At COMDEX Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry
with the auto industry and stated: "If GM had kept
up with technology like the computer industry has, we
would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got
1000 miles to the gallon."
In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a
press release stating (by Mr. Welch himself):
If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would
all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
• For no reason whatsoever your car would crash twice
a day.
• Every time they repainted the lines on the road you
would have to buy a new car.
• Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for
no reason, and you would just accept this, restart and
drive on.
• Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn,
would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart,
in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.
• Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the
sun, reliable, five times as fast, and twice as easy
to drive, but it would only run on five percent of the
roads.
• The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights
would be replaced by a single "general car default" warning
light.
• New seats would force everyone to have the same size
butt.
• The airbag system would say "Are you sure?" before
going off.
• Occasionally for no reason whatsoever, your car would
lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously
lift the door handle, turn the key, and grab hold of
the radio antenna.
• GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a
deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (now a GM subsidiary),
even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting
to delete this option would immediately cause the car's
performance to diminish by 50% or more. Moreover, GM
would become a target for investigation by the Justice
Department.
• Everytime GM introduced a new model car buyers would
have to learn how to drive all over again because none
of the controls would operate in the same manner as in
the old car.
• You'd press the "start" button to shut off
the engine.
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