Seeing the three Bentleys in the garage, William White was very pleased. He didn't have time to deal with Apple's noise -- he'd already been working very hard. If they weren't happy, they could go buy Intel and see if they get burned.
"Hmph, so you're allowed to have a launch event? Well, buddy, I'm gonna have one too."
This Bentley that resembles the Phantom was indeed amusing. Weren't you refusing to sell the black bulletproof version? Well, buddy, I ordered three at once.
The 5.0 engine with a V8 and the groundbreaking turbocharger made this huge hunk of metal have an extremely powerful heart.
Though not truly a bulletproof car in the strictest sense, it weighed over three tons. Without turbocharging, it wouldn't be much to look at.
Back then, when William White asked the factory to do things this way, the expressions on their faces were quite something. If this guy weren't the boss, he'd probably have been raked over the coals by now.
The interior featured high-quality calfskin in abundance, and the decorative wood panels were all handcrafted. The wheels were heavily chrome-plated, making the exterior look very flashy.
The safety features went without saying. It had high-strength H-shaped anti-collision beams, making the whole body exceptionally sturdy. Apart from tanks, other traffic accidents were really not a concern.
"Tanner, let's go for a test drive."
"Alright, young master, are you driving yourself?"
"Of course. What's the fun in just sitting in the car? I want to test this big guy's power."
"Young master, you'd better drive a bit slowly."
"Don't worry."
Despite saying that, when they got on the interstate, the speed easily surpassed 120 mph.
Even at that speed, the engine's RPM didn't exceed four thousand, meaning there was still plenty of room to spare. But those with money have a common trait: they won't let themselves be in a very dangerous situation.
They were spotted as soon as they left Los Angeles. A bunch of curious onlookers wondered why they had never seen such flashy cars in the middle of the convoy.
William White was so satisfied that he placed an order for fifty vehicles directly. For a handcrafted workshop, these orders were quite substantial. He was very certain this car would sell like hotcakes, so expanding capacity became inevitable.
It was somewhat uninteresting; in his past life, he was most fond of sports cars. Now he could easily buy these toys, yet he hardly had the chance to drive them.
"Boss, give me one."
"Damn, after all that, I've only got one left."
"Didn't you have three?"
"Sigh, one was taken by George. Hurry up and grab yours; if you're late, there won't be any."
He didn't have many friends, and he didn't really want to refuse them, so he ended up with only one car.
Fortunately, the vehicle's design was finalized; although it was a handcrafted workshop, production was still possible.
...
DC, starting to shift, finally began recovering. It wouldn't take long before they surprised the world. Those old hands were thoroughly convinced and began executing his orders earnestly.
That's just how these old-timers were. If you couldn't convince them, they'd turn in half-hearted work. If they got upset, they'd likely jump ship.
The work at Atari was much more complicated, though it was all programming. It wasn't that easy to master, but thankfully, this project wasn't in a hurry. He had enough time for these guys to adapt.
Wall Street was actually a bit bewildered. They couldn't see any future in this project. In their eyes, what he had could just be a high-end computer or the latest laptop.
To them, the best field undoubtedly was personal PCs. They were quite certain that William White's technical ability wasn't lacking. If he made compatible machines, they wouldn't be much worse than Compaq.
William White certainly wanted to sell computers, but if he did so, who would use his software?
White Systems was originally software-oriented, and those adapter cards of his made quite a bit of money each year.
But, since Bill Gates saw the potential in software, how could William White do much worse? He should seriously make the most of what he had. In the future, if there was a chance, building a mobile device factory would be great. That's much better than computers.
American computer brands were almost entirely wiped out in the later years, but the few software companies remained unscathed. So why bother creating headaches for himself?
...
Looking at the photos brought by his subordinates, the CEO of Rolls-Royce was speechless.
Was it because we didn't sell you a car?
Sigh, this darn Phantom was simply too perfect. But why did it feel somewhat reminiscent of a Rolls-Royce?
When it comes to car lineage, well, don't say, it really was passed down. As for why it resembled a Rolls-Royce style, perhaps it was just the eccentricity of a certain billionaire.
Rolls-Royce was pondering whether to loosen restrictions. In the eyes of many wise folks, they were just a bunch of stubborn fools. People spend money to enjoy, not to be snubbed.
What's this about being unqualified?
Damn, having money qualifies, right?
Or do you have to check your title before buying a car?
Such simple reasoning still had to be debated repeatedly. The outcome was even funnier -- they decided to maintain the status quo.
Riding in a Rolls-Royce was a symbol of status; nouveau riche weren't suitable customers.
Ha, hearing this, William White almost rolled on the floor laughing. You aristocrats are really something. Haha, buddy here will make black cars the cheapest and silver ones the most expensive. Let's see what you fools have to say about that.
No wonder Iron Lady wanted privatization; with companies like these, they were bound to fail.
Now that luxury cars were in place, there were some troubles with supercars. Though one might not always need to drive that fast, a supercar was a supercar, and even if you kept it in the garage, it remained a supercar.
Speaking of which, with Aston Martin releasing a new model, Ferrari would probably be upset again. Their design was still in their minds, yet here someone went ahead and did it.
Alright, surpassing the F430 was much harder than the Phantom. Though Aston Martin's model wasn't bad, the brand had a bit of a grudge. Since Ferrari wouldn't sell to him, he needed to tinker around a bit.
William White's car factory wasn't taken seriously by the outside world, and Wall Street was particularly disdainful, thinking these two companies were clearly traps.
Alright, the rich buying toys for themselves isn't worth commenting on. Someone might spend over a hundred million on a yacht.
And they also mocked Rolls-Royce a bit. How could people who could afford such yachts not be qualified to buy a Rolls-Royce? Was this car reserved for royalty?
They deliberately ignored a fact. People were just saying the black bulletproof version wasn't available, not that they wouldn't sell cars at all.
This stubborn British attitude wasn't well-received in America. Most people were highly averse to such a hierarchical system. If you really were something, then don't bother doing business.
Regarding that so-called review department, it wasn't just William White who thought it was an insult; most of the American people did too. You're just a car company. Who exactly granted you such authority?
*****
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