Technology

We bought a new car.  Well, not really a new car, it’s used, but new to us.  It has a lot of new and awesome technology with so many features we are not sure we will ever be able to figure them all out.  It has keyless entry, heated and cooled seats, a rear window sunshade, ambient lighting (no kidding), adaptive cruise with collision warning, intelligent access (IA), and more.  When I get in the driver’s seat I feel a little like I'm in the cockpit of an airplane with so many lights and buttons, and I knew it was only a matter of time before some gadget in this car would get me into trouble.

So… not long after we purchased the car we went on a little road trip to the Wasatch Front.  Ray drove as we went to Provo where he had a meeting to attend.  Our plan was for me to then run some errands leaving him in Provo and he would get a ride up to SLC where I would meet him.  We arrived, he jumped out of the car, I moved into the driver’s seat, and took off.   I drove several miles and got to my first stop.  I pushed the button to turn the car off, gathered up my things, then notice that the “key” (that is not a "real" key) was not in the cup holder where I generally put in when I had driven this car.  It was then that I realized Ray had the IA key in his pocket and had taken it with him when he got out of the car to go to his meeting. 

Apparently, once the car is started, the vehicle will remain running until being turned off by the start/stop button even if the "key" is no longer in the vehicle.  I was stranded, and there was nothing I could do about it!  Luckily, I was able to catch my dad at home and he was able to rescue me.

Since that happened I decided it would be a smart idea for me to read the owner’s manual.  Sure enough, right there on PAGE 235 it warns you that something like this could happen.  There is even a solution to this problem if you are quick enough.  You see, there is a fast restart feature that allows you to restart the engine by pushing the start button within 20 seconds of switching the vehicle off, if you happen to discover the "key" is not present in the car (which means I am not the only one who has ever done this).   That seems very James Bond-like; to think that you actually have 20 seconds to fix a problem before something bad happens.

I must be more old fashioned than I think I am.  Is it really a bad idea to have a key that you actually put in the ignition???  I sorta like the idea of having a designated place it has to be while you are driving. 


This experience has me a little freaked out by all these new-fangled gadgets in the world today.  I can only imagine the trouble I could get into if I had a smartphone with all its advanced computing capability.  I am sure it would only be a matter of time before I accidently pushed a button on it that did something bad.