Monday, October 19, 2009

Which is Faster? The Car or the Alternatives? Marketing provides the Answer

Your vote wanted!

Up first, the Audi ad (30 seconds):


Followed by the opening sequence from "Office Space" (1 minute):


So, which one more accurately reflects reality? the Audi or Office Space? Vote.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Brad said...

Haha! Great comparison, Robin. Office Space is by far the more realistic depiction. I cringed when I first saw that Audi ad, they have to play to stereotypes to make their car look better!

Bruce A. McHenry said...

Rhetorical question, Robin.

That guy from the office is a bad driver, but not uncommon. Look down the road and anticipate, not at the bumper in front of you. Teaching drivers to do that while rollerblading or crossing the street, not in some lame crosswalk but when the light turns red for traffic, has led to numerous smiles and thumbs up, albeit more often from the person in the passenger seat. It has also resulted in quite a few calls to the Cambridge Police, some of whom believe that citizens should be committed for "directing traffic" by pointing at a light that just turned red and motioning for drivers to get off the gas. (Yes, and I mean committed to a mental hospital. This cause was cited by the doc as the reason for holding me against my will just last month at Camb Hospital. We live in such a tolerant society, don't we?) But, a taxi driver complimented me the other day. After a little lecture, he said, "I like that. You are a thinking man." In this world, that's not an easy thing to do.

To drive home another point, Robin, enclosed and powered vehicles are and will ever remain very important. We just need to (grade) separate them from the HPVs or make them go the same and nearly constant speeds when they do mix.

This will all be possible with heterogeneous roadtrains and electrified guideways. It is a pity that you we have not sat down to talk about that. Perhaps then you could be acclaimed as one of the world's ten most influential people.

Edith Maxwell said...

Hey Robin, I just happened upon your blog - great stuff. John David (now a junior at BU) is a passionate environmentalist. He's majoring in human geography with a minor in environmental policy (or something like that!). He's one of the organizers of the BU 350 rally. I will point him to your blog!
Edith