Thursday, August 10, 2006
Automotive press writers are...
...wus butts!! Specifically, I am complaining about this article where Bill Howard complains about 12 things typically found in cars these days that are "bothersome."
The comments I really disagreed with are the ones about all this automation. Bill wants to have fully automatic, push-button transmissions without mechanical linkages. Sorry Bill, but the more complexity you build into a system, the more prone it will be to failure. I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to "reboot" my car just so that it will shift into third gear. That could be a real annoyance.
Aside from the inconvenience of having to occasionally restart your car to clear techno-glitches is the near complete loss of control afforded to the driver. I was reading an article not long ago that suggests that by the year 2020, we could have completely automatic cars that remove the driver completely from the equation. Yeah, the car drives itself. Um, not while I'm in command, you don't! There are some of us out there who actually enjoy driving. We like to have control of the car. We like to feel the steering wheel in our hands and the exhilarating rush of driving through a canyon or down a scenic byway. Sure, there's always going to be human error, but that's an integral part of learning to live. Removing the driver from the equation only satisfies those concerned with numbers: the pencil pushers who make a living telling us how unsafe and treacherous our highway system is. It would also make the highway scene in Minority Report look not so far-fetched.
What would a comment like that do to those of us who like manual transmissions? We actually like using a manual clutch and lever to control the car. If the predictions are true and we do have fully automatic cars by the year 2020, it wouldn't be that far down the road and there would be folks out there advocating that we eradicate manual transmission automobiles completely and make them adapt the more acurate computer control. I know that sounds a bit out there, but I'm afraid that as we give up control, there will be more and more people willing to take it from us.
I've also heard that in the near future, automatic transmission motorcycles will be mass produced. Now, if you're like me, you see a statement like that and you think, "Well, that'll just take all the fun out of the motorcycle." You see, riding a motorcycle is a feat of coordination. You use your entire body to drive the vehicle. You use not only your hands to steer, but you use your hands and feet to shift gears, go and stop. It's really fun when you get it down. Removing that capability from the people will make them not want to buy or ride motorcycles (and maybe that's the point; I don't know.)
Anyhow, I just get really steamed when I read the automotive press and they sit and pan a car because it's not this or it's not that. I can understand why cars get better ratings for things like performance and comfort, but to beat a car up because it's lacking a DVD satnav. As for me, I couldn't stand having a satnav in my car because I'd have to listen to the damn thing tell me how to get to and from work every day. It seems to me that that would get annoying very quickly. Besides, if I'm out on a trip, I can use my trusty atlas (if I can ever find it.)
Technology in cars is great. I think power windows and door locks are wonderful inventions. Are they necessary? That all depends on the type of car and the owner. But, I don't think that just because a car has more techno-gizmos on it that it's a better car than another. Why don't we, instead of loading our cars with gizmos, focus our technology on making better, more efficient, and more reliable engines and transmissions. Let's make the world a better place, not a more complex place.
The comments I really disagreed with are the ones about all this automation. Bill wants to have fully automatic, push-button transmissions without mechanical linkages. Sorry Bill, but the more complexity you build into a system, the more prone it will be to failure. I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to "reboot" my car just so that it will shift into third gear. That could be a real annoyance.
Aside from the inconvenience of having to occasionally restart your car to clear techno-glitches is the near complete loss of control afforded to the driver. I was reading an article not long ago that suggests that by the year 2020, we could have completely automatic cars that remove the driver completely from the equation. Yeah, the car drives itself. Um, not while I'm in command, you don't! There are some of us out there who actually enjoy driving. We like to have control of the car. We like to feel the steering wheel in our hands and the exhilarating rush of driving through a canyon or down a scenic byway. Sure, there's always going to be human error, but that's an integral part of learning to live. Removing the driver from the equation only satisfies those concerned with numbers: the pencil pushers who make a living telling us how unsafe and treacherous our highway system is. It would also make the highway scene in Minority Report look not so far-fetched.
What would a comment like that do to those of us who like manual transmissions? We actually like using a manual clutch and lever to control the car. If the predictions are true and we do have fully automatic cars by the year 2020, it wouldn't be that far down the road and there would be folks out there advocating that we eradicate manual transmission automobiles completely and make them adapt the more acurate computer control. I know that sounds a bit out there, but I'm afraid that as we give up control, there will be more and more people willing to take it from us.
I've also heard that in the near future, automatic transmission motorcycles will be mass produced. Now, if you're like me, you see a statement like that and you think, "Well, that'll just take all the fun out of the motorcycle." You see, riding a motorcycle is a feat of coordination. You use your entire body to drive the vehicle. You use not only your hands to steer, but you use your hands and feet to shift gears, go and stop. It's really fun when you get it down. Removing that capability from the people will make them not want to buy or ride motorcycles (and maybe that's the point; I don't know.)
Anyhow, I just get really steamed when I read the automotive press and they sit and pan a car because it's not this or it's not that. I can understand why cars get better ratings for things like performance and comfort, but to beat a car up because it's lacking a DVD satnav. As for me, I couldn't stand having a satnav in my car because I'd have to listen to the damn thing tell me how to get to and from work every day. It seems to me that that would get annoying very quickly. Besides, if I'm out on a trip, I can use my trusty atlas (if I can ever find it.)
Technology in cars is great. I think power windows and door locks are wonderful inventions. Are they necessary? That all depends on the type of car and the owner. But, I don't think that just because a car has more techno-gizmos on it that it's a better car than another. Why don't we, instead of loading our cars with gizmos, focus our technology on making better, more efficient, and more reliable engines and transmissions. Let's make the world a better place, not a more complex place.
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