廣泛流傳的幽默：

在幾年前的一個咨訊展會(LAS VEGAS COMDEX)上，微軟公司的創辦人比爾蓋茲語重心長的說：

「如果通用汽車(美國最大的汽車製造商)能使他們的科技進展速度如同咨訊產業的進展速度，那麼我們今天的
汽車售價僅需25美元，每一加侖汽油可以跑1000英里。」全場來賓皆覺深有同感並給予他熱烈的掌聲。

為了回應比爾蓋茲的評論，通用汽車當時的總裁傑克威治特別發布一篇新聞稿，內容重點為：如果通用汽車發展科技的方式如同微軟一樣，那麼我們今天的汽車就有以下特色：

1.. 汽車每天會毫無理由的撞毀(Crash)兩次。

2.. 每一次道路標線重漆或是交通標識改變，你就必須買一輛新車。

3.. 有時候你的汽車會毫無理由在高速公路上停下來，你只好接受事實，然後重新發動、重新上路。

4..有時候，你操控汽車右轉、左轉或倒車時，可能會造成汽車熄火，而且拒絕再度發動，唯一解決方法是重新安裝引擎。

5.. 每一輛車只能有一名乘客，除非你買的是汽車95/98或者NT/2000。

即使如此，你還得加座椅，座椅的價格和汽車差 不多。

6..麥金塔(Macintosh，著名電電製造商)製造一種非常耐用的汽車，由太陽能(Sun，著名系統軟件供應商)推動，速度快5 倍，使用方式易學易熟練，但它只使用百分之五的道路。

7.. 原先儀錶板上所有的指示燈，例如：油量、水量、溫度等，現在濃縮成一個，上面標示為一般汽車錯誤。

8.. 新的座椅要求每個人的臀部要一樣大。

9.. 安全氣囊彈出之前會問：「你確定嗎？」

10..有時候你的汽車會毫無理由將你鎖在門外，唯一的進入方式是同一時間右手拉著車門開關、左手轉動車鑰匙、口內咬着汽車天線。

11..不管車主願不願意，通用汽車會要求車主還必須購買由通用汽車子公司出版的導航地圖。如果車主不願意使用並將它 丟掉，汽車的效能會銳減50%，如果車主使用別家出版的導航地圖，汽車撞(Crash)的次數會增加。

12..每一次通用汽車推出新車型時，車主必須重新學習駕駛方式，因為新車和舊車的所有控制方式都不相同。

13.. 你必須按啟動才能關閉引擎。

BILL GATES VS GENERAL MOTORS

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry withthe auto industry and stated that :- "If GM had kept up with technology like the computerindustry has, we would all be driving twenty-five dollar cars that got 1000 miles to thegallon."

In response to Gates' comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the followingcharacteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines on the road you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason, and you would just accept this,restart and drive on.

4. Occasionally, ????uting a maneuver such as a left turn, would cause your car to shut down andrefuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Only one person at a time could use the car, unless you bought "Car95" or "CarNT". But thenyou would have to buy more seats.

6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, reliable, five times as fast, andtwice as easy to drive, but would only work on five percent of the roads.

7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning lights would be replaced by a single"general car default" warning light.

8. New seats would force everyone to have the same size butt.

9. The airbag system would say "Are you sure?" before going off.

10. Occasionally for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you inuntil you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key, and grab hold of the radioantenna.

11. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a deluxe set of Rand McNally road maps (nowa GM subsidiary), even though they neither need them nor want them. Attempting to delete thisoption would immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by 50% or more. Moreover, GMwould become a target for investigation by the Justice Department.

12. Every time GM introduced a new model car buyers would have to learn to drive all over againbecause none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

13. You'd press the "start" button to shut off the engine.