True to my profession as an engineer, I am a total geek at heart and proud of it. Spending time in automobile museums always fascinates me. It excites me to see a prescient innovator from the past come up with an idea like headlights. The first ones were Limelight carbide models that had a nasty habit of setting the horseless carriage on fire. Within a couple of generations there were sealed beam electric headlights, safe, effective, and increasingly affordable.

We can’t imagine not utilizing these technologies as they rapidly evolved. Progress in the automotive industry was rapid and gave birth to modern mass manufacturing far beyond just cars and trucks.

Today, we are on the cusp of a new era of disruptive innovation in the automotive industry. Companies like Tesla and Google are redefining expectations for consumers with electric cars that can get the pulse racing and autonomous self-driving vehicles that have the potential to change everything we do in personal transportation. Tesla and Google are both beginning to attempt the tricky transition from pure design innovation and boutique manufacturing to becoming mass-market providers.

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