Any manager who suggested such a thing today would be immediately sacrificed on the altar of "shareholder value".

Better to be the one setting the standard rather than waiting for a new standard to emerge and having to update your production line

Volvo hasn't been the same though. They are also involved in the dieselgate scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_emissions_scandal?wprov=sfla1, which is sad because after learning about their invention of three point seatbelt and pivot to building a reputation as being safe, they had to do cheat on emissions test.

This universe is not moving towards a resemblance of the one in Star Trek. We are too corrupt, too many of us are poisoned with greed and selfishness, outweighing the ones with good intent to achieve greatness and progress. The tree of humanity is rotting and nobody is cutting away the diseased parts. We will remain ugly until we're extinct, or we will heal and flourish again.

There's a similar story in paragliding, by leading designer Ozone discovering a breakthrough around 2010. The discovery was basically designing holes in the leading edge of the glider which would allow airflow through, making the structure more resistant to collapse. They didn't monopolize the discovery, and allowed all other manufacturers to use it as well. Always love these stories.

They made some profit before releasing it, just like Valve with Half-Life and Source engine. Absolute chads.