by
Mark Ollig
The
calendar says September, and for many of us Labor Day signals the official end
of summer – although we know there’s still plenty of summer-like weather left.
As
some of you may know, for the last few months, yours truly has been car
shopping.
Yes,
the time has come to retire my use of conveyance manufactured during the last
century, and embrace the latest automotive transportation of the 21st century.
Actually,
I had enjoyed driving my trusty, old 1999 Ford Crown Victoria Police
Interceptor with the big V8 engine.
One
favorite story about this car I have told many times is, while waiting at a
four-way stop or red light, I would notice the person in the next car moving
their head forward, intently looking at my car; they would then quickly reach
around their shoulder and put on their seatbelt.
I
suppose they maybe thought I was an undercover officer driving the Police
Interceptor. Of course, the fact I had the “Police Interceptor” name plate on
the car might have influenced them a bit, too.
Over
the last 14 years, I would guess 100 people have reached for their seatbelts
upon seeing the Police Interceptor driving down the street. This usually
brought a smile to my face, as I felt a good deed was performed in knowing
someone else was now wearing their seatbelt.
Others,
after putting on their seatbelt and driving by me, realized I was not a police
officer, and was not driving a “real” police car. These folks would cast a
frown at me, as if I had been intentionally fooling them – which, of course, I
wasn’t.
Anyway,
my most-of-the-time reliable Police Interceptor got me through the heavy snow
of many winters. I also felt somewhat protected being surrounded by all the
heavy steel. Its gas mileage wasn’t the best, so there were some trade-offs.
With
232,000 miles on it, and the increased frequency of replacing parts, I knew the
time had come to retire the Police Interceptor.
Over
the years, I had become accustomed to the daily pattern of using my car key for
unlocking the door, and starting the Police Interceptor, or any other vehicle
for that matter.
I
was in for a surprise when I learned the new 2013 car required no key to start
it. It only needed one foot on the brake, and the push of a button.
Oh,
and no key is necessary to unlock the car door.
I
shook my head while watching the salesperson demonstrate how to gain entry to
the locked car, needing only to have the car’s keyless access pad in their
pocket.
The
salesperson reached for and held onto the drivers-side car door handle in order
for its wireless radio sensor to pick up the signal from the access pad. After
a couple seconds, the sound of the driver’s car door is heard being unlocked.
Remember
folks, I am a newbie when it comes to these new cars, and find all the
technology in them impressive.
Truthfully,
I felt a little overwhelmed when I first sat down in the driver’s seat and
gazed at all of the car’s built-in technology, electronics, and displays.
It
felt like sitting down in front of a computer console onboard the futuristic
USS Enterprise.
The
first thing I needed to learn was how to turn the radio on.
In
addition to the familiar AM and FM, this new car came equipped with a satellite
radio receiver.
The
satellite radio and Global Positioning System in my new car get their signals from
commercial satellites in a geostationary orbit approximately 22,000 miles above
the earth; and yes, I was impressed.
I
was like a kid opening the first present during Christmas. I fiddled with the
car’s central display screen; it showed detailed information about the car’s
gas mileage, tire pressure, and other particulars of the car’s internal
systems.
The
CD player seemed to be a bit out-of-place. These days, I download most of my
music off of the Internet and onto my iPod, which I learned can be connected to
the car’s USB port.
Next
month, I hope to buy one of the new iPhones and sync it via Bluetooth to the
new car. Many of the iPhone’s features and apps will then become accessible via
the car’s central display screen.
Another
technological item I like on the new car is its built-in navigation, or Global
Positioning System (GPS).
It
wasn’t very difficult at all to press the correct touch-sensitive labels in
order to program and map the destination I wanted.
The
salesperson informed me I could also talk to the car and tell it where I wanted
to go.
After
doing this, the car’s navigation display showed the route on a 3D map. As I
traveled, the navigation system visually mapped my route progress, and verbally
guided me along the trip.
The
car’s state-of-the-art voice-recognition system not only understands speech
commands for entering travel destinations, but also for changing radio
stations.
When
placed into reverse, the car’s built-in rear-view camera shows what is directly
behind it on the display screen.
Yours
truly has been driving this car for a couple of weeks, and loves the new
technology in it.
My
wallet also appreciates the car’s efficient fuel economy.
With
all the advanced technology inside this new car, it’s like I recently told my
brother: “I feel I’m driving an iPhone down the highway.”
