What Would Henry Say?
If we could take a time machine back to when Model T's were rolling off the assembly line, kidnap Henry Ford, bring him back with us to 2011, give him a crash course in everything that has happened with technology over the last century or so, all of the improvements in automobiles, and show him all the cool electronic stuff we take for granted every day (PC's, smart phones, iPads, just to name a few) I wonder what he would have to say?
Well, after passing out for awhile, I really think he would say something like this:
"Incredible doesn't begin to describe everything that humans have accomplished since my time, but I do have one question. Why, pray-tell, have you invested so much time and money hammering away at this antiquated technology known as the internal combustion engine? Looking at everything else around me, it is clearly out of place. It's certainly commendable that you have fine tuned it so precisely with computers and electronics, technologies like electronic fuel injection, emission controls, and now something called 'eco-boost?' You've really taken the guesswork out of it and shown that you have complete control over nearly every aspect of it, and that's just great. But, at the end of the day, the core technology appears to be pretty much the same as in my time, which I find rather odd. It seems like this technology could have been obsolete decades ago, had you focused your efforts differently. Yes, I'm just a bit confused... In this world of highly advanced electronics, where seemingly everything is driven by electricity, why in the world are your automobiles still powered by burning gasoline?"
Well, after passing out for awhile, I really think he would say something like this:
"Incredible doesn't begin to describe everything that humans have accomplished since my time, but I do have one question. Why, pray-tell, have you invested so much time and money hammering away at this antiquated technology known as the internal combustion engine? Looking at everything else around me, it is clearly out of place. It's certainly commendable that you have fine tuned it so precisely with computers and electronics, technologies like electronic fuel injection, emission controls, and now something called 'eco-boost?' You've really taken the guesswork out of it and shown that you have complete control over nearly every aspect of it, and that's just great. But, at the end of the day, the core technology appears to be pretty much the same as in my time, which I find rather odd. It seems like this technology could have been obsolete decades ago, had you focused your efforts differently. Yes, I'm just a bit confused... In this world of highly advanced electronics, where seemingly everything is driven by electricity, why in the world are your automobiles still powered by burning gasoline?"