Time management is the key of success of every successful persona and company. Some people manage to get the work done even after the time esteem. But what if the work in complete or incomplete state goes public prior to the time delivery? That’s certainly a disaster.
In the 1960s Japan already had a car to bear comparisons with the world-beating Porsche 911, only surrounded by cheap and cheerful Datsun Cherries no one in Europe was prepared to believe it.
Similarly more than a hundred years ago Ferdinand Porsche designed and built what today we would call a petrol-electric hybrid – although with fuel costing just pennies a gallon back then the average motorist could probably not see the point.
The sad truth is that some of the best technology has arrived on the scene long before most of us were ready for it, and the cars have failed to sell as a result. Sometimes it seems not to matter that much: Toyota has done OK even though hardly anyone bought its 2000GT, and after a bit of a false start in the 1990s Infiniti is now well into its stride.
At other times though these failures can inflict a fatal wound. Tucker, NSU and Lohner are long gone not because their innovations were no good, but because they were underappreciated at the time.
10- 1899 Lohner Porsche Mixte Hybrid
The world’s first hybrid used electric motors mounted in each wheel. Powered by a combination of batteries and a small generator, the car was good for a heady 37mph and when its creator quit the company his boss said of young Ferdinand Porsche “you will hear of him again”.
9- 1948 Tucker Torpedo
With integrated crash protection, all-independent suspension and a drag coefficient to equal Toyota’s Prius, Preston Tucker’s dream car was way ahead of America’s Big Three. Tucker was financially naïve, however, and paid the price. He was soon out of business with just 51 cars built, 49 of which have survived.
