Where's the Wowser?

Americans used to love American technology. In the '50 and '60s, the rollout of the new Detroit car models topped the news programs. We were excited to have a new car, or even to see one for the first time. They touched our fantasy life, as well as our family life, and we could hardly wait for what comes next. Americans mostly hate their cars now, settling for anything with a wheel on each corner that will get them down the road with regularity and reliability.

The last vestige of that old familiar feeling probably goes to boutique electric carmaker Tesla, whose slam-you-back-in-your-seat roadster arouses a tech-lust that few have the depth of pocket to indulge.

We build little of what we once did--cars, appliances, gadgets, ships, consumer electronics. We travel to the International Space Station in a 1970s model space shuttle--having gone from "live TV from the surface of the moon" to "your father's Oldsmobile" in a single generation. What little we do design and/or build doesn't stand out from our world competitors in any way that elicits the "Wowsers!" response.

The only US company that seems to consistently have the old magic is Apple Computer. The unveiling yesterday of their new tablet computer, the iPad, had all the sizzle you could want. Ever since the introduction of the first Macintosh during the Super Bowl in 1984, new Apple products have lit up the "Hot Donuts Now!" light in American brains. The Mac, the iPod and the iPhone were transformative technologies--not because they were the first of their kind, but because they were the first to get it right-- to combine function with usability, sleek design with smart, even hip, marketing. They make you want it--and heaven help me--I do.