IML: Help with "AutoPilot" homework

["Hugh & Therese" <hugtrees@xxxxxxxx>]

I received an e-mail today from a Dutch technical university student whose 
assignment was to describe the development of cruise control.  He found that 
it had been first introduced in the 1958 Imperial, and he ended up at the 
museum's web site where Mrs. Blueberry, "my" 58, has a rather large section 
devoted to it.

In reply I referred him to the Imperial club's web site and the two articles 
there that describe how the system works and an impression of how it felt 
when operated.  He was absolutely delighted to see the articles and thanked 
me very graciously.  He had done a web search of his own and had not come 
across them.  Isn't nice to be of such help to someone so far away?

Now, I guess I am passing on his thanks to whoever was involved in adding 
those articles.  I think I have one of them so one may have come from me but 
I actually don't think so and it's hardly the point.  What it got me to 
thinking was, and I have noticed this myself, how difficult it is to find 
the Online Imperial Club when doing web searches.  Now I know we all found 
it, or else we wouldn't be on this mailing list.  And I am also absolutely 
not launching a broad side against the site either.  It is truly amazing.  I 
think all I am doing is pointing out that somehow or other it does not rank 
very highly in most search engine results, or at least it seems that way to 
me.

For some reason, my museum's web site does.  I get e-mails from all over the 
place asking the most bizarre questions.  Maybe the webmonsters do as well 
and I, obviously, don't know about it.  I "borrowed" a great reply I once 
saw from Brad Hogg, a rather witty fellow who has come up with some of the 
best one liners I've ever seen on this list.  He said, in reply to one very 
weirdly unrelated question that came to the webmonsters while I was, very 
briefly, among that worthy group,  "May I just take a moment to ask you how 
it was you came to ask us this question?  The subject matter seems 
significantly distant from our intended purpose and we'd love to know what 
gave you the impression we might be able to help you."  (Brad phrased it 
better.)  The response is polite yet communicates the befuddlement the 
question has caused to the recipient.

So, one way or another, we, as a group, helped a lost individual to find his 
way to good information about a great Chrysler, and indeed, Imperial 
innovation.  I think that's pretty cool.  My car does not have AutoPilot, 
but I know one or two others on the list are so equipped.  The young man 
might enjoy hearing from you if your system still works after all these 
years.  I'd wager many people on the list might also be interested.  E-mail 
me off list and I'll give you his address.

Hugh
hugtrees@xxxxxxxx




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