The InEVitable

After 38.5 years at Honda and Acura, legendary designer Dave Marek finally retires — and joins us to reflect on one of the most influential careers in modern automotive history.

From the golden era of Japanese performance to the birth of Acura… from the original NSX to the Element and Ridgeline… from the HondaJet to EV collaborations with GM — Dave was there for all of it.

This is a masterclass in automotive design, leadership, and the “Honda Way.”

If you love car design history, Japanese performance, or behind-the-scenes industry stories — this episode is for you.

In this special live-drive episode of The InEVitable, Ed Loh takes MotorTrend Technical Director Frank Markus on a real-world test of Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) Version 14.2.2.3 in a Model Y — while diving deep into Frank’s first-drive impressions of the highly anticipated Rivian R2. This episode kicks off a new MotorTrend series on semi-autonomous driving systems, comparing Tesla’s camera-only approach against upcoming competitors from Mercedes-Benz and Rivian.

Topics covered include:

Tesla FSD v14 real-world freeway and city performance

Mad Max mode, lane changes, and aggressive California traffic

Rivian R2 pricing, specs, suspension tech, and autonomy roadmap

Level 2 vs Level 3 autonomy explained

Vision-only vs radar/LiDAR debate Autonomy in harsh winter conditions

The future of hands-free and eyes-off driving

Does Tesla’s data flywheel give it an insurmountable lead?

Is Rivian’s R2 the true Model Y competitor? And what happens when autonomy reaches Level 3?

Watch (or listen) as the system handles freeways, city streets, four-way stops — and almost parks itself.

On this episode of The InEVitable by MotorTrend, we sit down with Jeff Hammoud, Chief Design Officer at Rivian, to unpack the full design story behind the Rivian R1T, R1S, R2, and R3.

Jeff shares his journey from Chrysler and Jeep to joining Rivian in its earliest days—when there was no logo, no brand, and barely a prototype.

We dive deep into how Rivian’s iconic design language was created, why the trucks look friendly instead of aggressive, and how real-world use cases (like motorcycles, garages, and families) shaped the vehicles.

Live from CES, MotorTrend’s The InEVitable sits down with Justin Moon (VP, Core Product Engineering, QNX) and Dr. Marc Weber (VP, Product Management, Embedded Software & Systems, Vector) to unpack what it really takes to build software-defined vehicles—without drowning in integration complexity.

They explain why “doing it all in-house” can slow OEMs down, how Alloy Kore aims to reduce duplicated effort across vehicle domains, and why safety and cybersecurity can’t be guesses—especially as regulations like the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act come into focus. Plus: a plain-English breakdown of hypervisors/virtualization, SDV org structure pitfalls, and what the path to faster, safer series production could look like.

Freeman Thomas returns to MotorTrend’s The Inevitable for a candid, wide-ranging conversation on automotive design, electric vehicles, and what it really takes to modernize an icon without losing its soul.

 

Now Vice Chairman of Meyers Manx, Thomas explains why the company made the costly decision to pause and completely rethink its electric Manx before launch—redesigning the vehicle around new battery chemistry, safety priorities, and packaging from the inside out. The discussion moves from EV realities to the enduring relevance of fiberglass, California car culture, and why some designs are meant to last forever.

 

Along the way, Thomas reflects on his career shaping cars like the Audi TT, his work with RUF, the rise of bespoke and experiential vehicles, and the boundary-pushing LFG off-road supercar developed using augmented reality. The episode closes with an unvarnished critique of legacy brands, modern automotive leadership, and where design succeeds—or fails—when history is ignored.