Technological advances keep moving

We finally went car shopping. We have been putting it off for over a year. Our current car has been making odd noises lately. The most innocent of the problems is the radio’s insistence on playing “Layla” at least once during any trip. Lucky for us we like the song. There are two versions of the tune and the radio will play them back to back sometimes.

We cleaned most of the stuff out of the car prior to heading to a dealer we had used before. I removed oodles of face masks and almost as many ketchup packets. The snow scrapers had been relocated to the garage weeks ago.

We stopped at a dealer we had used before. We had always been satisfied with the service and the quality of the vehicles this particular dealer sold. We were greeted by a young man who had practically grown up at the dealership as his father had worked there for most of the salesman’s life.

He asked us what we were looking for in a vehicle and offered to show us one that he thought would fit our needs. He handed the key fob to my husband. Our current car has a slot for the key on the side of the fob. This one didn’t. Instead, there was a button to push on the dashboard.

Push buttons on cars are not new. Way back in 1912 Cadillac featured push buttons on some of its models. These were designed to replace a hand crank that started the car. Keys came into fashion shortly thereafter and the push button became rare.

We went for a short test drive. The seats were firmer than expected and it was still almost impossible to see the front of the car from behind the wheel. It had a nice smooth ride and handled easily. I liked that it was easy to get in and out of. All in all it was a nice car.

I wanted to have something to compare it with and the salesman brought out another car. It was similar to the first one with a few exceptions. It also had a push button start. Plus it had a round thing that looked like a giant button. That turned out to be the shifter thingy. One had to push on the brake while turning the button to the correct setting. I joked that it probably wouldn’t get stolen because a thief wouldn’t be able to figure out how to drive it.

The dashboard looked like it belonged on a science fiction starship. There was a big screen that displayed a warning that the screen should be out of sight when driving. There were more buttons, outlets, connections and what looked like a cigarette lighter. I felt like Rip Van Winkle waking up to a world that had changed beyond his wildest imagination.

All this new technology is overwhelming. It seems like the older I get, the faster time goes and the more complicated the world is. I yearn for simpler times that will never come again.

We are scheduled to pick up our new ride on Monday. I hope we made the right choice.