Friday, October 20, 2017
Open beeta
Random thought defectively spawned by using 'Early adopter' in previous item about beets.
Because GM has always Owned The Conversation, other carmakers got credit for the wrong things, always designed to benefit GM.
Chrysler got credit for the Airflow, an ugly monstrosity with no real advances in comfort or technology. Chrysler didn't get credit for paying close attention to safety and ergonomics a couple years later.
Chrysler got credit for tailfins in '57, which had no value or influence. Chrysler didn't get credit for torsion bar suspension in '57, which made a DRAMATIC improvement in handling.
To my mind Chrysler's unique skill, the one thing they did better than anyone else, was the low-cost limousine. From '36 to '54 you could get a three-row sedan, reliable and comfortable, for half the price of GM's limos. DeSoto dominated the taxi market. And then they REPEATED the achievement with the minivan in '83, which is still going strong in both family and taxi service.
What struck me today is that Chrysler also invented the open beta. Through the '50s and '60s Chrysler was trying to develop gas turbine cars. The research ultimately failed because turbines had plenty of technical advantages but couldn't be made responsive enough for real driving.
All other car research has been closed-circuit, using a few prototypes driven by experts in concealed test areas. Chrysler decided to go open beta. When each new iteration was ready, Chrysler built a few hundred fully drivable cars and loaned them out to ordinary people. The lucky drivers had to keep close track of performance and mileage, but incurred no expense except gas.
Labels: Alternate universe
¶ 3:21 PM
