A Satellite TV Brand And Lotus Cars Have Something In Common: COTD

There was a time when General Motors had products in so many different industries. It dominated the locomotive industry, the bus industry, held a strong foothold in diesel, sold highway semi-tractors, and much more. The General has pulled back somewhat from its old domineering ways, which is sad. But did you know that General Motors also owned satellite TV provider DirecTV and Lotus at almost the same time?

As the story goes, it’s the mid-1980s and GM CEO Roger Smith wanted the company to be the most technologically advanced automaker on the planet and he wanted to make it happen quickly. As the New York Times wrote, Smith thought electronics were the future. GM facilitated this by purchasing Hughes Aircraft (of Howard Hughes fame), beating both Ford and Boeing. Hughes Aircraft and Delco Electronics were then merged, creating Hughes Electronics. In 1990, Hughes Electronics announced a new satellite television service, DirecTV. The satellite TV service wouldn’t launch until 1994, after GM’s sale of Lotus in 1993. But for a short time, General Motors technically had its hands in both satellite communications and Lotus.

This morning, Matt ended his Morning Dump by asking about the weirdest pairings of automakers in history. V10omous gave us a great answer:

GM owned both Directv and Lotus at the same time.

You could argue that this isn’t exactly true given the fact that DirecTV didn’t officially launch until 1994. But still, it’s fascinating that GM owned both brands. Ash78 delivered a terrific line:

And neither one worked very well when it rained.

One of the more hilarious parts about being a member of the Autopian team is that everyone gives pretty vague estimates on time. If David tells you something, like buying a truck, is going to take a couple of hours, double or triple that time. I also seem to give inaccurate estimates on time. Wesley Brooks noticed this:

David estimated that the entire errand would take two hours, even though Google maps said that’s just the driving time one-way?! Engineers are supposed to be *good* at guesstimation.

The replies were even better. From Totally not a robot:

David was calculating without accounting for wind, friction, temperature and pressure changes, etc.

And Phuzz:

He was assuming a perfectly spherical Aztec in a vacuum.

Engineers must be like wizards. They are never late nor early, but arrive precisely when they mean to.

Finally, the responses to my bra leakage article were totally unexpected, but they fill me with joy. Look at Chronometric here:

Thank you for keeping us abreast of the situation.

Also Harvey Park Bench:

That’s hilariously unexpected. I would have thought bras were made of fabric and wire, but I guess not!

Also, one quarter female readership for a car site, that’s impressive and a testament to your inclusive and welcoming attitude. The commentariat is also very well behaved for the most part.

Thank you for helping us keep this place great! Have a great weekend.