QOTD: What Are Some of the New Auto Technologies That You Love and Some That You Hate?

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– Posted on March 8, 2025

I’m getting to that age when for some reason or another, the mind starts to focus on the negative versus the positive – I’d call it “curmudgeon-itis.”  I’ve tried to fight it off – when I was younger I always thought those senior gents that did nothing but complain were just “grumpy old dudes.”  The only curmudgeon I could stand was Andy Rooney – because he was funny.  But I’m losing the battle, so indulge me for a few paragraphs so I can vent on some of the newer auto technology that really bugs me – and maybe balance things off with a few of those I like.

The Bad.

Haptic Controls.  I hate them.  You’re hot, cold, or your windshield is fogged up, and all you want is some immediate HVAC intervention – and you don’t get it.  They’re especially egregious since simple knobs work so well.  It’s a good example of the old adage that “tech for tech’s sake” is usually a bad idea.

Auto-Start/Stop. We had auto-start/stop during my early driving years – except it wasn’t “auto” – and it was called “stalling.”  It was an anomaly that routinely plagued the first three beaters I owned.  Roll up to a stop light, hope and pray the engine keeps running, and let out a string of four-letter expletives when it doesn’t.  I get it’s a fuel and emissions saver, but it’s so ingrained in me that to this day, if I forget to disable the stop/start before pulling off and it engages, I’ll startle the wife by blurting out “@#$%!”.

CVT Transmissions.  I don’t hate CVTs, I just don’t like driving a car with one.  Again, I get they save fuel and are more efficient, but the old guy in me expects an engine to increase in RPMs when I press down on the accelerator – not jump up to a certain level and stay there.  To me they sap the fun out of driving.  I hear the newer ones are more tuned to function like a planetary transmission, so maybe I need to try one – though I am still a manual guy at heart.

The Good.

Fuel Injection.  I started driving in 1972 when carburetors were still pretty simple.  Adjust the idle and mixture screws and you were all set.  Then emission-controls happened – and suddenly you needed a PhD to tune one.  It got even worse as regulations increased to the point that even a factory-tuned carb still stumbled and stalled.  My 1978 Nissan Fairlady Z was my first car with fuel injection and it was a revelation.  No more stabbing the accelerator and cranking three times before it coughs and starts, and no more stumbling or surging.  Just smooth, linear power.

Modern Cooling Systems.  I can’t remember the last time I saw a car pulled off to the side, with the hood up and the radiator boiling over.  That used to be a pretty frequent sight in the 1960s and 70s – and in my section of Ohio most of them seemed to be Sixties Ford’s with FE-series V8s.  Maybe it was just a coincidence.  But thank goodness for modern cooling systems, which are flawless, as long as you maintain them.

Seats and Seat Adjustments.  All of my early cars had one seat adjustment – forward or back.  Some of the military vehicles I drove didn’t even have that.  Modern seats, with their ergonomic design and multitude of adjustments are so much more comfortable.  As I’ve said in several posts, the seats in my Volvo are more comfortable than the Lazy-Boy I have in the front room.

OK, I think that’s satiated my curmudgeon attack.  Hopefully that will last a while – if not I’ll be back soon with a rant on smart phones and Netflix.