Many of the fondest memories of my childhood revolve around conversations about cars, that I had with my grandfather. An old Mercedes he restored during the limelight of my "pre-history", his raving on about the "burled walnut" dashboards from the 50's, etc, etc. I can also distinctly remember his forehead's skin overlapping in decades of dis-approval as he "reviewed" the latest Cadillac's "power seats".

You see, he came from a time when the average man could make improvements/repairs on his automobile with the same equipment that he used to update the bookcase in his living room.

Fast-forward twenty years later.....

One of the many benefits that I enjoy as an employee at a major automotive company is the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a competitor's vehicle and "evaluate" it. Last weekend, when the opportunity arose to take the new Audi A6 home, I jumped on it.

With a mother's maiden name of "Burgher", I can assure you, I've been partial to German automobiles (by default), so you can imagine my excitement at the opportunity to drive one of the premier (current) examples of "German Engineering".

My first day with the car wasn't unlike the perfect "fist date".....the 4.2 litre V8 engine sang like Sinatra.......a stark contrast to the 1.8T that I've grown accustomed to. For a vehicle of this size, the handling and "realistic" acceleration was astounding....it's deeper tone, and torque, comparable to that of a lion, after spending an afternoon amongst house kittens. Who here hasn't at least sat in a Late model VAG product.....need I continue to delve into the thesaurus for further synonymous terms for the the adequacy's of the interior surrounds?

I fell in love, all over again, the second day.....not so much by the aforementioned amenities, but by the ferry operator's respect, as he ushered me to the front of the line. Yes, dear Car Loungers.......I was intoxicated by the taste of "success"....

It wasn't until my trip back home, later that night, that my grandfather began rolling over in his grave. I made the "American" mistake of stopping at a McDonald's Drive-through to order dinner.....

It was here, in line, that I began to get restless and fiddle with things that my grandfather would've smacked any one of us for even suggesting existed....

I started from the left and worked my way over. Automatic fold in mirrors.....that's right, you have a third option besides your left/right adjustments.....rotate the knob to six 'o-clock and they'll fold in. Next, I noticed the electronically-adjustable steering tilt/trim......yep......not unlike the NES Super Nintendo joystick, (not the one that came with it, but the semi-aftermarket one......can't remember the exact name of it.....), this steering wheel has a toggle/joystick knob that controls your ideal height and length.

It got worse. I ventured further and found an electronic parking-break switch. You push down on it, and it engages. (You can only imagine what happens when you pull up on it). I continued to my right, discouraged and confused at this point, looking for some sort of explanation.........to the owner's manual in the glove compartment. Guess what? Nothing there. It wasn't until twenty seconds later that I found the button on the center-cluster that "remotely" opened the place where my grandfather used to simply toss his gloves into, decades beforehand.

On my way home, the skies were briefly interrupted by a few clouds, and five lovely rain-drops tainted my view of the road home.........only to be rudely replaced by five huge streaks across my windshield, complements of Audi's automatic censoring windshield wipers......

In closing, before any of you begin by pointing out my in-adeptness as a "young affluent male", let me be the first to admit, that I was the first to scold myself in the mirror. At 28 years young, instead of being alienated, I should be supportive and condoning of all these new "gadgets"..........but when I look myself in the mirror of this Audi, who do I tell...?....the normal "me"........or should I use thesecondary mirror within the sundviser, featuring the "highly magnified" me.....?????

Too many gadgets? Am I getting old? Is Audi targeting a market younger than I am with a vehicle more expensive than they can afford? When have you experienced "gadgets" that were completely unnecessary......???

Discuss........

Modified by thesteve at 12:54 PM 7-19-2006

but yes, i do agree that there can be to many gadgets.

and well, as an example i will use the new center stack in the GMT900's

try to pick one specific pre-set, without scrolling through the others, it is difficult to figure out which one with that many buttons, leads to which.

Modified by Nourdmrolnmt at 9:39 PM 7-18-2006

Quote, originally posted by Nourdmrolnmt »

you work for GM and dont know that they have had power folding mirrors for a while now as well?

That's wasn't my point.......

However.....did you find those folding mirrors useful, and would you be willing to pay extra for them?????

...furthermore.......

What features in your car do yo feel engineering spent thousands of worthless hours on, that you could do without........

......that answer would make this a productive thread......

i added, you quoted to fast.

we did find the folding mirrors on the avalanche useful at times when trying to park in the city, parrallel parking, or in smaller spaces. however the "reverse" function of them where they moved was useful with a trailer and a curb.

simplicity is good, original I-Drive is supposedly bad.

i dont like a ton of buttons, which is where i guess the "wheel" comes into play, like on the new CTS (not that you can comment or anything), but i also wish everything was ergonomical as hell, i know its not possible, but the older GM's were so right into your hand, even my maxx, i rest my hand, and i fall right on the heating/cooling dials.

the new tahoe does it as well. but the radio is a fun thing to try and pick stations on.

and btw, why the FRICK cant you change CD's with the steering wheel?

New cars are dumb.

I was enjoying the ride in my uncles SL600, the RIDE.
Not the mountains of switches and the navagation screens and the rear sun screens flipper, and the headrests folders, nor the refrigerated cupholders (jk). I JUST WANT TO ROLL THE FREAKING WINDOW!!!!!!!!

And then I go back to my pit/pig of a car, In all honosty I like it much better, I dont feel like I might make the mistake of ejecting myself out of the vehicle on accident.

93' 900 Turbo
00' Viggen

Another interesting point which I failed to bring up......

I've driven a few BMW's with I-Drive.........

.....found it fun at first, but a bit of an annoyance later, when true "driver and machine" coherency was at utmost importance....(rush-hour traffic, etc.....)

....Audi's version of I-Drive is a bit more user-friendly.....but the depth of the display (as far as the "tree" that you have to brach through), had no transition........from zero to an infinite amount of options.....

you added an i into my quote, you sly cat you...

i have never driven/ridden in a vehicle with a "wheel". just read about them, i would say if i were to design them you would have 5 options or less on every screen.

push down on the knob it selects it, turn left/right it switches, but you cant spin it round in circles. just quick clicks, however you must make each option easy to get from one to the other, not like 5 menu's deep. it is a fine line you walk. you either have to many options, or there are to many branches on the tree.

...also forgot to note the switch that folded up the rear window sunvisor......must have hit that switch 3 times before I looked in the rear-view to discover, with my jaw on my lap, what it accomplished.....

(I'm curious to see what VWlarry has to say about all the new "gadgets"..... )

i had to look about 5 times at my own post to make sure i hadnt done that myself...

I gotta go to bed.......

You think anyone will actually spend their time to read that huge rant I wrote without having a picture to look at? I'd be surprised......

the right amount of gadgets?
My Dad had a hyudai xg350l which had automatic ON headlights. It was annoying that in any little underpass the lights would click on, then click off 5 seconds later

Modified by Insomniac2100 at 1:23 AM 7-19-2006

Get in car, pop key in, wheel goes into position (and seat if you have the settings right but I'm tall so it's all the way back almost)

Drive off, it's dark, headlights turn themselves on - drive by sprinklers, windshield wipers automatically flick the water off.

Anything else? :\ I want power folding mirrors! lol

I don't think so, there's no one at McLaren who can weld that badly.
Gordon Murray, designer of the McLaren F1, on if it would resemble the Ferrari F40.

And quoting Jeremy Clarkson "What am I here for ????".

Screw the poor!!!

If it serves a valuable function, usually to make tasks more efficient/easier, I see no problem with "gadgets." Frankly, I'm longing for many of them. Rain-sensing wipers? Brilliant. Automation is good, as long as the driver is still in control.

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Our Republic is Falling

Since when has being bothered to turn on the AC, turn off the AC, turn on the windshield wipers, turn OFF the windshield wipers, turn on/off the headlights and accidentally forget they're off when leaving a gas station at night, rolling down a window, and all that stuff have ANYTHING to do with the driving experience?

It has about as much to do with the driving experience as cranking a car to start it and constantly having to fix it would lol.

Honestly, at least many modern cars still allow you to do everything the luddite way - the headlight knob, manual mode on climate control, and manual windshield wipers are all there and available for me

*shrug* Then again, one learns to switch that stuff without looking - and I still catch myself reaching for the radio even with steering wheel buttons - then I go drive a car without steering wheel buttons and reach for them on the wheel instead of pushing em on the radio.

A lot of the features are there so you can focus on your fahrvenugen instead of worrying about other assorted crap *shrug* OTOH, I rarely actually use my cup holders! *shrug* I wonder who came up with the idea in the first place!

If they're used, it's only to carry something I bought outside home, since at least then I know it won't fall over in the trunk and drip all over the electronics back there. Drinking (or eating) is a sloppy thing to do when driving >_< So is using the phone! Myself, I like to drive!

About the only thing I can think of off the top of my head that TRULY takes away from the driving experience is ESP/TCS/etc, that and those parking systems - but those are kinda neat anyway.

But, yesterday at work, something happened. Something that changed my life; changed the way I look at bourgeouis gadget-mongering in cars; maybe forever, or at least for a coupla months, until Autumn. I drove a brand-new Ford Expedition that was equipped with not just heated seats, but (drum roll please...) air-conditioned seating!

I climbed into this gigantic, black, pizza-oven hot (it was 99 degrees here in Delightful Delmarva yesterday) SUV, and immediately turned on the A/C (a gadget I THOROUGHLY approve of ) to its "max" setting so as to avoid setting my head and ass on fire, and there, next to the usual HVAC button-ery, was a new and different button. It had a little picture of a seat, and a snowflake resting atop it. I was intrigued, and so I pressed it to see what might happen. Gradually, as the car's blowers brought the inside-temp down to about non-combustible 250 degrees or so, I felt a sensation along my backside...cool air was wafting from the perforations in the leather! I found myself liking this sensation...muchly. As I drove this behemoth around the lot at work, I began to question my harsh judgement of today's Brave New World of automotive irrelevancy, and the silly gadgetry that comes with it. Perhaps I've been too harsh, I thought to myself. Perhaps these dozens of comfort and convenience options on today's cars are a good thing after all, and I've been dreadfully and decidedly wrong to view them with Spartan disgust and disdain.

......Nahhhhhhhhhhh. They still suck. But I sure did like the way those chilled seats made my backside feel!

BTW, you mentioned BMW's i-Drive. Satan himself designed that abomination, if ya' aksme. In fact, ANY viewscreen-operated gadget in any car today is the spawn of Satan, IMO. If it takes more than 15 seconds to figure-out how to turn on the radio and change stations, then I feel that the designer of said system should be given the same treatment that Romania's despot ruler, Ceaucescu was given when he was deposed. Taken to the nearest brick wall and SHOT.

Please read my latest article in Automotive Traveler! Link: http://automotivetraveler.com/jump/1364 Thanx, and leave a comment at the end! ☺

keep cars simple w/o all the distractions - they'll be safter. (in terms of drivers paying attention to the road instead of a bunch of shiny buttons.)

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I smell a rat.

Quote, originally posted by enriquejcu »

That's probably your gerbil.

i concur.

Diesel engine
Factory AC, nonworking
Alloy wheels
Locking fuel cap

A radio was added after the fact.

No power windows, no power seats, no power mirrors, no steering wheel radio controls (admittedly, those would have been nice to have), no navigation system, no integrated Fleshlight...

That said, I agree.

Somewhere along the line, somebody mistook 'pandering' for 'luxury'. It's a basic feature of our excessively consumerist culture. We've turned into cargo cultists; we measure our accomplishments, happiness, and quality of experience/life by how many gadgets we have. The proliferation of back massagers and power mirrors and night vision in our cars is matched by the proliferation of silly A/V equipment and exercize stuff and giant houses and robotic vacuums and Segways and everything that Sharper Image has ever sold, and etc. It's no longer about quality of life and contentment, it's about accoutrements, stuff to show off to your friends to demonstrate how much you can afford. In other words, we've become a self-concsious culture of exhibitionist narcissists, aspiring only to attain enough wealth to show off. It's kind of pathetic, really.

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Good god, I do have a wang and I just couldn't trade it in for a Prius.

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Hell yeah! Let it out man!

Power windows, mirrors, a/c, etc are enough gadgetry. I do have satellite radio, but it is the factory unit and integrated nicely into the head unit functions. Acts like a normal radio would.

FWIW, the climate control in my Audi is quite nice. It works in a intuitive manner and I rarely fiddle with it.

Next car looks to be a 190E 2.3 16V. Not much crap to deal with there.

I am the guy who will buy a stripped premium brand. The standard accesories are more than enough. The rest of it is just headache. Navigation does sound cool, but I really don't need it. Rain sensing wipers sound like something to go wrong. Power folding mirrors are just moving something that doesn't really need to be moved (not in the US, at least). I-Drive, MMI, etc are all designed in good nature, in that you create one control interface. However, I sit here typing on a keyboard with well over 100 buttons, with a mouse. I can be generally more complex than any car, but the user input still has 101 or so options at any time.

I really don't need my suspension settings integrated with my radio controls.

Peter Egan wrote a great piece on this on "Side Glances" in Road & Track a bunch of months ago; I highly recommend it; the auto restorer will be come an extint species...

1992 Honda Accord - Beater -
1992 Nissan 300ZX TT - Project - Money Pit -
2008 Toyota LC RZJ90 (FJ) - Daily Driver -

Quote, originally posted by SeatIbiza1.8T »

Peter Egan wrote a great piece on this on "Side Glances" in Road & Track a bunch of months ago; I highly recommend it; the auto restorer will be come a highly paid and in high demandspecies...

Fixed that for you. As long as the market exists, someone will step up to provide the service. As we progress, the cars being restored will become newer versions. The people in the industry who want to succeed will acquire the needed skills. They in turn will charge more.

Another case in which the skilled laborer in the future will be able to make a substantial living.

Who becomes the commodity? A software programmer, or a highly skilled and specialized auto mechanic? Look at the consumer trends and the support needed for them. You'll see that the people who can fix cars (especially overly complicated ones) will be in increasing demand.

Heck, find out what a good deisel mechanic can make nowadays. I bet it is a very comfortable living.

But man... it was fun to tell new passengers, "Want to feel something cool? Push that button."

They'd push it, squirm a little, look at their pants, and say, "Whoa, what was that!?"

Good times.

Development costs are rolled into all tiers.

I love the idea of the VW rabbit with MT and not too many options for a nice price. I want one. Damn fiscal responsibility.

socialist grandma death squad. - Bannination

However i would love a set of air condioned seats!! or a car with wokring a/c.

Remote unlock/lock. Was anyone having problems pushing the key into the keyhole and rotating it? If you lack the dexterity to accomplish this, you probably should not be driving.

Leather wrapped steering wheels. What's the point exactly? And why do I need it in a Sonata?

Three spoke steering wheels. At some point everyone decided that they were Mario Andretti and could no longer manage to get to the grocery store or soccer practice with 4 spokes.

Aluminum pedals. The ones in my car are slippery as hell. I'm scared that one day when my feet are wet I'm going to slip off the clutch and crash into my house. I would prefer them to be covered in rubber.

Mmmm refrigerated cupholders... that sounds like an excellent idea