The Smoking Tire Podcast

Episode: Jonny Lieberman: Secret Diablo Story; AI Debate; Ferrari Interiors
Date: February 12, 2026
Hosts: Matt Farah, Zack Klapman
Guest: Jonny Lieberman

Episode Overview

This episode of The Smoking Tire brings together car journalist Jonny Lieberman with hosts Matt Farah and Zack Klapman for a lively, opinionated, and whiskey-infused discussion. It features deep dives into the design of the upcoming Ferrari EV interior, a fierce debate about AI’s impact on journalism and car enthusiasm, Jonny’s secret Diablo story, project car updates, and their usual blend of humor, inside stories, and auto industry hot takes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catching Up: Life, Restaurants, and Whiskey

• [00:00 – 06:00]

  • Jonny brings rare, high-proof bourbon from Willett, dating to the early 2000s.
  • Talk of LA restaurant closures and the joys (and woes) of traffic, with on-brand banter about Matt taking his trainer to food spots.
  • Bourbon Tasting: They compare barrel numbers, proofs, and provenance, waxing poetic about color and flavor.

  Notable Quote:

  • "This is a bourbon-flavored bourbon." – Matt Farah [06:24]

2. Ferrari’s New Electric Interior: Design Rant

• [06:34 – 13:35]

  • Jonny is unimpressed with the headline-grabbing Ferrari interior designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson:
    • Says it looks more Apple or Honda than exotic Ferrari.
    • Critiques the simplicity, mass-market vibes, and screen-centric layout.
    • Argues that traditional Ferrari buyers want “a little drama, a little fire”—more bling, less minimalism.
    • Matt, being a big Marc Newson fan, somewhat defends the design, loving the steering wheel but also admitting it's perhaps not "Ferrari" enough.
    • Comparison with other interiors (F12, Purosangue) and commentary on Ferrari’s struggle to balance digital modernity with tactile, mechanical luxury.
  • Zack notes that renderings don’t always match real-life impressions and ponders how tactile the materials are.

  Memorable Moments:

  • "Simple can be good, but it just screams Apple industrial design… It's cool, but it's just not Ferrari." – Jonny Lieberman [08:51]
  • "Ferrari guys… want mechanical things… not an Apple Watch." – Jonny [11:00]

3. Analog vs. Digital – The Ferrari Question

• [13:35 – 18:47]

  • Discussion on how much “analog” you can embed in an electric Ferrari before it feels forced or silly.
  • Matt points out the technical reality: "There is no speedometer cable output in this car."
  • They ponder depth-of-screen tricks vs real, mechanical touchpoints.
  • Jonny notes the oddity of high-end brands hiring luxury watchmakers and consumer designers for instrument panels, comparing Ferrari’s choice to Bugatti’s partnership with Jacob & Co.

  Notable Exchange:

  • "How do you sell an EV to a billionaire?" — Jonny
  • "Put a V16 in the back!" — Matt [19:32]

4. Project Car Updates: The Secret Diablo Journey

• [32:44 – 40:59]

  • Matt’s Lamborghini Countach: After years in pieces, it’s finally at the right shop (Franco’s European Sports Cars) with an engine rebuilt by Top Motors in Italy. Plan is not to repaint—keep it scruffy to actually drive and enjoy.
    • New tires from Pirelli; choice between P Zero (classic look, modern compound) and P7.
    • Hopeful to drive by December 2026.
  • Jonny’s 914 Porsche: Interior is progressing, but timeline is as shaky as ever. Plans for a future video drag race with Matt once both cars are finally finished.

  Memorable:

  • "We're not gonna paint the car, which is good. Leave it scruffy. That way I can just beat the balls off it for 20 years." – Matt Farah [39:24]
  • "That is the most useless piece of leather in cars—under the seat rail for $5,000." – Jonny on Ferrari detailing [23:43]

5. The Great AI Debate: Usefulness vs. Ethics

• [41:11 – 81:20+]

  • Jonny plugs “Bid Better” — an AI platform to analyze car auctions, predict values, calculate upcoming repairs, and guide buyers.
  • Matt launches a passionate, sustained critique of AI:
    • Objects on moral grounds, stressing that AIs are trained by scraping unpaid human content.
    • Fears AI will accelerate oligarchy, environmental destruction, and a hollowing-out of human curiosity and craftsmanship.
    • Distinguishes between Google’s old search model and the algorithmic, self-reinforcing, manipulative feeds of today.
    • Worries that car auctions will devolve into “AI agent vs. AI agent” with human nuance lost.
  • Jonny, slightly defensive, argues tools like Bid Better help non-experts avoid auction mistakes and make informed bids.
  • Zack takes a middle view, appreciating data aggregation while distrusting uses of AI that replace creative and entry-level jobs.
  • The debate expands to job displacement, environmental cost, moral tradeoffs, and the difference (or lack thereof) between Google, YouTube, and future AI platforms in terms of corporate power.

  Notable Quotes:

  • "I hate AI for moral reasons." – Matt Farah [41:40]
  • "It's auction bumper bowling. It's automatic rev matching." – Matt, on Bid Better’s role [55:23]
  • "We're just more accurate." – Jonny Lieberman [56:15]
  • "AI is allowing people to be even dumber." – Matt Farah [66:47]
  • "If you earn a billion dollars, you should get a trophy that says you’ve won capitalism." – Matt Farah [83:52]
  • "It's hard to be an enthusiast... and appreciate what engineers are doing..." – Matt Farah [135:45]
  • "My thing is the environmental part of AI is what’s evil." – Jonny Lieberman [79:34]

6. Secret Diablo Story: The Chrysler Connection

• [86:47 – 96:44]

  • Jonny tells a never-before-published story about the Lamborghini Diablo’s design:
    • The Lamborghini Countach’s successor (the Diablo) was secretly designed in Michigan by Chrysler's design team after they acquired Lamborghini in 1987.
    • Italian designers (Gandini, et al.) were resisting change, so Americans built the tooling model and shipped it to Italy, making changes impossible.
    • Photos and sketches show odd design choices, including the infamous articulating key.
  • This story, revealed in Road Rat magazine, challenges the myth that the Diablo was a purely Italian masterpiece and credits unsung Detroit designers (with receipts!).

  Memorable Moment:

  • "These photos sat on a shelf in Tom Gale’s house since 1989." – Jonny Lieberman [95:53]

7. Listener Q&A Highlights

• [97:02 – End (~142:35)]
  • Missed Concept Cars: Cadillac CL, Buick concept coupes, Nissan proto-cars, Maybach Exelero.
  • Best Street/Track Cars: Ferrari SF90 (F80 platform), Blackwing, McLaren 750S called out for all-around excellence.
  • The Analog Era: Disagreement on when the “driver’s era” ended: Matt hails early 2000s for balance, reliability, and vibes; Jonny argues newer cars are technically better in every metric, but lack some of the “classic” analog feel.
  • Enthusiast Car Advice:
    • Acura Integra Type S praised as a “slam dunk” daily driver over Civic Type R and GR Corolla for LA life.
    • "If I just wanted a car and I was an enthusiast—holy shit, does this slam dunk this thing." – Matt [121:45]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• "This is a bourbon-flavored bourbon." – Matt Farah [06:24]
• "Simple can be good, but it just screams Apple industrial design… It's cool, but it's just not Ferrari." – Jonny Lieberman [08:51]
• "Ferrari guys… want mechanical things… not an Apple Watch." – Jonny [11:00]
• "How do you sell an EV to a billionaire? Put a V16 in the back!" – Matt & Jonny [19:32]
• "We're not gonna paint the car, which is good. Leave it scruffy. That way I can just beat the balls off it for 20 years." – Matt Farah [39:24]
• "Auction bumper bowling. It's automatic rev matching." – Matt Farah [55:23]
• "AI is allowing people to be even dumber." – Matt Farah [66:47]
• "If you earn a billion dollars, you should get a trophy that says you’ve won capitalism." – Matt Farah [83:52]
• "These photos sat in a shelf in Tom Gale's house since 1989." – Jonny Lieberman [95:53]
• "It's hard to be an enthusiast... and appreciate what engineers are doing..." – Matt Farah [135:45]
• "My thing is—the environmental part of AI is what’s evil." – Jonny Lieberman [79:34]

Detailed Segment Timestamps

• [00:00 – 06:00]: Restaurant talk, bourbon intro
• [06:34 – 13:35]: Ferrari electric interior debate
• [13:35 – 18:47]: Analog vs digital, design philosophy, customer insights
• [32:44 – 40:59]: Project car updates (Countach/914)
• [41:11 – 81:20+]: Bid Better AI discussion and the AI/oligarchy debate
• [86:47 – 96:44]: "Secret Diablo Story", Road Rat article insights
• [97:02 - 135:45+]: Listener Q&A (concept cars, analog eras, street/track cars), enthusiast advice
• [135:45 – end]: Hypocrisy of car enthusiasm, climate anxiety, concluding reflections

Tone and Language

The episode maintains the familiar, irreverent, occasionally combative, and uncensored style fans expect—with deep expertise and personal anecdotes from all three hosts. Jonny’s disarming honesty (especially about his weight, AI skepticism, and industry secrets) plays perfectly off Matt’s passionate rants and Zack’s deadpan humor.

Summary for the Uninitiated

If you missed this episode, you get a whiskey-soaked, energetic debate on car culture’s hardest questions—ranging from what makes a real Ferrari interior, to whether AI is destroying or democratizing car enthusiasm, to the unsung American hand in a legendary Italian supercar. You’ll also find out which modern enthusiast cars these experts would actually buy—and which old project cars might finally, finally move under their own power again.