The Low-Tech Times

I met with some friends last night who went to the 2008 Washington D.C. Auto Show on Saturday. At the show, all of the major auto manufacturers bring sample vehicles from their new lines. My friends said the show was extremely crowded and that they were unable to go down every aisle. When I asked them about hand-crank windows, they said that they did not see a single vehicle with hand-crank windows.

Power windows add additional points of failure and expense to automobiles in the form of motors, switches, and wiring. It also can be very annoying to turn off an automobile, only then needing to put the keys back in and turn them just to raise the window.

Power windows, much like remote-control car stereos, are simply unnecessary. Are we that lazy that we can’t turn a crank to bring the window up and down? We have to just push a button?

I’d like to see hand-crank windows offered in new vehicles, at least as an option. What do you think?

GPS Navigation Systems are becoming increasingly popular. The last time I was in Radio Shack, a salesman tried to sell me one. He obviously did not recognize me as the editor of The Low-Tech Times, or he wouldn’t have wasted his time.

There are three reasons why I do not own a GPS Navigation System:

1.) TOO EXPENSIVE—GPS Navigation Systems cost hundreds of dollars, and once you have one, updates to the software can be very costly. Maps, on the other hand, are often free. Most of the time state maps are available free-of-charge from highway rest areas. Local maps also can frequently be obtained without cost from a city’s Chamber of Commerce or Visitor Center.

2.) LOSS OF KNOWLEDGE—If you depend on a GPS Navigation System to tell you where to go all of the time, you may not learn your way around nearly as well as if you drove without one. I believe that it is very valuable to have knowledge of an area and the ability to give directions without a hi-tech device. I want to know where I’m going.

3.) POSSIBLE ACCURACY PROBLEMS—ABC News recently ran a story covering accuracy problems with GPS systems, including one instance where GPS directions apparently directed a man to turn his vehicle onto railroad tracks. It is likely that users, not the GPS Navigation System itself, may often be at fault. However, there does not seem to be a shortage of GPS horror stories. Can you depend on GPS for accurate directions?

And now for something completely ridiculous… There are remote control car stereos!

How much convenience do people need? Do drivers honestly think they should have a remote control to reach something only one or two feet away from them? Unbelievable.