A car today presents itself under many guises: as an
"office on wheels,'' a "family space,'' a
"toy,'' a "sports car,'' a go-anywhere
vehicle, or some hybrid combination. What it means to
"drive'' consequently is also changing to include more
and more secondary activities over and above the primary activity
of "vehicle control.'' As the car continues to evolve,
electronics plays a large role, particularly in the development of
secondary activities such as entertainment and communications, and
as mechanical functions are gradually replaced by electronics.
Nevertheless, despite the obvious extension of the functionality of
the vehicle, and its continuing improvements, there is a growing
concern today that the passenger vehicle may be losing emotional
resonance with the customer. The fear is that it might simply
become a commodified "wheeled conveyance'' or even an
"appliance,'' despite all efforts to increase its
functionality and usefulness.
Under these circumstances, one may certainly ask the question:
"What, indeed, is the true nature of carness that we might
elevate and protect it?'' Or "After all, what IS a
car?''
In this paper, we pose an answer to the question "What is a
car?'' after leafing through its history. We claim that the
principal attribute of a "car'' as opposed to a
"wheeled conveyance'' is its enduring ability to
emotionally engage the driver, either driving the car, or viewing
the exterior. This we claim is the "creative
distance'' of the car and the driver, a
"distance'' created by the fact that the car poses
significant challenge, emotionally or intellectually, or even
physically, to the driver or owner.
We then suggest a theory of product content that will focus
industry effort on what we claim is the basis of creative distance,
what we call the "firm- specific content.'' The final
section of the paper details the special role that electronics can
play in building a creative distance.