adminOver the years automotive technology has evolved so much and has seen cars running more efficiently, lately however it seems manufacturers have run out of ways to improve cars and they can only improve the cars in a way that will eventually create stupid drivers, so me thinks…
There are many useful features that you find in modern cars. One of the features is the head movement and eye monitoring gadgets. They help increase the safety of passengers and other road users.
By some funny trickery they do detect when the driver is falling asleep and systematically the car slows down and beeps to awaken the driver. Plenty others include, ABS, TRC (traction control), VSC (vehicle stability control) you name them. That is all some cool stuff but please do tell me how the following helps humankind…apart from aiding their unintelligence.
Handbrake button
Any car should at least make my driving experience an occasion, call me old school but I actually like the idea of pulling a handbrake and making sure that indeed the handbrake is engaged and the car will by no way slide back or forth. In the event that I do meet some unforeseen road challenge, I also like the idea of a handbrake turn or pulling emergency brakes to bring car to a stop or a quick turn. Imagine this, you park nicely then instead of pulling up the hand brake, you press the Brake button…yes a button like you switching on your hazards… like who in this world was clever enough to think of that? What fun is there in pressing a parking brake button? So much effort is going into making cars do everything and people just become lazier. Oftentimes when this technology fails, it proves disastrous.
Keyless entry
Another piece of technology that bothers me is keyless entry and keyless start. I like the idea of moving with the times but I do not like problematic technology. It’s cool to just press a button and the car roars to life. It gives one some 21st century James Bond movie fictional sense that sparks a supreme mental sensation.
These keys seem to be a problem because they have computer chips inside, they use batteries and they are made of plastic!
With Older cars, one can easily get a spare key cut for a dollar and that will solve all their problems. With these remote keys, it’s not that easy, but the key can easily cost over one hundred dollars then getting the key programmed to work on your car will cost more or less the same amount. That is not all, imagine this, you have travelled to your rural area and for some odd reason the remote key stops working…what you do? Nothing you can do without that key transmitting a signal! Now you decide. Is this technology worth the African heat?
Back in the day driving was all human input, you had to know how to drive or you will find or you would find yourself in tricky situations failing to drive. Nowadays, there are all kinds of aids to help driver. Those that cannot drive will boast of skills they do not really possess because the cars will do everything for them. It started with the influx of automatic transmissions, to date, if some people are asked to drive cars with manual transmissions and no funny aids, they will fail dismally. Why, because modern cars are built in such a way to promote drivers with less skill and having them believe that they know what they doing.
Park assist
This feature must really take the cup on my list. If a person cannot drive, they should use public transport or hire a chauffeur for the good of everyone else and themselves.
It’s like a maths exam that’s set with answers for the benefit of those not so good with their algebra – it just doesn’t work. This feature has been designed in such a way that a driver will leave their car in parallel parking position and the car will do the rest…like what happened to taking challenge head on and learning the hard things and actually mastering them.
Hill start assist
If you are not able to do a ‘hill start’, you will never get a driver’s licence in Zimbabwe. That said, it is a crucial skill for one to attain a driver’s licence. With the way cars are being build these days, in the near future it might be done away with because cars will naturally not roll back because of Hill start Assist.
New technologies are being invented everyday and Google is busy trying to perfect that driverless car of theirs. Very soon it’s going to be perfect and cars will indeed drive themselves.
I wish I could go back in time, when cars actually used to be cars and made to be driven and enjoyed by people.
Do not get me wrong, technology is good but how good is it if it makes us too dependent on it?
Till Next time – Happy Motoring!
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