Surprising Products Made by Car Manufacturers

The Forgotten World of Automotive Product Innovation

In recent years, it has become increasingly common to associate car manufacturers with producing only vehicles. However, this perception overlooks the wide range of innovative products that have been created by these companies over the years.

From Aston Martin's condoto Bugatti's hookah,to a mechanical freakin' heart made by General Motors, automotive manufacturers have been venturing into new territories and pushing the boundaries of their capabilities. Volkswagen, for instance, has even ventured into making sausages, showcasing its willingness to explore various markets and industries.

One of the most fascinating examples of this trend is the collaboration between Porsche and Alpha Piano to create a high-tech piano known as mPiano. The "M" in mPiano stands for mechatronic, referring to the actuators underneath each key that allow users to manipulate pitch and resistance through an external app. This innovative approach has enabled the creation of a unique musical experience.

Furthermore, Porsche has been involved in other notable collaborations, including a nearly $300,000 grand piano made with Bosendorfer, an almost 200-year-old piano manufacturer. The company's willingness to partner with outside parties and leverage its expertise to create new products is a testament to its commitment to innovation.

In addition to these examples, there are numerous other products that have been created by car manufacturers beyond the realm of vehicles. From Lamborghini churning out masks to fight COVID-19, it is clear that automotive companies are capable of producing a wide range of innovative products that can address various needs and challenges.

The Role of Manscaped in Empowering Men's Grooming

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on men's grooming and self-care. One company that has risen to prominence in this space is Manscaped, a brand that offers a range of innovative products designed to help men take care of their bodies.

Manscaped recently launched the world's first all-in-one manscaping kit, which makes manscaping safe and easy for men to do at home. The Lawn Mower 3.0 water-resistant body hair trimmer is an impressive example of this product line, featuring advanced SkinSafe technology that reduces nicks and cuts from accidents.

The company's commitment to innovation and safety has been recognized by its fans, with many praising the products and their effectiveness in making manscaping a breeze. Manscaped has also partnered with other brands to offer exclusive promotions and discounts, further solidifying its position as a leader in men's grooming.

In addition to its product line, Manscaped has also become known for its enthusiasm and passion for men's grooming. The company's founder is excited to be one of the first people in the world to receive the new Lawn Mower 3.0, and he is eager to share his experience with others.

The company's focus on empowering men to take care of their bodies has resonated with many, who appreciate the importance of self-care and grooming in maintaining overall health and well-being. Manscaped has become a trusted brand in this space, offering products that are both effective and easy to use.

Manscaped's commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction is evident in its products and marketing efforts. The company's sponsorship of WheelHouse episodes like the one featured here is just one example of its dedication to empowering men's grooming and self-care.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- You may have recently heardabout Ford manufacturing respirators,and Lamborghini churningout masks to fight COVID-19,but car companies have beenmaking products other than carsfor a long time, fromthe Aston Martin condoto Bugatti's hookah,to a mechanical freakin'heart made by General Motors.And why does Volkswagen make sausages?Stick around to the end andsee the most insane productsthat car manufacturers have made,and find out what sortof crazy collaborationswe can expect to see next.This is WheelHouse, baby.Hey, everyone, today'sepisode is brought to youby Manscaped.com.We all know what it's like, right?One moment you're mowing the grass,getting it ready for a big night.The next thing you know, you hit a stick.(Nolan screams)The pain, the embarrassment, the shame.Well worry no more, becauseManscaped has createdthe world's firstall-in-one manscaping kitthat makes manscaping safe and easy.I'm excited to be one ofthe first in the worldto receive the new Lawn Mower 3.0water resistant body hair trimmer,the only trimmer on the marketmade with advanced SkinSafe technology,which reduces nicks and cutsfrom manscaping accidents.I genuinely cannot stop talking aboutthe new Lawn Mower 3.0.Everyone in the office istired of me talkin' about itin our group chat whenI should be working,but you know what?I'm just happy that I'mable to do shower trimsthanks to the water resistance, okay?I'm happy about it,so keep your lawn trimmedand in shape, get 20% offand free internationalshipping plus two free giftswhen you use promo codedonut20 at manscaped.com.My balls thank me, and yours will, too.I actually really love Manscaped,thank you so much forsponsoring this episode.I really think it's a great product,and I think you guysshould treat yourself,treat your balls.Probably the most common alt car productswe see are collaborations,where the carmakercontributes research, design,and brand recognition,while an outside partyactually makes the product,like the high tech mPianofrom Porsche and Alpha Piano.The M in mPiano stands for mechatronic,like the mechatronic unitsfound in many car gearboxes,especially in Volkswagens,Audis, and Porsche.In the mPiano, mechatronicrefers to the actuatorsunderneath each key thatallow you to manipulatethe pitch and resistancethrough an external app.This isn't even the first pianoPorsche's been involved with.They also teamed up with Bosendorfer,(chuckles) I tried,an almost 200 year old piano makerto make a nearly $300,000 grand piano.Okay, sure, that's impressive,but can it play "Runaway"?Ferrari made the jumpfrom car to lifestylewhen they partneredwith Cobra and Puma Golfand released a luxury golf line.They busted out all thosecorporate luxury buzzwords,like handcrafted elegance, andsophisticated functionality,and fugly-ass shoes.But the shoes aren't thestar of the line here.That would have to be thebright red $2,000 drivermade of carbon-fibercomposite, titanium alloy,and perfectly balanced withinternal tungsten weights.You can cart this club aroundin your $2,400 golf bagmade of the same Poltrona Frau leatheryou'll find in the Ferrari FF,one of my favorite shooting brakes.The leather is known forits "supple, spicy aroma,"and is described as having"a particularly Italian sensuality."Mamma mia, I want to (beep) my golf bag.Collabs are one thing,but a lot of car companiesactually make their own non-car productsinstead of using outside manufacturers.A perfect example of this is Nissan,who has wowed us with not one,but two autonomous office chairs.They first started with theIntelligent Parking Chair,an office chair that returnsto its original positionwith a simple clap.Then came the Pro Pilot Chair,which does more than just park itself.It self-drives with you in itby detecting its relationto the seats around it.Now before you get too excited,neither of these chairsare available to buy.They were developed as a marketing ployto show off Nissan's new self-parkingand self-driving technologies.Not cool, Nissan.You've probably heard about the Powerwallthat Tesla's been manufacturing,a rechargeable lithiumion home battery systemthat stores solar or gridenergy for on-demand use.It's not the first of its kind,but it is probably thesleekest one out there.Elon Musk has touted the Powerwall,when used with solar panels,as a way to become totallyindependent of big-grid energy,but even a 3,510 kilowatt hours optionisn't really enough to power your homeunless you're way off thegrid, like Shrek status,and if you're livin' that Shrek life,you probably can't afford the solar panelsand power inverter you'd needto make it all work anyways.For the city-livingFarquaads of this worldlike you and me, thePowerwall would be greatas a backup supply foroutages, or a way to cut costs.Then again, Musk also namedhis kid whatever this is,so I dunno.Okay, we have to talk aboutthese Volkswagen sausages.Since 1973, Volkswagen hasbeen manufacturing currywurstat the same plant in Wolfsburgwhere they make a bunch of their cars,like the Golf and the Tiguan.The sausage is even considereda Volkswagen original part,I'm not (beep) you, withits own part number,199 398 500 A.VW originally started producing sausagesto feed the workers atthe various canteenswithin the factory, and they still do.But once the outside worldfound out that their currywurstwas the currybest,(audience laughing)VW started selling them at supermarketsand football stadiums.They even give them away as freebiesto Volkswagen customers.But this isn't just acute side hustle, okay?For many years now,Volkswagen has producedmore sausages than cars.We're talkin' 20,000 pork tubes a day.In 2018, they made 6.81 million of them.VW even introduced avegetarian option in 2010,but unfortunately Americans,we can't get our mitts on these thingsbecause of importrestrictions on uncooked meat.I just hope they don't taste like crayons.It's a Volkswagen joke.A lot of car companieswere making other productsbefore they even gotaround to making cars.Case in point, Toyota,which actually beganin the automatic loom business,and it wasn't even Toyota, it was Toyoda.In 1924, Sakichi Toyodainvented the ToyotaModel G automatic loom.It was innovative, because itused the principle of Jidoka,which meant that if themachine detected a problem,like a broken thread,it would stop itself do theproblem would be corrected,rather than doing aquality check at the endand finding out thatyou have a bunk product.This system is also known as autonomation,or intelligent automation,and is used in Toyota'scar production to this day.The loom's nifty ability todetect issues mid-processwas a game-change in the loom business,as it cut way down on wastedresources and overproduction.Obviously, loomheadsat the time were like,"Gimme, gimme, gimme."And Toyoda sold the patent in 1929to the British machinerycompany Platt Brothers,which gave him the capitalto start up his automotive businesswith his son, Kiichiro Toyoda.They eventually changed the D to a Tbecause people thoughtToyota sounded better,but more importantlybecause changing it to a Tmeant the name could be writtenwith exactly eight strokesin Japanese lettering.Eight is a lucky number in Japan,and they thought it would welcome ingood fortune and prosperity,which is the same reason I eateight Pizza Rolls every day.Eight times three Pizza Rolls every day.Okay, so Toyota made cars, blah-blah-blah,we don't care about that right now.We care about the fact that in 2009,they also made a brain-machine interface,allowing wheelchair usersto control movementsof an electric wheelchairwith their freakin'mind, Professor X-style.An electrode-coveredhelmet measured brain wavesand picks up when theuser is concentratingon a type of physical movement,and translates that activityinto steering instructionsfor the motorized wheelchair.How cool is this, guys?How did this happen in 2009and I'm just now hearing about it?Look, I tried to find an updateon the current technology,and I weirdly couldn't findanything from the last decade.That's fine, right?Probably nothing to worry about, right,when a multinational corporationdeveloping mind control technologythen just goes full ghost mode on it.I'm not worried.Toyota has developed a ton of cool stuff,including a line of humanoid robotsthat we'll get into later,but did you know that Toyotaalso manufactures prefab houses?That's right, like hundredsof thousands of them,and they've been doing it since 1975,which means they were crankin' out homesbefore they were even makin' Camrys.We just don't hear aboutit much here in the U.S.because the residential productionis pretty much limited to Japan.There are a bunch of differentmodels, and price points,and honestly, for ahouse that you can orderout of a catalog, thesethings are pretty sick.Plus, where a conventional constructioncan kinda drag on, thesepuppies can be assembledin about two months from start to finish.That's pretty amazing.For something a little more high end,you have Aston Martin's 66-storydowntown Miami luxury condo tower,which they literally call "acar made into a skyscraper."That's a little much.Aston Martin is handlingthe interior designand corporate branding,but they've partneredwith outside developersto actually construct the dang thing.Living in the Aston Martin condocomes with some extremely bougey perks,like a superyacht marina,multiple movie theaters,and virtual golf.The most expensive unitis a 19,000 square foottriplex penthouse that'llrun you a cool $50 million.But the sickest part of that unitis that it comes withan Aston Martin Vulcan,makes 820 buff horses, and it's the lastof a run of only 24 cars,valued around $3 million.So when you think about that,the apartment's only $47 million.So worth it, such a good use of money.BMW, Jaguar, Lamborghini,all of these car companiesdidn't even start in cars.Before Jaguar was makin'slick, speed-punching E-Types,they were in the businessof manufacturing motorcycle sidecars.Mitsubishi started in ship building.SAAB started in aircraft.Even Peugeot, the world'ssecond-oldest automakerbehind Mercedes-Benz didn't start in cars.Peugeot started in the early 1800sas a steel foundry that madethings like coffee grinders,umbrella frames, and band saws.They still make salt andpepper mills to this day.My mom actually has aPeugeot spice grinder.Pretty sick, put some nutmeg in thereand put it on your whatever.The iconic lion you see on their badgeactually first showedup on their saw blades.Armand Peugeot added it to symbolizethe toughness of the saw's teeth,the strength of steel,and the speed of the cutlike a bounding lion.Dude, it's just a saw, man.It's not just a saw, it's a Peugeot saw.One of the wildestentries into the car worldcame from Ferruccio Lamborghini,who only got into carsto spite Enzo Ferrari,and if you haven't heardthis story before, allow me.Lamborghini was a mechanical whizwho after serving in World War IIstarted a company that built tractorsout of surplus military vehicles.His business took off.By the 1960s, he wasmanufacturing oil-burning heatersand air conditioners too.With all of his hard-earned cabbage,Lambo bought himself abunch of sports cars,one of them being the Ferrari250 GT with a V12 engine.But he kept having issues with the clutch,to the point that he brought the complaintto Enzo Ferrari himself.Ferrari felt insulted.He got all aggrums, like "theproblem's not with the car."It's with the driver."Now go play with yourlittle tractors, okay?"And Lamborghini was like, "Hell no."I'm gonna make my own sports car"and hire ex-employees to do it."And then everyone was like, "Damn, son."And then, Lamborghini did it.He founded an auto factory.He built a V12 engine.He dropped it into his Lamborghini 350 GT,and watched it rip to 158 milesper hour in Ferrari's face.It's amazing to think thatif Ferrari had just knownhow to take some constructive criticism,we would've never gottenthe Aventador SVJ.It's a pretty wild story,and if you wanna know more,check out the Up to Speed on Lamborghini.It's an oldie, but a goodie.Everyone knows that the white and blueon the BMW badge is apropellor in the sky, right?But did you know that the three pointson Mercedes-Benz's logorepresents mobility on land, sea, and sky?Land is pretty obvious.You've got everything fromyour 1950s Gullwing coupeto today's C-Class.On the open ocean, you hadthe 46-foot luxury motor yachtthat Mercedes developedwith Silver Arrows Marine.The Arrow 460 Gran Turismowas released in 2017.It fits up to 10 peopleand has a max speedof 44 miles an hour.But this yacht isn't just aboat made by a car company.Look at this thing.Look at those automotive proportions.It really does looklike a car in the water.Just a tad more expensive at $1.7 million.Okay, so land, check.Sea, check.Sky?Look no further than theMercedes EC145 twin-engine,turbine-powered luxury helicopter.Mercedes didn't manufacture this aircraft.A company called Eurocopter did,but they did design the interior,modeling it after their luxury class cars.This sky-whip will run youa horrific $8.5 million.War, what is it good for?Havin' car companiesmanufacture militaryvehicles, that's what.Chrysler, GM, Fiat, Subaru,BMW, Volkswagen, Dodge,they all lent their manufacturingskills to the war efforts.It's super interesting.I actually can't get into it nowor else this will be atwo-hour long WheelHouse,but if you wanna learnmore about the tanksand bombers made by yourfavorite car brands,let me know in the commentsand we'll see what we cando makin' a video about it.Making a military gradedestroyer is one thing.Car manufacturers sendingtheir cars to spacelike Tesla did with their roadstertakes a whole other level of engineering.But did you know that Teslawasn't the first carmanufacturer to go into space?Ford, Chrysler, and GMall played a big partin NASA's early Apollo missions.After Ford acquired the battery, radio,and TV company Philco, thenewly-branded Philco-Fordbuilt NASA's MissionControl Center in Houston,implementing newtechnology that allowed forway more sophisticated communicationbetween the astronauts in spaceand their counterparts here on Earth.Chrysler built the first stageof the Saturn IB rocket boosterthat helped us blast to the Moon,and in 1971, GM and Boeing teamed upto make the Lunar Rover,churning out an electric vehiclelong before the Chevy Volt or Chevy Bolt.Their creation was such a successthat NASA used similarmodels for the Apollo 16and 17 missions, and allthree of these GM Roversremain on the Moon to this day.Talk about "Dude, Where's My Car?", right?Love that movie.Some car collabs are just downright weird,like the Mustang cologne by Estee Lauderthat my friend Cody usedto wear in high school.Love you, Cody (laughs).But there's also IsaacMizrahi's Chevy Malibu-inspiredwomen's fashion collection,which I can only describe as"going to a meeting at the beach."This lavish lady can get her tootsieson some $110 driving moccasins,or chance a $260 tote bag.Who bought this?If your mom did, tell her to hit me up.Perhaps the mostegregious of these collabsis the Bugatti hookah,created alongside luxuryshisha pipe maker Desvall.Now, Bugatti isn't the first car companyto put out these MiddleEastern-style pipes.The Porsche-designed shishacame out in 2011 for $1,950.Then, two years later, Bugattiwas like, "Oh, dude, sick."We could do that too,"except we're gonna jack upthe price by literally 5000%."That's right, Bugatti'shookah cost $100,000.It's insane.If anyone tries to convince youthat a pipe is worth 100 grand,they're blowin' smokeup your ass, am I right?(audience laughing)Now let's talk about beeps.I'm not talkin' honks, I'm talkin' aboutbeep-beep-boop-bop beep,'cause it's robot time.Who remembers in '05 whenToyota debuted an entire seriesof humanoid partner robotsthat were in a band that slaps?♪ We are falling into the circle ♪(beep)- Toyota is truly out herewith human support robots,a basketball robot, and awhole line of assistant robotsthat were set to debut at the2020 Olympics and Paralympics.I guess we'll have to wait 'tilnext year for those things.In 2013, Toyota helped developJapan's first robot astronaut,and first-ever companionrobot in space called Kirobo.Kirobo is a high-functioning mini robotwith a range of capabilities.It's got facial, voice,and speech recognition,speech synthesis and video recording.Sounds like everythingan iPhone can do, right?Wrong, because Kirobois specially designedto navigate zero gravity environmentsand assist Commander Wakata,the first Japanese commanderof the International Space Station.He helps with all thesedifferent experimentsall while being cute as hell.I actually don't thinkI've seen a cuter robot,oh my God, there's a mini Kirobo?Toyota's not the only carmakertoying around with robots.Honda bopped on over to the beep-bop zoneway back in '86 whentheir R&D Robotics Teamset out to develop a robotthat could move and walk like a human.They went through the E-Series, P-Series,and 11 iterations later, arrived at ASIMO,which stands for AdvancedStep in Innovative Mobility.ASIMO made its U.S. debut in 2002as it rang the opening bell atthe New York Stock Exchange,and made history as theworld's only humanoid robotthat can go up and downstairs independently.Now obviously, the Boston Dynamics robotshave completely eclipsed ASIMO,but it was pretty awesome at the time.In 2010, Honda was ableto apply the same sortof mind control technologyfrom the Toyota wheelchairto ASIMO, thereby allowing a userto think of a limited number of gestures,and ASIMO will do it for them.He'll just freakin' do it.Since then, ASIMO haslearned sign language,mixed drinks, and evenconducted orchestras.It's awesome to see automakersuse their power for good,especially now at a timewhen we really have totake care of each other.I'm talkin' Ford and Peugeot,who are manufacturingrespirators to fight COVID-19.Lamborghini, they'remanufacturing masks and shields.Volkswagen, who teamed upwith fabric company Faurecia,Faurecia?Faurecia, to make medical gowns.GM is helping produce 10,000 ventilatorsand 1.5 million masks every month.But this venture into medical equipmentis nothing new for them.In 1952, GM worked withDoctor Forest Dodrillto create the first-ever mechanical heart,which made open-heartsurgery on humans possible.That's a really huge deal.So many people owe their livesto this 12 cylinder engine-looking deviceand the foundation it laidfor advancements in heartsurgery, it's so cool.So what's next?What insane, technologically advanced,generally unnecessary carcollab is on the horizon?Porsche and Boeing are teaming upto explore the world of autonomouselectric luxury aircraftwith vertical takeoffand landing capabilities,kinda like a quadcopter for humans,but even a flying carfeels like small potatoescompared to Toyota's Woven City.That's right, Toyota iscreating an entire city.They're building it on a 175-acre plotthat used to be thesite of a Toyota factoryat the base of Mount Fuji.The high-tech metropoliswill be powered by hydrogen fuel cellsand function as a living laboratoryfor Toyota engineers to implementand study various technologies,including autonomy, robotics, smart homes,and personal mobility.That's just insane.Let me know which of theseproducts you wish you had,and which ones you wished did not exist.Thank you for watching thisepisode, it means a lot to me.A lot of work goes into these things.This is actually the secondtime I had to film this'cause I messed up the first time.Very aggravating, but a lot of editorsspend a lot of time makingthese videos really good,and would just mean a lot for usfor you to drop a like at the very least,and maybe considersubscribing to our channel,and we really love doin' it for you guys.Thank you for watching.Be kind, I'll see ya next time.