if we can't enrich the discussion in a variety of different ways. Well, I think that, um, this is, this is exciting times for you, you and I both in that I think we're, we're gonna build something really f- fun here. You know, Still Driving podcasts, right? We say we're driven by feel, but also driven by community, right? And, and that may be a, a, a little addition that we make to our slogan, right? You know, 'cause I think both things matter to, to you and I, you know, about, about this hobby. So- Yeah, totally. Yeah. Well, on that note, Shinoo, I'm super excited, um- Absolutely, Blair and, um, we will still be driving no matter what gets thrown at us. So, uh, good to chat with you. Thanks for coming along. For all you listeners, hopefully you find us from where we came from, and, um, w- we, we appreciate all the support as we build this great thing. Awesome. Okay. We'll talk to you next time. See you guys next time. Thanks, Shinoo.