On the Maryland Giant,
I'm the Fryman in the morning, and it's time for sports!
The Orioles continue to shoot skyward like a Saturn V.
Having locked up the pennant over a week ago,
last night in Municipal Stadium in front of over 19,000.
Excuse me, sir. Can I speak with one of your passengers?
Sure. Go ahead. Go in back.
I'll go back there now. Thanks.
Robert Kearns?
Dr. Kearns?
Yes?
Sir, your family's very concerned about you.
Why don't you come with us?
The Vice President asked me to come to Washington.
Yes, sir, we understand.
You should come with us.
I suppose I could.
Hmm.
I'll take that for you.
Be careful.
That's for my kids.
Don't you worry, sir. We'll take good care of it.
Scott, you and Louise want to come to our place for dinner tonight?
Well, what about the Pistons game?
No, I gave my tickets to my kids.
Prices where they are, you gotta be kidding.
Hiya, Bob.
- Hey. - How's the teaching going?
Oh, good.
How many Kearns kids are there now? 13?
- I can divine it. - Oh, you can divine it.
What Scott here divines is that the Knicks have two guys out
with ankle injuries, right, Bob?
Mmm. You talking about basketball?
Kearns, you probably mean that.
I do.
As I look out over this sea of familiar faces,
I see men from G.M., A.M.C.,
Ford, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge
all under one roof, as it should be.
And it brings to mind the apostles.
What was it that brought these very different men together as one?
Father Rooney was good today, huh? He was funny.
He was great. He really was.
Can I pinch you?
- No, dipshit. - Mom, make him stop calling me...
What did you just say?
Dipstick. It's an automotive term, Mom.
Well, say that one more time and I will have your chassis waxed.
Okay? That's an automotive term, too.
Look at this.
I turn this thing off, 10 seconds later, I can't see.
I can't see, either.
So you turn it back on,
and now the windshield's clean,
but the wipers are dragging.
- You hear that, that screeching? - Mmm-hmm.
- Yeah, I hear it, I hear it. - Yeah, it's annoying.
All right, so it's raining and I turn it back off.
But now I can barely see.
- I can't... I can't see anything, sweetie. - I can't, either.
- Sweetie, turn them on. - Right now, I can't see a thing.
If I don't turn this thing on right now, we'll hit somebody.
Turn it on, honey. Please.
Look at this!
Okay, that's not funny at all.
Whoa. All right. All right. All right.
Ten thousand engineers in Detroit,
you'd think they'd know how to design an automobile.
What are you doing?
Oh, I was thinking about how eyes work.
We blink about every four, six seconds, and there's this lachrymal fluid and...
Really?
Interesting.
And what are you thinking about?
I'm thinking we should make another kid.
- Gotcha. - Yeah.
Oh, that's good. You're funny.
I'm gonna be right back.
- Huh? Huh? - Yeah.
Spell "giant."
- G-I... - G-I-A-N-T. It's so easy.
Is your name Kathy? Is it your test? I don't think so.
It's Kathy's test. Kathy, what's the next one?
Puppy.
Puppy or science? Puppy's too easy. Do science.
- Hi, poop. - Okay. S-C-I-E-N-C-E.
Six minutes, you guys. Come on, let's really hustle.
S-C-I-E-N-C-E.
When is Calvin's sleepover?
- Friday. I have to call his mom. - Can I go...
"Police described the badly decomposed body..."
I don't think so today, sweetie. I don't know.
- "...as one of the most gruesome crimes..." - What time?
- What is that? - My current event.
I thought we agreed we weren't doing murders for a while.
Mom, what about after school?
- Honey, good morning. - Hey.
- You tired? - No, I'm fine.
What time did you come to bed?
I don't really know. Are you substituting today?
Yeah, fourth grade. Eat something.
No, no. I'll get something at school. That seems like a lot.
No, they called. It's at Pat's school,
and so I can pick them up after anyway.
- Well, who's gonna watch him? - And I'm gonna take him to the...
Don't worry about it. Eat something, honey.
Okay. Hey.
Bye, kids. All right?
- See you, Dad. - Bye, Dad.
- Don't use your wipers today.
Bob, what?
Yeah, I needed the motor.
Honey, what if it rains?
No, no. It's not gonna rain.
Good morning, everybody. I want to welcome you all
to the first day of the quarter for Applied Electrical Engineering.
My name is Dr. Robert Kearns
and I'd like to start by talking to you about ethics.
I can't think of a job or a career where the understanding of ethics
is more important than engineering.
Who designed the artificial aortic heart valve?
An engineer did that.
And who designed the gas chambers at Auschwitz?
An engineer did that, too.
One man was responsible for helping save tens of thousands of lives,
another man helped kill millions.
Now, I don't know what any of you are gonna end up doing in your lives,
but I can guarantee you that there will come a day
where you have a decision to make,
and it won't be as easy as deciding between a heart valve and a gas chamber.
Everything we do in this classroom
ultimately comes back to that notion. All right?
Grades count, too.
- Hi, Jerry. - Dr. Kearns.
I'm gonna make a donut run. Are you interested?
Mmm, you can't do it mechanically.
Can't do what?
That's the pause between wipes. That was my mistake.
Can't do it mechanically. You might be able to do it electronically.
Oh, probably. You want a donut?
No, thanks.
Okay.
Dennis, stop it. Timmy! Cut it out. Get over here.
Okay, Dennis, problem again?
To make it pause between sweeps.
Good. And solution?
- Well, I guess we could change the speed. - Yeah.
Yeah, except it would be the wrong approach and it wouldn't work.
What do I always say?
"Who farted?"
Besides that.
Uh, look for the unobvious.
Yeah. So you do listen. All right. Well, we're just looking
for a measured, consistent pause.
Like your eye, right there. See that?
The way it blinks away a tear?
And we could try a bimetallic timer
that responds to heat changes.
But then, of course, what do we do on a cold day?
Put the ball down. Sit down here.
I want you to put this together.
I want you to solder this, all right? Dennis, help him out. Get over here.
Here we go. Here we go. We got Team Kearns here!
Yeah, this is hot, this is hot. So, careful, all right?
That's got a transistor and a capacitor, and resistors in there.
That's as simple as I can get it. That's when you get real beauty.
When less is more.
Will it work?
It works up here perfectly.
We got resistors, each one rated at a different tolerance.
And each one should work in a wiper motor. Where are the meter cords?
Uh, just over there.
Of course, there's a thousand different combinations.
Our job is to find the one that works.
And there is one that'll work in theory.
You know, Marconi spent seven years trying to perfect the radio.
Timmy, stop with the ball, please!
Well, what do you know about that?
One, two, three, now!
- Wow! - One, two...
Honey, it's so great. It really works.
Two, three, now!
That's it, it's going.
It's alive!
It moves!
It pauses!
It's alive! Alive! Alive! Alive!
What do you think?
Let's go out and celebrate in real style.
- Really? - Yeah.
I'm gonna buy a diamond ring.
- Thank you, Peggy. - You're only six.
- You got a little ways to go, sweetie. - I got the burger, right?
Can I have some more Pepsi?
Uh, me, too, please.
Sure, if your parents say it's okay.
- All right this time. - Did you get a pickle?
You know why I wanted so many kids?
Because I had six in my family and you loved my family?
True. I missed that growing up.
I think you're all caught up.
- Hey. Hey. Listen up! - Look at him. Look.
There's 20 million cars built in this country every year,
and every one of them is gonna need our wiper.
- Wow! - Huh?
And guess who's gonna manufacture those.
Who, Dad?
Us.
We are?
Yeah, we are. In fact, here you go.
I want to toast to the Kearns Corporation right here
and its board of directors.
Lou Galin's two weeks late on that glass shipment.
What do you want me to do?
Well, why don't you give him a call? He's your buddy.
- Did you pay him? - Yeah. Half.
I'll call him.
Well, that's the damnedest thing.
Yeah.
Get this, it's also possible to build a timing control into the wiper column
so that you could adjust the time between movements.
Well, why?
Well, because it obviously rains at different intensity levels.
- Yeah. - Right.
That's part of the whole idea.
What do you want to do with it?
Well, Bob wants to manufacture it.
So from our end, we just put up the dough for the patents,
research and development, all of which goes through Kearns,
and we also seed the money for manufacturing.
And I could be ready to go very soon.
Yeah, it's a pretty simple deal. The fact is,
if we can nail a quarter of cars in America at, what, 50 bucks a pop?
Think about it.
Just curious, do you have any manufacturing experience, Mr. Kearns?
Inventing, with all due respect, is one thing, but building is...
Well, Bob's background's in engineering, so I don't see how...
Gil, Gil, let Bob talk, for Christ's sake.
- Right, right. Bob? - Yeah, um...
Well, no actual experience, no, not yet.
But, uh... Look, I know I'm not your ordinary businessman.
I don't have an MBA, but...
No apologies, Bob. You're doing great.
We'll hold his hand the whole time.
It's not gonna be a problem. Yeah, it's a bet.
But so was the kidney machine that keeps Dad alive.
Barely alive. What are you gonna call it?
The Kearns Blinking Eye Wiper.
Yeah. Well, I'm not sure about the name.
You look sensational, hon.
Thanks.
You're a little nervous, huh?
Aren't you?
No.
- Welcome, ma'am. - Thanks.
Welcome, sir.
Sir? Here you go.
Funny, we've never been inside here before.
Oh, yeah. I never thought about it.
Well, start thinking about it.
I want to be able to take you to more places like this.
Okay.
No, really. This is a big deal. Start of a new life.
You gonna quit teaching?
You think I should?
I think you should take it a step at a time.
Oh, so you're saying it's not gonna last.
No! I'm saying I'll love you either way.
Which is French for "be prepared to fail."
- Robert! - No.
I just want to do something important.
You will.
Will you love me more if I do?
No. I'll love you more if you're rich.
I married a gold digger. What do you know about that?
Oh, I just... They're driving me crazy.
They don't want to go to the rec center anymore,
and at least when school starts, that takes care of four of them.
And then we've just got the two little ones at home,
but we have fun.
Well, ours are up at Harbor Springs. They just love it up there.
Oh, I bet! But you don't go with them?
Well, that's the problem. It's just hard to find time to get away.
Right, Bob? They think it's like summer camp up there.
I don't even think they notice we're not there.
Mmm.
Do you see Robert's eye? Yeah, is that bothering you?
- No. - Do you know the story of Robert's eye?
- Oh, Phyll, Phyll, forget it. - The story of our wedding night?
It's such a funny story, honey!
So, it's our wedding night,
and I'm getting ready in the bathroom
and putting on my little negligee.
Okay, okay, okay!
And Robert's in the next room, opening a bottle of champagne.
Well, I'd never opened one before.
Figures. Bob had never opened a bottle of champagne before his wedding night.
So I had it down between my legs, and I look down and, pow!
Cork goes off right in my eye,
and I fall back on the sheets. I was bleeding.
I come out and start screaming.
- Screaming bloody murder, Phyllis. - I don't know what's happened.
But it all turned out okay
and he made it up to me later.
Hey, hey!
Good evening, everyone. My name is Joe Warwick,
and I'm the guy who leaned on you to come out tonight.
And I'm glad I did.
I want you to give yourselves a big hand, because tonight,
we raised $11,000 for the Children's Hospital.
Now, let's do some more dancing to the sound of the Telegraph Five!
- Hey, let's dance. - No.
- It's okay, it's okay, come on. - No, Phyllis. Phyllis.
Come on.
Hey. Say, Bob. Phyllis, you look lovely.
Would you mind if Gil and I dragged Bob outside for some business chat?
Where we can hear ourselves think.
Go on.
We've got some real interesting news for you.
Paul, when are they gonna fix that seventeenth green?
I'm tired of playing on that temporary green.
I'm on it, I'm on it. I took it to the board. It'll get taken care of.
Bob, you don't play golf, do you?
Uh, no, no.
So, Bob, we got some really good feedback on the feelers
we put out for the Blinking Eye.
Yeah, it turns out the concept isn't as unique as we first thought.
The Big Three have assigned their windshield wiper teams
to come up with an intermittent wiper.
That's what they call it. The Intermittent Wiper.
I'll be damned.
No, it's fine. More than anything, now we know there's a demand for it.
Until now, your wiper seemed like a clever gadget.
But they want it. And more importantly, they haven't cracked it yet.
Mercury's been working on one for over a year and they still haven't beaten it.
So we want to set up a demonstration.
Now, Ford is very interested in seeing what we have.
Ford?
You didn't mention anything about...
Are you ready?
Wow, Ford. Wow.
I don't know. I mean, it needs some more work.
More consistency.
I can assure you we won't sell it if we don't show it.
Yeah, but should we be showing them ours if they're already working on their own version?
Well, that's up to you.
But maybe it's a good reason to show it sooner than later.
I don't know, Gil.
Kearns, I'd hate to see you if you got bad news.
We're not gonna let anybody take it apart,
especially after the money we've put into the patents.
We'll just give them a peek. Cat stays in the bag.
Now, Paul's real excited about this.
In fact, I haven't seen him quite like that in a long time.
Well, I got a lot to do.
No, I know, know. By the way, this is yours.
Mine?
For now. No more aquariums, Bob.
Just throw the unit in here and take it to Ford.
Sal!
Sal here'll help you put it in.
Just tell us what you want, Mr. Kearns.
Okay.
He'll be here.
We're very busy here, Mr. Previck.
- This is him, yeah? - Yeah.
- Hiya, Bob. - Hey, Gil.
Frank Sertin, Vice President of Research and Development,
meet Bob Kearns,
the inventor of the Intermittent Windshield Wiper.
Oh, we'll see. We'll see.
- It's a real pleasure. - Good. Thank you.
All right, Bob, let's see what you got.
- All right. - And, Bob!
We want you to do it with the engine running.
We've found that the heat can play havoc with some of the systems we've tried.
Right now?
Right now.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Where... Where's he going?
Bob's real big on security.
Okay.
Okay, Bob! Come on, let her rip!
- What's going on? - I don't know.
Okay.
Bob?
I don't know.
Okay.
- Bob! - Yeah?
Oh, here! It's a fuse.
- It's the fuse. - It's a fuse!
Yeah, we're good.
It'll do that all day, engine running or not.
Well, that is...
That's good.
We call this "variable speed."
Variable speed.
"Variable dwell."
That is very impressive.
Gil, how about giving us a little look under the hood, huh?
Sorry, Frank, we can't do that.
He's not doing that manually, is he?
Bob? Bob!
Uh, would you get out of the car?
They think you might be manipulating the controls.
Well, I am.
That is very good, Bob.
That is very, very good.
I think we should get you a copy of our specs.
But I can tell you this, though. At a minimum, at a minimum,
it's gonna have to run a million and a half cycles
under real-time conditions.
And operate... Uh, excuse me.
What's the maximum temperature under the hood?
- It's, uh... - Two hundred and seventy degrees.
Mmm-hmm.
If it operates in the field like it did here...
Where'd you get your degree?
Uh, Case Western.
I'm gonna look under the hood.
Sorry, we'd rather not.
It's nothing against Ford, sir. I've admired the company my whole life.
No problem.
But I'll get to work right away, just as soon as I get the specs.
Okay, good, good.
Listen, I know that we are gonna be in touch with you.
- Yes, sir. - Very good. Gil.
Frank.
Dr. Kearns? Case Western.
That's a... That's a good school.
Get out of the car. Get out of the car.
You did a hell of a job, pal.
Hell of a job.
Thank you.
I'll see you.
Well, there's a difference between
a good idea and a good product.
I've had a lot of good ideas.
Just nothing that's quite clicked, you know?
It makes you wonder what it is makes a man successful.
Brains?
Talent?
Of course, there's a lot of unsuccessful talents running around out there.
Maybe this is the one.
Maybe this'll get you where you want to be, you know?
Yeah.
But I don't know. I look at you and I look at us and I just think
you're a success. Don't you feel that way?
Maybe it's some other thing.
Like luck, timing.
Some intangible thing like that.
It haunts me a little.
I'm gonna get some more tea. Do you want anything?
- No, I'm good. - No? Okay.
I explained it to her, and then she just, like...
Patrick, come on with that paper!
I'm good, I got it!
Okay, it's Tuesday, "Cold, clear and sunny.
"Wednesday, clear and warmer."
- Hey, hey, hey. - Hey, give it back!
Let him have it.
Okay, "Thursday, clear.
"Friday, partly cloudy and colder, and a clearing on Sunday."
Well, we need some rain.
Maybe instead of grace, we should say a prayer, Dad.
- Didn't we just say grace already? - Yeah.
No, no, that's okay. That's okay. Let's do that. Come on.
Let's do a little prayer here, huh?
When you say a prayer, you're supposed to fold your hands.
Dear God, thank you for all the sunshine you've been sending.
We know in your infinite wisdom,
you managed to create the elasticity of rain water different than tap.
If you could see it in your good graces
to, you know, send us some rain
so that we can test the Blinking Eye in real-life conditions,
we'd appreciate it. Amen.
Amen.
Do you think he heard you, Daddy?
My luck, he's a G.M. man.
Go, go, go!
Careful! Dennis, in the back! Maureen, be careful!
And it's working, too. Watch that, watch that.
I can adjust the speed, too. I can adjust it.
- Look at that. - Yeah.
- Perfect. - That was awesome.
Hey, hey, hey! Hey, you see that car across the street?
Oh, yeah.
Look at the driver. He's staring right at us.
He thinks I'm turning the wiper on and off here.
You think he can tell?
Look at this. No, no! Look here.
Look at that, mister. No hands! He's wondering what the heck's going on!
How's he doing that?
- No hands. - Hi.
How the heck are they doing that?
We got ourselves a winner here, I'd say.
Ford Motor Company. How can I help you?
What's the deal?
Well, he's got it, and it really seems to work.
And you've gone through it completely?
As close as we could from a distance.
He hasn't actually let us do any surgery.
Why not?
He's nervous about people getting too close.
Mack, he is a particular kinda guy.
Well, whatever. We gotta get this puppy moving.
The marketing department's all over me. They think they can sell the shit out of it.
What's he want?
To build it.
He wants to manufacture it? Himself?
Apparently, that's his dream, yeah.
Okay, well, we'll deal with that later.
Right now we need to get him on board.
Okay.
Come on in, guys. Bob, Dick Gordon.
- There you go. - Nice to see you again.
Gil, nice to see you again.
You, too, Macklin.
This is Dr. Bob Kearns.
Bob Kearns, winner of the wiper competition. Congrats.
Bob, I've been going over the reports on your Intermittent. It looks like you cracked it.
Have you worked up a unit price yet?
No. Not yet. I'm hoping to...
Good. And you do want to manufacture it?
Yes, sir. I want to come through for Ford.
And we like that. So let's get a unit price, then.
Frank, have you sent a working unit to Washington?
No, Mack, we haven't. Bob's... He's not comfortable with that.
Really?
Now, Bob, you do understand this is a safety device.
And before we can install any safety device on any of our cars,
we have to submit it to Washington for approval.
And that means we're gonna need a working unit from you.
I understand that. And I understand I'll need your cars for my wipers.
But I thought that, uh, if we had a...
We like to work closely with our people, Bob.
That's... That's the deal.
Nothing else would make sense. I'm sure Gil will tell you that
we have a very close relationship with Previck Automotive.
Bob knows that. That's why we came here first.
He's right, though, Bob. It does need to be approved.
We're interested in offering the Intermittent as an option on at least
one model next year. From there, our plan is to expand it to the entire line.
Now, that means we're working under a serious deadline.
So we're gonna need a unit from you as fast as possible.
Okay. Yeah, I can do that.
Great.
Let's get started on the legal right away.
- Right, gentlemen? - Absolutely.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
I'll get my demo and research over to Mr. Sertin.
Excellent. This is what it's all about, Bob. Corporate "can do."
How about that?
Now, remember. There's a right way and a wrong way to do this, okay?
Whatever you do, don't let them think that it's perfect.
But what if it is?
Hey, listen to your father now.
Here, you wanna take him? No, I'm serious about this.
Be very careful what you say, okay?
The moment they think they got a sucker in the line, you're dead.
Here he comes.
Just everybody take it easy. Let him come to us a little bit, okay?
We'll be fine. Let me do the talking.
What's new about that?
Hey! No back talk. Come here.
- Michael? - Hi.
- How are you? Bob Kearns. - Nice to meet you, Bob.
How big is it?
Thirty thousand square feet.
Structurally, this is as sound as any building you'll find in Detroit.
The loading ramps are more than ample for any job you may have.
Sure looks like it needs a lot of work.
We're concerned about the price. Is it the best you can do?
Well, we can probably work out an eight cents per foot improvement, Mrs. Kearns.
- What do you think, guys? - How much is it?
Fifty cents a square foot.
No.
No, we were figuring on a lot less than that.
I think the owners might come down a bit.
- Well, we'll have to think about it. - Hey!
You hear that echo? This place is solid!
It's perfect, Michael. Absolutely perfect! I love it.
It's such a simple idea.
I'm amazed no one's cracked it before. Where did you do your research?
My basement.
So, these S.D.25s are fixed costs?
Yes, we can do a discount after 400,000 units.
I assume you'll put the Ford contracts up against costs. They're backing it, right?
Oh, yeah. We're down the road on all that. My biggest concern is
that you'll be able to provide us with
the necessary transistors and circuits that we need.
Mr. Kearns, Motorola is the biggest electronics manufacturer in the world.
I think if we can supply the Pentagon, we can supply you.
- The who? - The...
That's a good one.
- Hiya, Bob. - Hi.
The gentleman at Motorola put me in touch with their finance department.
Yeah. Yeah. Bob?
No, I'm serious about this. We should talk about cash flows...
- Want me to take your order? - Yes.
Actually, do you mind giving us a second?
- Sure. - Thanks, hon.
Sorry, I'm starving.
They want out, Bob.
- Who wants out? - Ford.
What?
They're just not interested anymore.
Wait, wait, what... What do you mean? Well... What happened?
I'm not sure.
Well, who did you talk to?
- Tyler. Yeah. - Macklin?
What did he say exactly?
Like I said, they want out.
Out?
They're not ready yet, and they're not gonna make a move until they are.
They gave me a line like, you know, "It's not the Ford style."
Out, or ready, Gil? Which one is it?
Hang on a second. I'm in this, too.
They have the unit.
- We'll get it back. - When?
I don't know.
I closed on the operating loan.
Well, don't forget, I thought you should slow down on that.
They're loading in transistors.
We're gonna figure this out. All we gotta do is take it to another...
Bullshit.
Listen. Chrysler, A.M.C., G. M...
My kids. It's my kids.
Ford was our best bet. We both know that. But we're not done.
Okay, but they... They strung us along, and they looked at my work.
I know.
We had a deal.
I think they might be negotiating here, Gil.
No. They're not.
- You sure? Because I haven't... - Yeah.
It's dead there, Bob.
My God.
All the boxes are going in the cage until you know where they go!
Professor Kearns. Find what you want?
Yes, Louis, thanks.
"State Highway System: History and Facts."
This for one of your classes?
No, I'm just doing some work for the state, analyzing pavement erosion.
Nothing too exciting.
Yeah, but they're paying you to come up with stuff.
Sounds pretty good to me. You know, I'm sort of a amateur idea man myself.
A few of us even have an inventors' club.
Maybe I can call you sometime, ask you some questions.
Absolutely.
Hey, you guys are late. Take it around the back entrance.
Have your invitations out and ready, please.
Hey, folks, welcome to Ford.
- Got your invitation, sir? - Yeah. Right here.
There are tons of options.
Excuse me, sir. Please don't touch the car.
It comes with Select Air air conditioning in all the models,
and many options are available.
What about the tires?
Oh, beautiful Magnum 500 wheels...
# Go, go, go, go!
# Come on and fly with me
# Go, go, go, go!
# And take a drive with me
# Go, go, go, go!
# And try a Ford with me # Don't stop! Don't stop!
# Go, go, go, go!
# Our Fords are bright tonight
# Go, go, go, go!
# They're outta sight tonight
# Go, go, go, go!
# They're really right tonight # Don't stop! Don't stop!
# Go, go, go, go, go!
Ladies and gentlemen, members of the Ford family.
Introducing the new, the redesigned, the finest
Ford Mustang in the history of the Ford Motor Company.
With more options than ever before.
Stereo, rear window defroster
and the brand-new electronic Intermittent Windshield Wiper. Let's give it a hand!
Ladies and gentlemen, have you seen anything that's sexier than that?
And I'm talking about the car now, not the Mustang girls,
who, by the way, know these automobiles inside out.
Don't hesitate to ask them any questions you have, and remember,
in the main auditorium we have all of next year's exciting buys!
Excuse me, sir. Could I see your invitation?
Uh, I'm with, uh, Mr. Tyler.
Why don't we talk about it outside?
No, I'm with Mr...
Mr. Tyler!
Sir, please. Right this way.
Mr. Tyler!
Right this way, sir.
Sir, outside. Thank you.
Okay. Easy.
- Step outside. - Easy!
Their story is that they went with another design,
one they had in the works before ours.
- Yeah, and that's... - Or yours.
...just what it is. It's a story.
It's a goddamn lie.
Come on.
No, no, I took apart one of their motors, Gil.
You know what I found inside? Transistors, capacitors, variable resistors.
Now, that is my design!
What about the patents? Aren't they worth anything?
Legally, they're Previck's patents.
What is that supposed to mean?
Nothing. It's a technical term.
Barney's putting together another letter. It's tougher.
You can take a look at it once it's drafted.
Another letter?
A letter? Gil, they stole this from us!
Whoa! Let's be careful with our language.
Let's not use words like "steal."
Who the hell is this guy? Huh?
Bob...
Who the hell are you? What's your angle?
Bob! We gotta be really strategic about this. Methodical.
And whatever you say reflects on all of us.
So we're gonna fight it, but we're gonna do it the right way.
How long is it gonna take to get an answer?
First, this is Ford. It won't be quick.
Second, patents. Christ, they're a minefield.
Not to mention, the patent courts are totally jammed.
It's gonna take some time.
Well, whatever it takes. The point is, this is all gonna be okay.
Good. And in the meantime, let's go a little softer on the language.
So, a lot of these formulas work in opposition with one another.
So that a capacitive reactance,
uh, varies inversely with the product
of both...
Uh, frequency?
Yeah. Did I call on you?
Sorry.
Frequency, yes. And capacitance. Make a note of it.
I'm gonna take a quick break.
Mr. Previck would appreciate your patience in this matter.
Yes, well, I'd appreciate it if Mr. Previck could return my phone call.
- Who is it? - It's Mr. Kearns.
Come in, Mr. Kearns.
- Oh, hi, Wade. - Hi.
Wade, did you ask who it was?
He did, Jean. Hi.
Hi. Bob! What's going on?
Uh, is Gil here?
It's not really a great time right now. You should have called.
Jean, hon, do you mind getting me a refill?
Sure, hon.
Thanks, hon. I'll just be a second.
Okay.
- I'm sorry. I... - Hang on a second.
I thought we were gonna stay in communication here, so...
Don't you think it's a little outta line, you coming over like this?
Okay, well, you haven't returned my calls in six days.
I'm not sure I like your tone.
I'm through waiting. I'm not gonna sit around and do nothing.
You're not doing nothing.
You called the lawyer, you pulled Taylor out of a mock trial.
You're on everybody.
You even called my father, for crying out loud. He's sick!
Tell me one thing. Are you backing out of this?
What I'm doing is looking at our options
like any sensible person would.
Of course they're stonewalling us. What do you expect?
So then we take them to court!
Is that right?
This is Detroit, Bob. I did $17 million in business last year.
You want to guess what I'm gonna do next year
if I start taking my customers to court?
This is not about money. This is about right and wrong, and you know it.
For Christ's sake, you're my friend!
That's right. I am.
Did you ask to be involved in this deal?
You need some perspective.
You need to take a hard look at reality and realize what we're up against.
It's not your only good idea.
You've been coming up with stuff like this since you were 14.
Now, I need to get back to my dinner, so we'll continue this later.
I'll go it alone.
No. Leave it alone. Bob?
It's not over yet.
I'm not gonna back off of this.
We don't have the money to bring in lawyers right now,
so we're gonna have to do the legwork ourselves, and then...
Are you talking about suing Gil Previck?
No. No, we're gonna go after the Ford Motor Company.
- They're the ones that screwed us. - What?
Gil just let me down.
Robert, slow down. We're...
No, no, we're gonna have to dig up everything
that's ever been written about me. Okay?
Character stuff, everything.
This is my number one priority, Phyllis. Whatever it's gonna take.
Josh, I'm gonna need at least 10 new wiper motors.
And some of the earlier versions, too.
Sure, Professor. Not a problem.
Good. And circuit boards.
Yeah, they just trash the test models anyway.
All right, um, where are we gonna do this?
I'll meet you at the first lab on the second floor.
Okay.
Where's the itemization file?
All the files are in here, hon.
You should see a doctor.
Oh, I'm fine. Let's keep going.
Previck Automotive Legal Affairs.
Something to bring their attention that various automotive manufacturers
are considering using electronic intermittent wiper...
I don't have it yet.
Considering using electronic intermittent wiper control...
- Do you want to list who? - Yes.
And that these are in direct violation of patents jointly held
by both Previck and Kearns Corporation.
As the inventor of the Intermittent Wiper, I ask, no...
I demand that they take immediate legal action.
"Demand" is too strong. They're our friends.
What difference does it make?
They're not gonna read it anyway.
Then why are we doing this?
Because it makes me feel better.
Does it?
What is this file? What is this?
Kathy won it in the swim meet. She wanted you to see it.
This is a bad case of psoriasis.
Now, Phyllis, I want you to take care of yourself. Use the medication.
- Here's the sample. - Thanks.
And I'm going to write you a prescription.
How long do I take that for?
Well, just a month.
I don't know what's going on with you, Phyllis, but this is all stress-related.
You understand me? You have to take the stress level way down.
I'll be fine.
- Hello, Jean. - Phyllis.
- How are the kids? - Good.
Phyllis.
Why is Bob doing this?
He can't stand being called a liar.
Well, nobody's saying that he is.
They might as well be.
Oh, for God's sake, Phyllis, it's Ford. He can't win.
Take care, Jean.
Oh! God!
Yeah. Med school gives them to us.
We use them for crash tests.
You should see it when we drop them down elevator shafts.
It's very instructive.
I'll try that sometime. Did you get the boards?
What the hell is this?
I know, it's just motors. I couldn't get any circuit boards.
Why not?
They didn't have any extras. Didn't have any complete units. I don't know.
These are nothing.
Hey, man, this is the best I could do.
This doesn't help me, Josh!
I'm sorry.
What does that mean?
Wait a minute.
Did somebody talk to you?
Did you have a conversation about me?
What?
Are you working with them?
Huh? You even know who they are?
Man, I gotta go.
They're the...
They're the ones who don't give a shit about you!
Hey! Hey!
Come on!
What the hell are you doing? Hey! Hey!
Look at this lady. She had five babies at the same time.
That's quintuplets, that's what they're called.
Hello.
Is this Mrs. Robert Kearns?
Yes.
Mrs. Kearns, this is Trooper Dale with the Maryland State Police Department.
Yes.
We've located your husband, ma'am.
Is he okay?
Well, he was found on a bus outside of Brunswick.
A bus? Where is he? May I speak to him, please?
Uh, no, ma'am, he's not here.
He's being transported to a hospital facility in Rockville.
What happened?
Sorry, I don't know exactly, but you'll hear from the hospital when he arrives.
Will you be at this number?
Yes, we'll be here. Thank you so much.
Thank you, Mrs. Kearns.
- Thank you. - Bye.