REGULATORY GEOGRAPHY

Borders are usually imagined as lines on maps. They also exist inside products.

The same automobile can take on different forms depending on the regulatory system for which it was designed. Rear lighting offers one of the clearest examples. North American regulations permit either red or amber rear turn signals, while European regulations require amber. The difference is subtle enough that most drivers never notice it, yet consistent enough to reveal the market for which a vehicle was built.

The Chevrolet Blazer illustrates the phenomenon particularly clearly. Sold in North America, it carried red rear indicators. Exported to Europe, it received amber lighting to comply with European standards. The Blazer has long since disappeared from production, but the same pattern continues across today's global automotive industry.

Globalization did not produce identical products. It produced products that quietly adapt to the territories through which they move. Political borders remain visible, not only at customs checkpoints or on maps, but in the objects themselves.