The term “software-defined vehicle” has only come into vogue during the past half decade, but the concept’s underpinnings go back half a century to 1970, which could be called a big-bang point for the auto industry. That was the year the first wave of modern safety and emissions regulations started to come into force. Almost simultaneously, a new technology, the microprocessor, was born, and the modern era of automotive engineering was underway.
While early efforts to meet those regulations relied heavily on mechanical means, such as vacuum controls and tricks like “lean burn” and Honda’s Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion, those approaches hit their
