1999 : A CONCEPT CAR AND REAL MOBILE PHONES

…and how it all Changed in 2007 AND IN 2022

“The only constant in life is change” – Heraclitus [Greek philosopher, born 540 BC]

LET’S GO BACK TO 1999

This week I took a look back at 1999 after having come across a Ford concept car. It was the last year of the previous century.  Old style mobile phones were the new thing – until the Apple smartphone changed mobile as we knew it with the iPhone in 2007.  And just as we thought we have seen it all, along came ChatGPT in 2022 – democratising AI, and suddenly it was a Whole New World.

The Ford 021C was a concept car first shown to the public at the October 1999 Tokyo Motor Show. It aged remarkably well.

It was designed by Marc Newson and built by Ghia. The car's name is taken from the Pantone orange colour, said to be Newson's favourite, although it was repainted in lime green when it was brought to the Milan Furniture Fair in April 2000. Ford officials stated that 021C also stands for "21st Century." It was produced purely as a styling exercise and was not intended for production.  Exterior features included a slide-out boot, suicide doors and LED lamps front and rear.

“Ask children to draw a car, and they'll draw something like this, so in many ways the 021C is a familiar and comfortable object. But it doesn't use many typical automotive design cues, and while it does incorporate some interesting technology, it's not technology used simply for the sake of it.” — Marc Newson (1999), Ford Press Release

That made me search for another dominant image from our reality in 1999, and what more so than the mobile phone – only feature phones, as the smartphone was still 7 years away.  Nokia dominated the market, and who would have thought that in a decade the company would be retreating back into the forests, where its main business was before mobile.

Nokia 3210

And then it all changed again in 2007 with the first Smartphone - iPhone 1. Amazing? – Yes. Suddenly we had the internet in our hands, the TV on our mobile, and WhatsApp zeroing long-distance call costs. 

We thought THAT was revolutionary.  We were probably right, but just after a virus shut down the planet for most of 2020, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE - AI was delivered to everyman in late 2022 by ChatGPT.  A new moment in history.  A pivot point.  And as the Carpenters sung; We’ve Only Just Begun.  So, buckle up; virtual reality might just become reality, and vice versa.

As he said 2 500 years ago; “The only constant in life is change” – profound insight by Heraclitus.