At a recent computer expo (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
the following.
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 re-install the engine.
|
| Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought
"Car95" or "CarNT". But, then you
would have to buy more seats.
|
| Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable,
five times as fast, and twice as easy to drive, but would only
run on five per cent of the roads.
|
| The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be
replaced
by a single "general car fault" 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 lifted the door
handle, turned the key, and grabbed 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 percent or more. Moreover, GM
would become a target for investigation by the Justice Dept.
|
| Every time 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 the old car.
|
| You'd press the "Start" button to shut off the engine.
|
