For over a century, the automobile has represented freedom, power, and the thrill of mechanical mastery. The connection between driver, machine, and road defined what it meant to own and love a car. But in today’s digital era, a different trend is unfolding. Cars are no longer just machines designed to take us from point A to point B. Increasingly, they resemble something else entirely: smartphones on wheels.
I’m in a BYD, and I actually feel better connected due to the regenerative braking
I’m normally on a motorbike, so I use my gears to control speed almost entirely
With a manual car, I can actually drive it properly, but most of the vehicles I have to drive are automatics, which I have always disliked
With my little car, I feel much more “part of” it. It’s very responsive and I’m able to do so much without touching the brakes
I pretty much ignore the “tech” apart from occasionally telling it to change the temperature or do something with a window
Window, do a barrel roll
That’s be pretty sweet!
They go up and down, but I’m hoping that with some patience and treats, I can train it to do more
Use positive reinforcement and they’ll do whatever you want. Whatever. You. Want.
I’m much the same in my auto with dsg. Having a gearbox vs slushbox lets me shift down a gear where I only need to gradually slow down or sit in say 2nd on a downhill and not gain any speed.
My car is from 2011 and it had the right amount of modern features while lacking all the touchscreen climate controls and connected nonsonce.