adminContinuing with our issue from last week on how technology is making people more dependent on it than actually making them clever, we will look at more technological advancements that completely ignite my abhorrence for modern cars and seem useless in many ways and only useful in creating a stupid generation.
The rain sensing wipers or windscreen; I find this one fascinating; I tend to believe that God created the human brain with a certain level of intelligence that cannot be done away with. I tend to believe that the old wiper switch on the side of the steering wheel is close enough for reach should the windscreen be misty enough or when it starts raining. However, alas, car manufacturers tend to think that humans are dumb enough to need the car to think for them when the windscreen needs a wipe. James May wants said that car manufacturers shouldn’t insult our intelligence with useless gadgets and give us what we really want, how about a rubbish bin for a start?
The same goes for the headlights switch which is almost always on the opposite side of the wiper switch. Common sense tells me that one cannot drive in the dark and it’s not that much effort to lift a finger and switch on the lights. Car manufacturers now have an Obama “Yes we Can” attitude and keep inventing ingenious ways to make people very unintelligent and dependent on stupid technology programmed into complex computer chips. The worst part about modern technology is that, when things go wrong, they really go wrong. So many small parts go into the making of the cars and all these small parts cost big money to replace when they die out.
It’s not all bad with all this automatic headlight technology though, some modern cars have the ability to dim the headlights the moment they sense oncoming traffic. This saves a lot of the good drivers from the rude type that dazzles others on the highway. Perhaps this technology is also saving good people from the stupid ones by making the stupid ones more stupid.
What happened to the manual transmission? This right here gets me, the issue of lesser and lesser manual transmission cars available. I am a fan of the R34 GTR Nissan Skyline and as old as it is, I’d still want one even today. I would choose it over the R35. The R35 is the predecessor and the more modern one. A lot of work went into its design and a lot of expensive technology has been put into it. They had to, because the Porsche 911 was its competition.
But Still, I would choose the R34 for one simple reason. With the R34 you get an option of a 6 speed getrag manual transmission which you do not get with the R35. Why would I want to buy a sports car with automatic transmission? I am a bit old school yes and want to be in control of a car not the other way round. It is apparent therefore that car manufacturers are slowly but surely drifting into a futuristic mood where the entire driver does is seat in front of the steering while the car does everything that is boring!
Footbrake for a handbrake…many newer cars from the late nineties and early 2000s have this footbrake that you have to step on to engage the parking brake. I really do not know what to think about it but it annoys me more than a mosquito in the dark. Humans are almost always programmed to pull something in the event of a emergency or even every time the cars stops.
I am trying to think of a situation where the brain cells rush to make a person step on the footbrake. I guess with a lot practice and getting used to, it can be done but it’s just not normal it’s like being right handed and trying to eat with your left hand – it’s just a bit of a hassle.
Electric seats on the other hand are cool to have. Luxury sedans have these. Mercedes Benz goes a bit further with their electronic headrests, steering column etc. How lazy can one be that they need the seat to be electronic? Being rich eventually becomes a pass to being lazy it seems and just like electronic windows, when that motor dies, you cannot move the seat back and forth until you replace it. Unfortunately that costs money too.
With all this social media integration into cars, very soon cars will also start updating their statuses on Facebook like Humans are just too lazy!
Technology is good and over the years cars have improved in more ways than one. They have become more efficient and use less fuel. They have become more eco-friendly to our environment. First world governments have come up with stringent laws that make it illegal to have a car that pollutes the environment in any way. Some of these technologies being dished out in modern cars in the name of climate change are making us lazier by the day? Food for thought.
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