I’ve never bothered to listen to a podcast via iTunes, and I rarely listen to them at all; however, after yesterday’s news of the power shift at Ford I wanted to hear what William Jeanes, former editor of Car and Driver magazine, had to say about the U.S. automotive industry in Ad Age‘s interview (Link). What a great piece. I often complain both about the lack of long-term planning (especially when it comes to greening manufacturing) and the absence of courage in American business (as in this earlier comment on company marketers being stupidly hesitant to enter virtual worlds – reLink), so the short, blunt comments by Mr. Jeanes were a welcome start to the morning. If you’re a designer, there are comments to add to your arsenal when fighting against the stale sameness that marketers usually want out of fear of being too different or of not delivering what the all-powerful buyer expects; a blandness in design that seems to permeate the landscape and which was recently pointed out elsewhere (Link). Assuming, of course, that designers out there really care.