Dating : The Crimson Horizon

It was the autumn of 2015. David Clarke sat on his bed, gazing out of the window, watching the sun go down on the beautiful Manhattan. David, who was often mesmerized by them, wasn’t particularly fond of the sunset he was seeing before his eyes that evening. The crimson hue that splashed across the sky induced an unsettling feeling grinding in his stomach. For the first time in many years, he was scared, not for himself, but for what the future holds for the future generations of his family, and the families of nearly a hundred thousand Americans working for his company.

* * *

“You are out of your mind, Dave!” Matthew blared at David as they both walked out of the conference hall after spending two hours in a board of directors meeting, “We did not inherit this company from our fathers so that we can burn it down to ashes!” Matthew Taylor was David’s partner in running Taylor-Clarke Enterprises, one of America’s largest companies operating in a number of industries, the most recent one being low cost automobiles.

Taylor-Clarke Enterprises was founded by James Taylor and Victor Clarke, two mechanical engineers who started their partnership, nearly 45 years ago, building equipment for small metal fabricators. With the money they made, they went ahead and invested in a heavy industrial machinery firm. Eventually they made it to the board of directors and began steering the business their way. Over the years Taylor-Clarke grew exponentially, building everything from factory equipment to heavy vehicles to even oil rigs.

When it came to Taylor-Clarke products, the founding fathers of the company believed in raw power and total control. Many new companies sprung up while Taylor-Clarke was enjoying its glory days, with competitive products which cost lesser, worked on electricity and had electronic controls with certain pre-set functions making the job easier. Machinery produced by Taylor-Clarke were bulky, expensive, diesel powered, and having manual analog controls.

But the advantage of these behemoths was that they were less prone to breakdowns. Also, the machines were operated by technicians specially trained by Taylor-Clarke, which ensured better performance than any of the new products. The electric powered machines, on the other hand, would break down often and the on-board electronics would get fried from time to time under strenuous conditions.

However, like all things, the new companies identified the reasons why they couldn’t beat Taylor-Clarke at their game, and worked on their products to make them better, more powerful and cost effective. Gradually, Taylor-Clarke’s sales started declining. Some enterprises, for the sake of brand loyalty and trust, continued to purchase from the company, while many others considered it wiser to move on and embrace new technology. With a handful of sales and long running training and maintenance contracts, Taylor-Clarke Enterprises was just sustaining enough to feed its employees.

The year 2000 witnessed the passing of one of the Titans. Victor Clarke was in the final stage of lung cancer when he called his son David to accompany him by his bedside. “Son, this may not come as a surprise to you. But very clearly, I don’t have much time left. And you obviously know, that you will be taking over my position in the company. But it’s not just a position that I’m passing on to you, it’s my legacy. It’s the legacy of your father and his long-time friend that you will be a part of now. I have deep faith in you. Maybe James and I were too stubborn with our ways. But I know you can do much better. Take it, nurture it. It’s yours now.”

Victor Clarke’s death did not change the leadership of the conglomerate partially, but entirely. James Taylor could no longer pull up in his designated parking space to see that his best friend’s Lexus isn’t already parked in the adjacent one. He could no longer walk down the corridor to his office, passing by Victor’s cabin which was now just a deserted room, with no pep talks with a bunch of employees, or Bach or Wagner playing on the old record player. He could not sit in his own cabin without his old friend knocking on his door and pestering him for something every now and then.

Matthew and David were now at the helm of one of America’s oldest enterprises, with fresh ideas being forged into new business diversities, including the foray of the enterprise into the automobile industry. Matthew and David identified that a majority of American parents would buy their children a used car soon after they get their license. But many of these cars were clunky old gas guzzlers that would break down every moment. This did not go well with the self-esteem of the American youth.

Taylor-Clarke Automobile came up with the ‘First Car’ project. These were minimal cars, with a fuel efficient engine, and basic features such as air conditioning and a radio built in, and available at nearly the same cost as a used car in driveable condition. These cars were not fancy and did not have premium quality interiors, but they did the job without causing embarrassment.

The First Car project was an immediate success. It was much easier for the average American dad (or mum) to choose to buy an inexpensive new car than an old car in a deplorable condition for their children. However, the price point of the cars did not do justice to the costs involved in producing these cars. So Taylor-Clarke setup their own exclusive service centres which were allowed to stock and install the parts specifically fabricated for the ‘First Car’ project. This ensured the company made enough money to make the entire project a viable one.

This did make the other auto manufacturers and used car showrooms bleed. The First Car project did not only appeal to youngsters, but also people who worked in different cities and needed a car for the short term.

Then came the dawn of the electric and hybrid cars. Growing environmental concerns, depletion of oil reserves, and cost of maintaining gas-powered cars opened up a new avenue for auto manufacturers to explore more environmentally appealing options. Japanese carmaker Taiyō’s hybrid offering — the Eco One — soon became popular in the United States. Other manufacturers had also started producing their own electric variants, except for Taylor-Clarke, even in the year 2016.

Taylor-Clarke’s USP was affordable cars that did the job. The cost of electric vehicle components at that time was a concern for David. He refused to venture into a something that would take away the primary benefit of buying a Taylor-Clarke car. But at the same time, he did drive Matthew up the wall. Americans were concerned about saving the environment, even more than saving a few thousand dollars. He feared that David would not only let the company lose its market share in the automobile industry, but also lead to the demise of the enterprise as a while with his ‘high school science project’.

“Have faith, Matthew! I’ve got a plan, it will work. Just believe in me, like our fathers believed in each other!” David said to Matthew as he headed back to his cabin.

* * *

The sunset of 2015 reminded David of how he inherited not just an enterprise and a legacy, but also the stubbornness of his father. It began to dawn unto him that this stubbornness cannot sustain. “Generations of Taylors and Clarkes will have to struggle with new realities if they don’t learn to make peace with and embrace change,” he said to himself, “My father left me something really magnificent. When my time comes, what I pass on to my children should be much bigger, and much more powerful, than just a legacy of incumbency. I’m not my father, I will not watch and let someone else take away the empire that took half a century to build.”

After days and weeks of convincing Matthew and the board, David set up a new research project under the name ‘Project Athena’. Project Athena, for most phases, was kept confidential with only a limited number of employees, existing and specially hired, who knew about it.

“Dave, we grew up together. You’re like a brother to me! I know that you do your job with conviction. But all of this seems like madness!” Matthew said when David proposed the idea of Project Athena, “What you’re thinking of investing in is way ahead of our time. I mean, artificial intelligence? It’s light years away from perfection! What if it all turns out to be a big mistake?”

“It’s not madness Matt! It’s foresight!” David said, “I know what I’m doing. All I’m asking you to do is… Have faith! I’m doing this for all the families we are supporting right now. And I won’t let them down. But I need you to back me up, not shoot me down!”

After much hesitation, Matthew agreed to convince the board to fund the project. But this agreement was disturbed a year later when David was against venturing into the electric vehicle market. “We will do better!” David argued. Matthew was not in favour of his stance. He was afraid that if Taylor-Clarke loses this opportunity to competitors, Project Athena will fail too. He believed electric mobility would lay the groundwork for smart autonomous cars, which would be at least 30% cheaper than standard electric cars — and this essentially was Project Athena.

David refused to budge. He was being stubborn again, but this time, with the right cause in mind. During a period of 3 years, he forged an alliance with Firecom Networks to provide a dedicated high speed spectrum for smart cars produced under Project Athena. The company also invested in setting up numerous fast charging stations in the country and charging strips along certain stretches of major freeways. Project Athena came with its own exclusivity so that costs are not recovered when a customer purchases one of their top notch cars, but on an ongoing basis as they use the car.

In 2018, the project was completed and Athena saw the light of the day. Taylor-Clarke offered 5 different models of electric smart cars with varying levels of features put together for different price points, with the top-most feature-packed model priced similar to a standard electric car. The firm’s research team managed to develop a battery which could be produced much more inexpensively as compared to the standard Lithium-Ion batteries. The dedicated Firecom data line ensured that the cars never went off the grid. A backup battery would take over and guide the car to the closest charging station so that the passenger is not stranded on the road. The best AI developers put together the perfect AI-guided autonomous controller program which made it easy and safe for anyone to travel, whether or not they knew how to drive or had someone who could drive.

Once again, Taylor-Clarke managed to maintain its advantage of being cost effective. Bookings on launch day skyrocketed and production was in full swing. The other auto manufacturers watched as their own sales dropped and the new player, who apparently refused to compete with them for a brief period, took down all of them hands down with one master stroke.

Today Project Athena has sold millions of cars in the United States and is still quite the buzz among the young and tech savvy “first car” owners as well as even people who cannot drive due to a number of reasons. Athena transformed the way Americans travel, reduced the carbon footprint of the country and put Taylor-Clarke Enterprises on a trajectory of sustainable growth.