Grumbly rant about modern car conveniences (Washington Post)

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

My SVTF is the first car I've owned where the wheel telescopes.

My '85 Subaru had one of those.

[ChrisV]

My '85 Subaru had one of those.

My '75 Corvette had one.

[ChrisV]

Again my issue isn't with the semantics you're arguing, just the incredible generalizations the author made. Kids still play sports and run around and stuff... I see them in the parks and on the sidewalk every summer. Just because his generalizations line up with your opinions doesn't make him or you right.

*sigh*. You're right, no more kids spend all afternoon inside playing video games than they did when I was young, and there isn't a concerted national effort to get kids outside to play. I must have been making all that shit up. I've never been part of the PTA and haven't been raising a kid myself, with other kids around due to that. You're right. I know so much less than you do about modern kids.

[Eye of the Tiger]

*sigh*. You're right, no more kids spend all afternoon inside playing video games than they did when I was young, and there isn't a concerted national effort to get kids outside to play. I must have been making all that shit up. I've never been part of the PTA and haven't been raising a kid myself, with other kids around due to that. You're right. I know so much less than you do about modern kids.

This post is useless without twenty pictures of kids playing video games.

[ChrisV]

There's a difference between unnecessary and useless.

If you use a power trunk closer because of space constraints how the hell do you get anything in and out of the trunk to begin with?

Are we talking the auto closer that shuts it the last half inch, or one that shuts it automatically from full open? the former I have on my car, and it's nice so you don't have to slam it. The latter was an option on my car, and the only thing I can see is it's nice to close it with the key in your hand while you're carrying a pilke of groceries/etc. that you just took out of the trunk, especially in the rain so you don't have to take the stuff out of the trunk, put it down on the wet ground, close the trunk, then pick up the cargo again to take it in. But as Raza says, it's a luxury, and luxury is, by definition, unnecessary. the issue is when people think it IS necessary and can't live without it. Like heated seats. MMMmmm. Love my heated seats right about now... Oh, wait...

[J86]

I know some manufacturers make heated steering wheels.  Has anyone done a heated shift knob?  That would be freakin' awesome.

[93JC]

as Raza says, it's a luxury, and luxury is, by definition, unnecessary.

There's a difference between unnecessary and useless.

[ChrisV]

This post is useless without twenty pictures of kids playing video games.

That's only 4, but I'm walking out the door now...

[ChrisV]

if it has a use, it's not useless.

[93JC]

use⋅less

–adjective
1.    of no use; not serving the purpose or any purpose; unavailing or futile: It is useless to reason with him.
2.    without useful qualities; of no practical good: a useless person; a useless gadget.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/useless

[565]

You know the biggest irony?  For all his bitching about how the youth are getting soft and how his generation is better, he managed to epically miss the point of these techno gizmos and who they are marketed to.

Last I checked pimply teenagers weren't pulling out the G's and buying the latest high end luxury cars with the best gadgets.  It's mostly the wealthy working age and aging baby boomer group that's doing that.  So for all his bitching about how cars these days are for the kids, he's wrong, they are for old farts like him.

Those automatic doors are for his aged frail arms, those GPS systems are because his farsighted eyes can't focus on maps anymore, and those automatic headlights are because he's too senile to remember.  Pretty soon we'll see cars that wipe the drool from your face and restart your heart when it stops, he'll try to pin it on kids too.

[giant_mtb]

He thinks kids are dumb/ignorant 'cause of a lack of knowledge for jumper cables.  I say he's dumb/ignorant because today's 9 year-old probably knows more about using and operating a computer than he does.

[AutobahnSHO]

Lemme guess:

"Will, where's the cupholder?"
"Oh, it's automatic-- just stick the cup over the console and it pops out."
"OK" Drop, splash.

But that would get your car spilled on... So what is it really?

LOL
It's a file that you click on and it opens the CD tray of your computer. Good ones open up ALL of the drives on the PC, which was hilarious for people that had 2-3 CD drives on their machine..

[AutobahnSHO]

Good thing he took his entertainment with him! 

[Lebowski]

I absolutely despise automatically closing doors.

[280Z Turbo]

Good thing he took his entertainment with him! 

Yeah, baseball is boring as fuck.

[AutobahnSHO]

Yeah, baseball is boring as fuck.

from the size of the stadium, those tickets probably were MLB, and I'm guessing Not Cheap???

[Raza]

My SVTF is the first car I've owned where the wheel telescopes.

Wow.  The things you take for granted sometimes, eh?

[Rich]

I still haven't owned a car with one.  Unfortunately most of the cars I like don't have them either

MINI Cooper R50/53
Miata
Mustang
Corvette - with the '08 refresh, they added a power telescoping column with the 4LT package (the most expensive one that includes the leather interior, but most used ones probably won't have this)

The biggest deal breaker of all is the 370Z.  That steering wheel is miles away from me, to the point I don't want to try driving it.  Sucks too, because I love everything else about it

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

You know the biggest irony?  For all his bitching about how the youth are getting soft and how his generation is better, he managed to epically miss the point of these techno gizmos and who they are marketed to.

Last I checked pimply teenagers weren't pulling out the G's and buying the latest high end luxury cars with the best gadgets.  It's mostly the wealthy working age and aging baby boomer group that's doing that.  So for all his bitching about how cars these days are for the kids, he's wrong, they are for old farts like him.

Those automatic doors are for his aged frail arms, those GPS systems are because his farsighted eyes can't focus on maps anymore, and those automatic headlights are because he's too senile to remember.  Pretty soon we'll see cars that wipe the drool from your face and restart your heart when it stops, he'll try to pin it on kids too.

[hotrodalex]

I enjoyed the article as it was entertaining, however...

You know the biggest irony?  For all his bitching about how the youth are getting soft and how his generation is better, he managed to epically miss the point of these techno gizmos and who they are marketed to.

Last I checked pimply teenagers weren't pulling out the G's and buying the latest high end luxury cars with the best gadgets.  It's mostly the wealthy working age and aging baby boomer group that's doing that.  So for all his bitching about how cars these days are for the kids, he's wrong, they are for old farts like him.

Those automatic doors are for his aged frail arms, those GPS systems are because his farsighted eyes can't focus on maps anymore, and those automatic headlights are because he's too senile to remember.  Pretty soon we'll see cars that wipe the drool from your face and restart your heart when it stops, he'll try to pin it on kids too.

That is absolutely true.

Though it does seem that kids are soft nowadays. In fact, I think that's a main reason for school shootings. Used to be that kids would get in a fist fight and then be over it. Now, they just keep hit lists and blast 'em when the time comes that the get pushed over the edge. Since they are so soft, they won't fight. They just take the cowardly route. Not saying this is the case with all kids, but it has been a trend it seems...

[Raza]

I enjoyed the article as it was entertaining, however...

That is absolutely true.

Though it does seem that kids are soft nowadays. In fact, I think that's a main reason for school shootings. Used to be that kids would get in a fist fight and then be over it. Now, they just keep hit lists and blast 'em when the time comes that the get pushed over the edge. Since they are so soft, they won't fight. They just take the cowardly route. Not saying this is the case with all kids, but it has been a trend it seems...

They don't avoid fighting because they're soft, they avoid fighting because schools have such ridiculous rules about fights; for example, the kid who punches second (i.e. self defense) is to be punished as badly or worse than the instigator in my old school.  And who wants a suspension/expulsion on their record when he or she is applying to colleges? 

[hotrodalex]

They don't avoid fighting because they're soft, they avoid fighting because schools have such ridiculous rules about fights; for example, the kid who punches second (i.e. self defense) is to be punished as badly or worse than the instigator in my old school.  And who wants a suspension/expulsion on their record when he or she is applying to colleges? 

So shooting everyone up avoids those punishments?

[Submariner]

I absolutely despise automatically closing doors.

Why?

[Raza]

So shooting everyone up avoids those punishments?

Being dead avoids all punishment.

[hotrodalex]

Being dead avoids all punishment.

Except, well, dying.

[Raza]

Except, well, dying.

Well, aren't we getting philosophical now?  A Buddhist would disagree with you.