Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)
Recently I had the pleasure of having someone who works in car design talk to me about car design. I say 'the pleasure' but perhaps you anticipated that I went into this conversation unwillingly. I do, after all, know little to nothing about cars. I can comment on their colour, but then after that have little more to say. So, when he started in I didn't have the highest of hopes, but it turned out to be extremely illuminating, and I think you'll agree.
It all began with the information that *all* car companies spend millions upon millions researching the 'correct' sound their doors should make when they close. Not only that, but each company wants to have a particular sound distinct from their competitors. It makes sense, and probably doesn't come as much of a surprise, but it's interesting to know that it's true.
Then came something else, and this was frankly depressing. Turns out that every year this man has to look at designs which make cars go faster, make them more economical, make them cheaper, and make them better for the environment, and he has to turn them all away. Every single year. They all go in the trash. I'm going to give you a moment to have a think about why that might be the case and move on to something else: the sandwich.
The story that we all know and love is that one day Lord Sandwich was playing cards and wanted to eat something that wouldn't get his hands messy. Lo and behold, the sandwich was born. Now I'm sure Lord Sandwich ate a very good sandwich on that occasion, what with being a Lord and all, but it's also fairly safe to say that the originator, or prototype, of anything lacks a little finesse. So people start going over and over the product, making it better and better. But then we start playing a game of diminishing returns. Turns out that the place that previously was getting by on its amazing sandwiches suddenly has to do a bunch of other things that have little to do with the sandwich. The place across the street sells sandwiches in a themed environment, and then they have to create a theme for their establishment too, something to prevent their customers crawling out of the place, husking 'food, water, atmosphere...' In the end it becomes little about the sandwich, and more what surrounds it. But really, we should all remember the sandwich first and foremost. If you have good bread, and good ingredients, and everything in a complimentary ratio to everything else, then you're very likely going to be good. Forget about the surrounding garnish, and the themes.
So, going back to my car design man. It turns out that he has to pass on all these forward-thinking ideas every year because they would radically change the way a car looks. And car buyers are an insanely conservative bunch. They want their car to look like all the other cars. They also want it to look, basically, like all the cars that were on sale last year. And they're completely uninterested in having a car that looks different. No matter how much faster, cheaper, or better it is. They want the thing everyone else has. And because cars are a billion pound industry, no one wants to take risks, so they don't, and you continue to eat the same sandwich that you always ate. Not knowing that there are better sandwiches out there.
Except, that is, for crazy mavericks. Remember Mr DeLorean? He poured bags of money into a car that he liked the look of, but in the end everyone laughed at him, and no one bought his cars, and he lost all that money. Such a shame. History smiles kindly on these mavericks, and we look at the DeLorean with a great deal of fondness now. But when things happen to us it's now, not then. So put yourself into the shoes of the Mr DeLorean who was living in the 'now', not the 'then'. There was no support for him when he was breaking all the rules. And all the people who laughed at him certainly didn't sit down and put pen to paper to the past Mr DeLorean after they changed their mind. They just all behaved as though they had liked that kind of sandwich all along, when in actuality they had snickered behind his back, whispering comments as he left the room.
Aren't people just the worst?
It all began with the information that *all* car companies spend millions upon millions researching the 'correct' sound their doors should make when they close. Not only that, but each company wants to have a particular sound distinct from their competitors. It makes sense, and probably doesn't come as much of a surprise, but it's interesting to know that it's true.
Then came something else, and this was frankly depressing. Turns out that every year this man has to look at designs which make cars go faster, make them more economical, make them cheaper, and make them better for the environment, and he has to turn them all away. Every single year. They all go in the trash. I'm going to give you a moment to have a think about why that might be the case and move on to something else: the sandwich.
The story that we all know and love is that one day Lord Sandwich was playing cards and wanted to eat something that wouldn't get his hands messy. Lo and behold, the sandwich was born. Now I'm sure Lord Sandwich ate a very good sandwich on that occasion, what with being a Lord and all, but it's also fairly safe to say that the originator, or prototype, of anything lacks a little finesse. So people start going over and over the product, making it better and better. But then we start playing a game of diminishing returns. Turns out that the place that previously was getting by on its amazing sandwiches suddenly has to do a bunch of other things that have little to do with the sandwich. The place across the street sells sandwiches in a themed environment, and then they have to create a theme for their establishment too, something to prevent their customers crawling out of the place, husking 'food, water, atmosphere...' In the end it becomes little about the sandwich, and more what surrounds it. But really, we should all remember the sandwich first and foremost. If you have good bread, and good ingredients, and everything in a complimentary ratio to everything else, then you're very likely going to be good. Forget about the surrounding garnish, and the themes.
So, going back to my car design man. It turns out that he has to pass on all these forward-thinking ideas every year because they would radically change the way a car looks. And car buyers are an insanely conservative bunch. They want their car to look like all the other cars. They also want it to look, basically, like all the cars that were on sale last year. And they're completely uninterested in having a car that looks different. No matter how much faster, cheaper, or better it is. They want the thing everyone else has. And because cars are a billion pound industry, no one wants to take risks, so they don't, and you continue to eat the same sandwich that you always ate. Not knowing that there are better sandwiches out there.
Except, that is, for crazy mavericks. Remember Mr DeLorean? He poured bags of money into a car that he liked the look of, but in the end everyone laughed at him, and no one bought his cars, and he lost all that money. Such a shame. History smiles kindly on these mavericks, and we look at the DeLorean with a great deal of fondness now. But when things happen to us it's now, not then. So put yourself into the shoes of the Mr DeLorean who was living in the 'now', not the 'then'. There was no support for him when he was breaking all the rules. And all the people who laughed at him certainly didn't sit down and put pen to paper to the past Mr DeLorean after they changed their mind. They just all behaved as though they had liked that kind of sandwich all along, when in actuality they had snickered behind his back, whispering comments as he left the room.
Aren't people just the worst?