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From: mathes@mcnc.UUCP (Thomas N. Mathes)
Newsgroups: net.auto,net.cycle
Subject: Re: Drunk Driving
Message-ID: <1570@alvin.mcnc.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 5-Aug-86 09:28:33 EDT
Article-I.D.: alvin.1570
Posted: Tue Aug  5 09:28:33 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Aug-86 03:19:57 EDT
References: <345@valid.UUCP> <246@njitcccc.UUCP> <14522@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: mathes@alvin.UUCP (Thomas N. Mathes)
Organization: Microelectronics Center of NC; RTP, NC
Lines: 33
Xref: watmath net.auto:12132 net.cycle:1910

In article <935@hoptoad.uucp> laura@hoptoad.UUCP (Laura Creighton) writes:
>All you need to do is equip cars with a keypad.  Then, before you can
>get your engine to turn over, have to type a random 14 digit number.
>Actually, I want a full keyboard so that I can have a map database
>in my car, never get lost, and use ascii access it.
>
>As long as I don't drive and play hack at the same time...:-)
GM tried a concept like this, in the early 70's.  A display would show
a 7 digit number, and if you failed 3 times in entering the correct sequence,
your car wouldn't start for 30 minutes.  The public didn't go for it
in their pre-marketing tests.

This little episode shows that American car makers are still ahead of 
the rice-burner competition.  Their advantage is in manufacturing;
ours is getting better by leaps and bounds, though. A good friend
who worked for the GM corporate R & D center told me that they discarded
more ideas than the Japanese came up with.  Our problem, he said, is that
we don't take advantage of our own ingenuity.

(This is an anti-bean counter flame):
The only way that our manufacturing base can return is if we stop the 
dominance of the bean-counter (read financial analyist or accountant)
in American manufacturing.  They preach the bottom line too much, and
don't give a damn about quality.  Only when we rid ourselves of these
types can we hope to be the number 1 economic power we once were.

And by the way, a great Yankee designed and built car can blow the doors
of ANY rice-burner.  And believe me, there are a lot of great American
cars out there.  One more thing, have you seen the prices of a new Toyota
Cressida?  I'd rather have a Caddy and save the difference!!  So much
for those *cheap-to-keep* cars.

FLAME-ON!!!