← Gone Away
The Car and the Computer
In 1958, when I was 11 years old, my father accepted a promotion to Managing Director of the Zimbabwean operation of the pharmaceutical firm he worked for. This entailed a move of around 2,000 miles from Cape Town to Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, and we made the journey in my father's car of the time, a Nash Rambler.
Although I did not realize it at the time, the Rambler was an interesting specimen in the history of the automobile. It is claimed to be the first compact car produced in America and was so successful that its name was eventually adopted as the brand name for all cars made by American Motors, the company that resulted from the merger of Nash and Hudson. To us it did not seem compact at all, being larger than most of the British cars on the roads of Southern Africa, and it achieved that long journey into the heart of "Darkest Africa" with ease.
Upon arrival in Zimbabwe, my father was presented with his first company car, a symbol of his new pre-eminence within the company. This was a Rover 90, another interesting product of the motor industry.
Rover was a small British company that had carved a niche for itself as the maker of solid, dependable cars with a hint of luxury. Whilst not in the same class as the true luxury cars, Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz or Daimler, they had a ready market amongst executives who could not stretch to the price of the real thing.
In the 1960s, Rover were to abandon their established market, perhaps becoming tired of their rather stuffy image, and embark upon a course of new and radical designs that, ultimately, were to bankrupt the company and enforce its purchase by the doomed British Motor Corporation. The Rover 90, however, preceded this and was perhaps the finest product of their earlier philosophy.
It was a tank, square and uncompromising in its design and as heavy as it looked. But it was over-engineered to the point where it became boringly reliable, perfectly suited to the harsh conditions of Africa, and its weight gave it a feeling of invincibility, a ride of unequalled grace and elegance. Performance was not spectacular given its weight but it was adequate for the period. Not once in the ten years that he owned it did it let my father down.
Thinking about these products of small automotive manufacturers, I am reminded of how the history of the motor industry has some similarity to that of personal computing. The first decade of the personal computer, the 1980s, produced a welter of small companies making odd little devices, just as the early years of motoring saw blacksmith shops and bicycle manufacturers experimenting with unusual designs and configurations for the new-fangled form of transport, resulting in a horde of choices for the consumer. And we might liken the final conquest by Intel processors in the PC to the victory of the internal combustion engine; steam power and electricity were tried as alternatives by some car makers, bringing to mind the RISC chip that a few computer manufacturers were to use. It is interesting that Apple have recently capitulated on this and opted to design for an Intel chip.
That period of chaos and experiment in the motor industry was followed by a time of rationalization and standardization. Car manufacturers began to group together and merge to ensure survival. In the States, Ford and General Motors emerged as the giants that absorbed or defeated all opposition; small competitors like Duesenberg and Studebaker disappeared from the scene. And in Europe, the same thing happened; a few companies grew and prospered while smaller ones died as their market became too meager to support them.
We have seen in the last two decades how the same process has occurred within the computer industry. Gone are the Ataris and Commodores, the Sinclairs and Acorns; the market is now dominated by huge corporations like Microsoft and Dell, HP and Yahoo. I once regarded this as the maturing of the computing industry but it occurs to me now that there are further parallels to be drawn, that the story is not complete yet.
Google, for instance can be compared to BMW in some ways. Like Google, BMW was a late arrival on the scene. They began by making the products of a foreign manufacturer (the British Austin) for their German market. After the war, they had big ideas and started to produce sporty designs of their own. In the mid-1960s they ran into severe financial problems and nearly went bankrupt. What saved them was last minute production of a well designed family saloon, a car that was to become the basis for all subsequent BMWs. Its success was so great that they were eventually able to compete with the really big boys, Mercedes and Volkswagen, just as Google now threatens Microsoft.
Such parallels may have significance for the future of the computing industry. Let us not forget that it was the invasion of Japanese manufacturers that brought about the death of the British car industry and that forced American manufacturers to get serious about new designs. This might have some relevance if we ponder the rise of Asia in computing, particularly China which grows in importance every day.
So the history of car manufacture has some lessons for the computing industry. I do not doubt that there are many instances of this that I have not noticed; perhaps those who have a more detailed knowledge could see other parallels.
And it may be a chance for me to bring out that old, hackneyed yet true quotation: Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it.
Although I did not realize it at the time, the Rambler was an interesting specimen in the history of the automobile. It is claimed to be the first compact car produced in America and was so successful that its name was eventually adopted as the brand name for all cars made by American Motors, the company that resulted from the merger of Nash and Hudson. To us it did not seem compact at all, being larger than most of the British cars on the roads of Southern Africa, and it achieved that long journey into the heart of "Darkest Africa" with ease.
Upon arrival in Zimbabwe, my father was presented with his first company car, a symbol of his new pre-eminence within the company. This was a Rover 90, another interesting product of the motor industry.
Rover was a small British company that had carved a niche for itself as the maker of solid, dependable cars with a hint of luxury. Whilst not in the same class as the true luxury cars, Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz or Daimler, they had a ready market amongst executives who could not stretch to the price of the real thing.
In the 1960s, Rover were to abandon their established market, perhaps becoming tired of their rather stuffy image, and embark upon a course of new and radical designs that, ultimately, were to bankrupt the company and enforce its purchase by the doomed British Motor Corporation. The Rover 90, however, preceded this and was perhaps the finest product of their earlier philosophy.
It was a tank, square and uncompromising in its design and as heavy as it looked. But it was over-engineered to the point where it became boringly reliable, perfectly suited to the harsh conditions of Africa, and its weight gave it a feeling of invincibility, a ride of unequalled grace and elegance. Performance was not spectacular given its weight but it was adequate for the period. Not once in the ten years that he owned it did it let my father down.
Thinking about these products of small automotive manufacturers, I am reminded of how the history of the motor industry has some similarity to that of personal computing. The first decade of the personal computer, the 1980s, produced a welter of small companies making odd little devices, just as the early years of motoring saw blacksmith shops and bicycle manufacturers experimenting with unusual designs and configurations for the new-fangled form of transport, resulting in a horde of choices for the consumer. And we might liken the final conquest by Intel processors in the PC to the victory of the internal combustion engine; steam power and electricity were tried as alternatives by some car makers, bringing to mind the RISC chip that a few computer manufacturers were to use. It is interesting that Apple have recently capitulated on this and opted to design for an Intel chip.
That period of chaos and experiment in the motor industry was followed by a time of rationalization and standardization. Car manufacturers began to group together and merge to ensure survival. In the States, Ford and General Motors emerged as the giants that absorbed or defeated all opposition; small competitors like Duesenberg and Studebaker disappeared from the scene. And in Europe, the same thing happened; a few companies grew and prospered while smaller ones died as their market became too meager to support them.
We have seen in the last two decades how the same process has occurred within the computer industry. Gone are the Ataris and Commodores, the Sinclairs and Acorns; the market is now dominated by huge corporations like Microsoft and Dell, HP and Yahoo. I once regarded this as the maturing of the computing industry but it occurs to me now that there are further parallels to be drawn, that the story is not complete yet.
Google, for instance can be compared to BMW in some ways. Like Google, BMW was a late arrival on the scene. They began by making the products of a foreign manufacturer (the British Austin) for their German market. After the war, they had big ideas and started to produce sporty designs of their own. In the mid-1960s they ran into severe financial problems and nearly went bankrupt. What saved them was last minute production of a well designed family saloon, a car that was to become the basis for all subsequent BMWs. Its success was so great that they were eventually able to compete with the really big boys, Mercedes and Volkswagen, just as Google now threatens Microsoft.
Such parallels may have significance for the future of the computing industry. Let us not forget that it was the invasion of Japanese manufacturers that brought about the death of the British car industry and that forced American manufacturers to get serious about new designs. This might have some relevance if we ponder the rise of Asia in computing, particularly China which grows in importance every day.
So the history of car manufacture has some lessons for the computing industry. I do not doubt that there are many instances of this that I have not noticed; perhaps those who have a more detailed knowledge could see other parallels.
And it may be a chance for me to bring out that old, hackneyed yet true quotation: Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it.