GOODBYE VII...

So that's the end of VII, then. Not the program itself of course (although Paul Brubaker's resignation from the DOT today, although hardly unexpected, may alter its course a tad) but the name VII. It's been consigned to history, folks. As of now it has a new name. Intellidrive.

I'm meeting Valerie Briggs tomorrow to discuss all kinds of things, this being one of them, but the change of name has been, along with next week's presidential inauguration, been the talk of TRB, you won't be surprised to hear. But, it has to be said, the reaction has been mixed.

A selection of my favourite comments so far have been...

"It sounds like the automatic transmission for a 1950s Buick."
"It made me think of an electronic screwdriver that knows what type of screw you are screwing in so can instantly adapt the head to fit."
"It's the name of Australia's leading foot spa."
"I love it, VII was too nondescript. This is more... descript."

Shelley Row's husband had once confused VII with 511 and it was thought that VII was too ambiguous and indeed nebulous and needed too much explanation. It appears that the a team of branding experts were brought in to give it a more appropriate name and it now has the epithet - "smarter, safer, greener". You can't argue with its sentiments but I'm not too sure of the new name... I just can't help thinking of the smart screw driver (OK, I admit, that was mine). I'll report back tomorrow once I've spoken to Valerie. Let's not get too excited, though as it's just a different name for the same thing, after all..

KB, TRB, DC