So, the original question: Are modern cars too good?
I suppose it depends on what you want out of your car. If I'm leaving home at 05:15 on a January morning in sub-zero temperatures, what I really want is:
a) Door locks not to be frozen. b) Door not to stick to the bodywork. c) Car to start first time. d) heater to warm up within about 10 minutes tops.
At 05:15 on a sub-zero January morning I'll accept any pile of crap if it does those things. Travelling the Snake Pass or Blubberhouses (or the Route Napoleon for that matter) at almost any other time I want something different.
For what I want, travelling to work and generally getting around, my Panda MJ is ideal. It's been tediously reliable, economical to run and as there only two of us and a medium sized dog, it's ideal. Anyway, we also have a Giulietta MA which, conveniently for me, Mrs. Beard has bought and paid for. But if we go anywhere long distance I drive it, so it's a bit like having a free hire car.
The Panda has ABS, two airbags and only two head restraints. Do I need more? Well, the heater works and I really don't need traction control or any other aids. I'm not saying I'm perfect but I haven't had an own fault accident since 1979 and trust me, it hasn't been electronic driver aids that have kept me out of A & E. When I walk out of the house and scrape ice off the windows I have this strange thought: The roads might be slippery, I'd better moderate my acceleration and speed on approach to hazards.
Do I need a reversing camera? Er no. I turn my head and switch on the Mk1 eyeball. The Panda doesn't have Bluetooth compatibility either, but I did splash out £14.99 on a Jabra thingy to go in my ear.
I know this is going to whiff of "Silly old git", but the more we equip our cars with technology, the less we need to do ourselves, and the more we take away personal responsibility. There have already been several (as yet unsuccessful) attempts to sue a driver who has let someone out of a side road by flashing headlights when a collision has occurred as a result.
"It wasn't my fault, he told me to do it Your Worship"
A degree of fallibility in a car is no bad thing, and if we open our minds we can learn from it. One of my earliest lessons in driving (after passing my test) was when I borrowed my dad's Vauxhall Ventora and drove it on snow. A cold 3.3 litre engine running on automatic choke coupled with an auto 'box made for an interesting experience. 1st sharp corner and I pressed the brakes. When I turned the steering wheel it just carried on in a straight line. Er, what haven't I done yet? Although it was counter-intuitive, I released the brakes and it went round the corner. Lesson learned. Automatic chokes have changed and ABS has reduced the chance of that happening again, but it did teach me something about vehicle dynamics, which is still important in understanding how cars behave.
But what happens when we rely on technology and it isn't enough? Two winters ago I came across a situation on the motorway where the driver of a Q7 had tried to be a hero in his super 4 X 4 and dived for a very small gap at an exit slip road, hauled on his huge ABS brakes, which made the most of the grip afforded by his huge tyres.....and rear ended an artic with his front near-side. The car then bounced across all three lanes and rear-ended the central Armco before coming to a halt. The front 'bags protected his face, the window and seat 'bags protected his head. Great. Sadly his organs were still slopping around inside his rib cage and, although he survived, his injuries were described as "Life changing".
The tech probably saved his life, but his reliance on that tech cost him, at least, two years off work, his business and debilitating injuries and a whole lot of pain. Using his brain would have saved him a lot of grief.
On the other hand, would I want to drive a really powerful car without driver aids? Trying to imagine exploiting the performance of, for example, a Jag XKR without the benefits of some kind of traction control really doesn't bear thinking about.
