I've hesitated to write this, but after reading the editor's column in the current issue of Car and Driver, and reading all of the comments about the car's technology problems and intricacies - which seem to be about 90% of the posts - I just want to get this off my chest. I know most on here will disagree, some vehemently, but the closer I come to finally taking possession of the car, the greater the angst. So here goes:
Let me start by quoting a small part of the editor's column:
We need to start thinking again of the car as a sacred and contemplative space, a place to let the mind work, where your conscious brain is occupied with the task of not crashing, and your unconscious mind is free to roam. It ain't a mobile office, folks, it's a temple. The bolding and underlining is mine. The editor's main theme was that all the distractions in the car are making them more unsafe, not better.
Those members who have been on the forum for a while, know what my feelings are about all the technology that has been made part of the car. The safety improvements are certainly amazing, and I'm glad they have been done. However, I've never had to read a manual or watch a video to learn how to drive a new car. I've never had to read a manual or watch a video to be able to operate the audio system in a new car, etc., etc. As I've said before, technology WAS supposed to make life simpler, not more complicated. As the saying goes, just because something CAN be done, doesn't mean that it should be done. Whenever I've bought a new car, there was always the positive feeling of anticipation - and even exhilaration - in waiting for it. That feeling has been greatly dampened this time around, knowing that it will be like going to school before I can get comfortable in the car, and that I am anticipating running into the same problems that have already surfaced here. If you think that YOU are having problems trying to get things to work, just imagine what people like me are going to feel like, when all we want to do is drive off, and enjoy ourselves, DRIVING, and maybe listening to some music on a good system. Yes, you'll say I'm behind the times, and you'll be right. But there is something to be said about enjoying the simple things in life, without weighing them down so much with more and more. As an aside, you know that I recently took a two week trip with a friend of mine. Though it was tiring, it was also fun being able to drive places I hadn't been before. However, part of that trip was also aggravating, because my friend had to constantly be sending and receiving phone calls and text messages, interrupting our conversations and comments to each other, and even turning off music that sometimes was playing in the car. She just "had to stay connected." We were on vacation, for crying out loud, a time to "vacate your life," so to speak. In a way, I thought she had "crossed over to the dark side."
So, in case you couldn't get the message, this has been a lament about how the car is no longer a car. When I finally do get it, and I've driven it a while, I'll post my feelings about the likes and dislikes of how it is a
CAR, and hope that I don't have to pepper the write up(or novel, as Infiniti Chick will probably call it
), with rants about how it no longer was fun to drive because I was having to hassle with the technology.
Finally, try to pick up a copy of Car and Driver, and read the editor's column, headlined, "Ban 'Em." Though his main points aren't mine, he makes a lot of sense, IMO. Thank you for spending the time to read all of this. If you disagree, that's fine - just understand that I'm not the only one who feels this way. (AND I HOPE THAT BY THE TIME I GET THE CAR, THE MAIN PROBLEMS WILL BE WORKED OUT!
PLEASE!)
