West Newsmagazine 11-7-18

6 I OPINION I
November 7, 2018
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
@WESTNEWSMAG
WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM
EDITORIAL
Stops and starts
Have you bought a new car in the last
couple years? If you have, chances are it
comes with something called a “stop-start”
feature.
For the uninitiated, stop-start engine
technology is a feature that will automatically
shut your car’s engine off when you
come to a stop, and automatically restart
it once you disengage the brake pedal and
start again. According to the Environmental
Protection Agency, this has a positive
impact on both gas mileage and emissions.
Here is the thing: a lot of people hate the
start-stop feature. It’s awkward. It seems
counterintuitive. This has led automakers
to also add a button that allows the
driver to turn off the technology. Not permanently,
but on a per use basis. In other
words, every time a driver gets into a car
that has both start-stop technology and the
ability to disable it, they make a conscious
choice.
The metaphors abound.
For the environmentally conscious, this
means that a human being is getting into
a car every day and pushing a button that
says either “I love nature” or “I hate nature,
and by pushing this button I hereby reject
you, Mother Nature!” For the bureaucratically
suspicious, a human being gets into
a car every day and pushes a button that
says either “I will not bow to the overreach
of the EPA” or “I will blindly follow state
mandates at the expense of free will!”
If you think these statements are hyperbole,
then you haven’t been following the
news very much. Intentionally or not, the
EPA and automakers have created a magical
button that allows for the daily expression
of your personal worldview.
We think … well, we think this is awesome.
We think other manufacturers should
get in the game.
What if a gallon of milk came with
stop/start technology? It could be used
to express your views on farm subsidies.
Press this button, and an extra ounce of
milk automatically spills out. You’re helping
dairy farmers! Don’t press the button,
and you get a little less milk than expected.
Down with corporate farming!
We’re not sure why Mark Zuckerberg
hasn’t thought of this yet, but how is it
possible that Facebook doesn’t have stopstart
technology? Every time you log on or
open the app, there should be a button that
lets you choose between only seeing posts
that completely support your worldview or
posts that might expand your thinking a bit,
but that are likely to make you quite irate.
Here is the other thing to know about
stop-start technology and customer adoption.
It is a uniquely American problem.
Car buyers in Europe and Japan are fully
accepting of the feature and have been for
years. No need to add a disable function
over there. Once again, that’s awesome.
Americans demand choice. Americans
demand free expression. Americans
demand another thing to argue about and
write editorials about.
Ulrich Muehleisen is head of marketing
for Robert Bosch, an auto parts manufacturer
that sells an awful lot of stop-start
systems. He was quoted in the New York
Times saying, “At some point, virtually
every vehicle will have stop-start. Once
you get used to it, you’ll wonder why the
engine is running when you’re stopped. It’s
like brushing your teeth with the water on.”
Oh, Mr. Muehleiesen, if you think that
all Americans agree on the proper way to
brush their teeth, then you’ve got another
thing coming.
IN QUOTES
“... there’s nothing
easy about Alexa.”
– Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos
“... we will remember
that he did more than
his share to make this
area a better place
in which to live.”
– John W. Hammond, speaking
about Tom C. Shaw Sr.
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