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Summer, that time of year that makes the wait worthwhile, unless you have an old car. Maybe its just age that makes us less tolerant but an open car with a black interior is no fun when it's in the 90's. You would think that the wind at speed would make the temperature seem reasonable but that's not the case. I always wondered if those bikers dressed in leathers on their cross-country rides got hot in Kansas in the summer. Now I know that they did. My wife, after an hour drive in the Speedster in the hot sun, says that it's like being at the beach in a cardboard box. I don't remember being bothered by the temperature while driving years ago. The fact that I was driving was exciting enough and I was always able to focus on that task to the exclusion of any other distractions. Every ride seemed to have a story connected to it. I remember in college comparing notes every morning before classes about the drive to school that day. What could have been so unusual that there was even something to relate each day? There were stories about near misses, sudden swerves and losses at the stop light grand Prix (we were driving VW's and Volvo's at the time). Every thing was about the cars and the ride. There were no CD players or DVD screens, we were lucky to have more that one speaker hooked up to our car radios, and if we did it wasn't for a stereo it was just two speakers with a fader switch. There were no power windows needed because the windows were always down because nobody had air conditioning. No power seats needed, you were the only driver, and how any times did you need to move the seat? It was all about the ride, the noise and the wind. I saw an article in the local paper that discussed the job that law enforcement does each day on our highways. A state policeman stopped an SUV doing 105 mph and the driver was reportedly watching a DVD movie on a four-inch screen on the dashboard. Could we be taking this whole driving think too casually nowadays? Are cars so comfortable (and capable) that we don't even have to think about what we're doing? Like the song says "what was I thinkin'?" I know that the Germans were the last to put cup holders in their cars and I believed that it was because they didn't want the driver to be distracted. Years ago even if you had a cup holder you couldn't keep the liquid in the cup because the ride was so harsh. You didn't open a beer while driving because all the fizz would get shaken out of the bottle before it was half empty. Flat beer was only good in stories about British cars while discussing Lucas electrics. Now every car, German included, seems to have more that one cup holder per passenger. In addition to ABS braking systems we also have traction control under a variety of different forms (and letters) by each manufacturer. Great ideas, these features make cars safer for everyone, amateur and expert. But now there's radar front and rear, not looking for speed traps but garbage cans and rear bumpers. I thought the driver was supposed to be looking for that stuff. Closed circuit TV on SUV's so you can back up without turning around to look where you're going. I thought that feature was reserved for sixty foot RV's. Now Autoweek reports that some automotive suppliers including TRW, Johnson Controls, Delphi and Visteon are not only developing systems that can detect an imminent collision (some cars already have this feature) but also systems that actively apply steering or brakes in an attempt to avoid it. Isn't that what the driver is supposed to be doing? Computer controlled input can now be adapted to give the steering wheel a "tug" in the right direction to help a driver remember how to steer out of a skid. Will we be able to eliminate driver training altogether from our schools soon? Just think of the money that can be saved from the school budget. What ever happened to the idea that it's not just the destination it's the ride. Will the cars of the future do such a good job that they don't need us anymore? I hope not, because I always thought it was fun to drive a car and have it go where I told it to go. Part of the excitement of old cars is the fact that they are not all that comfortable. A little heat in the summer never hurt anyone. After all isn't that what we waited all year for, a little heat? You can think about that cockpit temperature in December while you're sitting in front of the fireplace in a snowstorm. Remember those? Just keep on driving and Keep The Faith!! |
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