On Wed, 21 Dec 2005 16:22:13 -0500, Greg G wrote:
Dave Hinz said:

How is that even related? Nobody forces you to buy GE lightbulbs, or
Apple computers.

It was derived from this statement, which was snipped:

Contrast this to the mentality of automakers like Mercedes and Saab -
Mercedes invented "crumple zones". It's a great safety improvement.

Your comparison of mentalities implies that they should have donated
the idea to the market in a good-will effort rather than obtain a
patent and earn a profit. I doubt they have the resources of MB or
Saab, or for that matter, Delta/Pentair - only an idea they wanted to
capitalize on.

OK, one of us is missing the other's point, and I'm not sure who. What
I was trying to get at, is that Mercedes didn't then patent crumple
zones and lobby the government to force all cars sold to have crumple
zones. The effect would have been to force everyone to buy Mercedes
cars. They didn't do that.

And no, I don't own one, and probably never will.
And I agree that their marketing technique was heavy handed.
Avarice rules - even under the guise of public safety.

Yup. Luckily it wasn't mandated and we have the choice.