I'm with you on this. I think my 2012 Subaru is one of the last mainly analog cars, and I hope to make it last for many more years (or at least until car manufacturers realize there's a market for cars that aren't so electrically/electronically enshitified).
Jerff, very appropriate. We just traded my wife's 2017 Forrester for a 2026 Outback. The sales person told us " expect an email to schedule an hour for someone to go over the tech features of the car". The window button? It has 6 functions depending on how long you push it, in either direction. It has 3 screens, but thankfully the AC/ heat controls were turned back to button control.
It's nice to have features, but I paid for an extended warranty simply because... well, that's a lot of tech, and if any of it goes south, I'd like to know I don't have to shell out 2K to fix it.
When I was a kid, my mom drove a massive, teal-green Cadillac. If you’ve ever seen License to Drive (Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, peak cinema. Be still my 1980s heart), it was basically that exact car. It was long, wide, loud, and it turned heads.
It also had electric windows, which at the time felt like living in the future.
But those windows worked only when they felt emotionally ready. I vividly remember winter drives where my mom would crack the window to ash her cigarette, only for the window to decide, actually, no, and freeze itself halfway down. So there we’d be: one adult swearing creatively, one child slowly turning into a human popsicle, both of us mad as can be at the rebellious pane of glass that had chosen violence that day.
That experience gave me a lifelong distrust of unnecessary electric features. If a thing does not need to be powered by wires, I would prefer it wasn’t.
That said, that Cadillac did have one truly perfect feature: a real, honest-to-God built-in trash can on the passenger side. A proper little wastebasket. I grew up assuming every car had one. I was wrong, and that disappointment has never left me.
Jenn, what a great story! "Emotionally ready". That is such a great line. And my folks also had a Cadillac, and I remember the same finicky windows and door locks... eh, sometimes they work, and sometimes.....nope. I do not recall the wastebasket, but then I was usually relegated to the back seat. A cavernous, pleated leather cocoon, all in red. Those cars were so big, and ostentatious. Thanks for reading and as always for the great comment.
It's nice to see you out of your laser cave, after the holidays. Welcome back!
Those auto windows are dangerous. My brother's dog stepped on them and created quite a bit of angst while he was driving. I guess my brother hadn't thought of the lock feature. And then the window coming down....with the dog. Ugh.
I just love this “story” and how you told it. I could see the progression. By the way, I owned that clock radio for many years. Now I have Alexa….another love-hate relationship.
I wish the experts would spend some time cleaning up all the issues with Apple CarPlay. And how about a post on these stupid key fobs. I wish we could return to keys. Scary if your key fob stops working. We carry a back up battery in our glove compartment. But what about if we could not get into the car?
Jenn, yeah, there are "back up" plans for these situations. Most cars have a key back up entry. But you have to plan for it. To wit: My Corvette has a key entry point in the hatch, which then has a cable attached to the drivers door to open it in case of battery failure. This is a design from the factory. To break into my car if I need to, I had to read the manual. An "old" car wouldn't need any of that.
So you make my point.
What was simple. You had a key (or two). It opened the door mechanically, it didn't require any electronics. Insert key, turn. Door unlocks. insert key, turn, car starts.
Now, you have a fob, which "should" open the door. It "should"start the car. The entire complex system relies on essentially a two dollar Fob battery. Complex systems are prone to multi-fail points.
Was it so hard to use a key? Was it a "theft" thing? I don't buy that one, because a car thief can steal your code while you are using your fob, especially remote door usage.
Complex systems can be broken into, therefore need software updates, electronic changes. There are people always looking for the weak points in complex systems.
I like my key fob. It's easy, when it works. But in terms of cost/benefit of what I get from it? The first few times you use it, it's "wow", then it's meh.
Like you, I'd go back to a straight up key if I could.
Thanks for reading, and replying. It was kind of fun writing it!
I'm with you on this. I think my 2012 Subaru is one of the last mainly analog cars, and I hope to make it last for many more years (or at least until car manufacturers realize there's a market for cars that aren't so electrically/electronically enshitified).
Jerff, very appropriate. We just traded my wife's 2017 Forrester for a 2026 Outback. The sales person told us " expect an email to schedule an hour for someone to go over the tech features of the car". The window button? It has 6 functions depending on how long you push it, in either direction. It has 3 screens, but thankfully the AC/ heat controls were turned back to button control.
It's nice to have features, but I paid for an extended warranty simply because... well, that's a lot of tech, and if any of it goes south, I'd like to know I don't have to shell out 2K to fix it.
Thanks for reading.
Great read. I love this.
When I was a kid, my mom drove a massive, teal-green Cadillac. If you’ve ever seen License to Drive (Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, peak cinema. Be still my 1980s heart), it was basically that exact car. It was long, wide, loud, and it turned heads.
It also had electric windows, which at the time felt like living in the future.
But those windows worked only when they felt emotionally ready. I vividly remember winter drives where my mom would crack the window to ash her cigarette, only for the window to decide, actually, no, and freeze itself halfway down. So there we’d be: one adult swearing creatively, one child slowly turning into a human popsicle, both of us mad as can be at the rebellious pane of glass that had chosen violence that day.
That experience gave me a lifelong distrust of unnecessary electric features. If a thing does not need to be powered by wires, I would prefer it wasn’t.
That said, that Cadillac did have one truly perfect feature: a real, honest-to-God built-in trash can on the passenger side. A proper little wastebasket. I grew up assuming every car had one. I was wrong, and that disappointment has never left me.
Jenn, what a great story! "Emotionally ready". That is such a great line. And my folks also had a Cadillac, and I remember the same finicky windows and door locks... eh, sometimes they work, and sometimes.....nope. I do not recall the wastebasket, but then I was usually relegated to the back seat. A cavernous, pleated leather cocoon, all in red. Those cars were so big, and ostentatious. Thanks for reading and as always for the great comment.
It's nice to see you out of your laser cave, after the holidays. Welcome back!
I think modern car manufacturers should not sleep on the wastebasket. It would totally be a selling point, at least to me.
And thank you! It is good to be back - I missed having time to write and read!
Those auto windows are dangerous. My brother's dog stepped on them and created quite a bit of angst while he was driving. I guess my brother hadn't thought of the lock feature. And then the window coming down....with the dog. Ugh.
I just love this “story” and how you told it. I could see the progression. By the way, I owned that clock radio for many years. Now I have Alexa….another love-hate relationship.
I wish the experts would spend some time cleaning up all the issues with Apple CarPlay. And how about a post on these stupid key fobs. I wish we could return to keys. Scary if your key fob stops working. We carry a back up battery in our glove compartment. But what about if we could not get into the car?
Jenn, yeah, there are "back up" plans for these situations. Most cars have a key back up entry. But you have to plan for it. To wit: My Corvette has a key entry point in the hatch, which then has a cable attached to the drivers door to open it in case of battery failure. This is a design from the factory. To break into my car if I need to, I had to read the manual. An "old" car wouldn't need any of that.
So you make my point.
What was simple. You had a key (or two). It opened the door mechanically, it didn't require any electronics. Insert key, turn. Door unlocks. insert key, turn, car starts.
Now, you have a fob, which "should" open the door. It "should"start the car. The entire complex system relies on essentially a two dollar Fob battery. Complex systems are prone to multi-fail points.
Was it so hard to use a key? Was it a "theft" thing? I don't buy that one, because a car thief can steal your code while you are using your fob, especially remote door usage.
Complex systems can be broken into, therefore need software updates, electronic changes. There are people always looking for the weak points in complex systems.
I like my key fob. It's easy, when it works. But in terms of cost/benefit of what I get from it? The first few times you use it, it's "wow", then it's meh.
Like you, I'd go back to a straight up key if I could.
Thanks for reading, and replying. It was kind of fun writing it!