Devolution of driving

[SlakeMoth]

Good editorial on the evolution of the car and driving - pretty good analysis of the disjointed drivers on the road.  Like the final paragraph...

ganked from http://discovermagazine.com/

Peer Review: Dreary Driving

Driving used to be about taking on the world. Now it’s about being tucked in for a nap.
by Douglas Rushkoff

The driver in the TV commercial looks able enough. Then he pulls up next to another vehicle, hits a button labeled “park assist,” and sits back passively while his Lexus turns the steering wheel, backs up at precisely the right angle, stops before it hits the curb, and neatly pulls itself into the open spot. The perfect parallel park, brought to you by microchip and Japanese engineering.

This luxury feature is just the latest in a long string of technological leaps forward for the automobile, but somehow the sight of a car literally parking itself makes me wonder if we’ve gone too far.

Admittedly, my misgivings about the changing dynamics of driving are largely emotional. America is a nation in which automobiles have long served as symbols of personal freedom, rugged individualism, and good old machismo. That’s how they’ve been sold to us, anyway. In our mechanized world, a V-8 engine’s horsepower stands in for the real horse a cowboy would once have had to bridle.

Horseless carriages were originally associated with wealthy dandies in goggles and scarves—men too weak to wrestle a wild beast to their transportation needs. But as Ford’s assembly lines began churning out machines by the thousands, Madison Avenue came to the rescue with a new image of the automobile as an extension of the spirit of the American male. Instead of proving his machismo by breaking in a wild stallion, he would get a hulking steel extension of himself to master. Until fairly recently, a man’s man was supposed to know enough about spark plugs and fan belts to pop the hood and get a little grease on his hands now and again.

The slow evolution from muscle car to computerized chauffeur started innocently enough. Simple mechanical conveniences like power steering and the automatic transmission enabled people with a bit less muscle or coordination to force the wheels and engine of an unwieldy hunk of metal to their will. Now anyone can cruise down Main Street like a greaser from American Graffiti.

But integration of the microchip into the automobile has taken things in a new direction. Along with power doors and windows, electronic transmissions, and remote-start ignitions comes a corresponding alienation from the inner workings of our vehicles. Today’s car has essentially no user-serviceable parts inside it; a mechanic’s garage is a clean, computerized facility staffed by specialists in lab coats. We’re no longer really supposed to understand how our cars work but rather to marvel at what they can do by and for themselves. As a result, instead of serving as the car’s master and caretaker, we have become its pampered child.

Consider what driving now entails. Cruise control relieves us of the responsibility for manning the gas pedal, while even newer technologies warn us if we’re about to go off the road. Cars can monitor our eyelids for signs of fatigue and even call for help if we manage to get into trouble despite all this protection. Yes, we may be safer, but driving has shifted from an act of independence—our first taste of potentially reckless teenage freedom—to an activity hovered over by a vigilant electronic mother, scanning the road ahead for danger.

As if to compensate for all this mothering, our car exteriors have grown to incorporate Daddy too. Drivers looking for that lost sense of power buy gargantuan SUVs in which they tower over everyone else. Yet behind the tinted glass of even the most menacing tank is a mobile family room: a self-contained, hermetically sealed set of comfort zones in which each passenger is coddled, warmed, entertained, and even nourished individually. Instead of looking out the window to play “I spy,” kids stare at their own personal DVD monitors, unlikely to notice they’ve actually left the house. Even the driver can ignore the world beyond his windshield and simply follow the calm instructions of the talking GPS-enabled navigation system. No need to learn local landmarks or ever take an unexpected turn. The family may as well be teleported to their destination.

That’s what bothers me most about the evolutionary path of our vehicles—and about many of the other technologies we bring into our lives under the rubric of “convenience.” It’s one thing to use an electric mixer or a gas oven to bake bread; it’s another to throw the ingredients into a computerized box that bakes the bread for you. The latter assumes that the task has no value in itself, so it’s better not to be present for it. It is the same logic that leads people to use cell phones in the street or iPods on the bus, acts that make these spaces even less interactive or friendly than they were before.

Increasingly detached from the tasks and surroundings of our daily lives, we are also less connected to the civic, social, and physical reality on which we depend. This way of using technology looks to me less like a quest for the independence of an adult than like a long, disempowering trek back to the blindness, security, and absolute dependence of the womb.

[Flyer]

Great editorial .
Not only have our vehicles become extensions of our living rooms, but our driving skills continue to deteriorate at an alarming rate.
We have given up our personal responsibility for safety, as we now have "safety" built right in our vehicles. (Air bags, "crumple zones", alloy-steel door intrusion beams, ABS, ESP, etc.).
Government has abdicated any responsibility by allowing the issuance of MV licenses like so many daily newspapers; it's now just all about revenue generation.
Put more cops on the road, give 'em the tools to enforce the rules already in place, and stuff the courts full of cell-phoning, burger-chewing, DVD watching, latte sipping asshats. Yank their licenses and MAKE 'EM WALK!

[M.Brane]

 A much easier way would be to make it mandatory that unless you have a physical handicap you take your drive test with a manual trans, and get graded on the proper use of the clutch/gear choice. That would fail most people today for sure.

[Jeff N]

Nice editorial.

Does anybody heel and toe anymore?

[1moreroad]

I wouldn't know where to begin with this whiny little op-ed.  He's bought into a fake little marketing scheme as sure as anyone who chooses to purchase cars with auto park, power windows, etc.  He bought his car for freedom.  Same reason people buy SUVs that so many of us all complain about -- because they could go off down some dirt road even if they never drive it farther than the nearest (paved) mall parking lot.

But what does he do with it?  Probably commutes to work, somewhere around 15 miles each way.  In traffic.  Where all the V8 horsepower in the world does no good.  But a good sound system is nice to have.  And A/C when you're stuck in 100 degree, humid heat not moving.  Cell phone or drink in the cupholder?  Not a problem when stopped dead on an interstate or at a traffic light or at a traffic light on the interstate like we have in LA.

Lab coats?  How do you think we get the horsepower we do out of the engines we have?  It used to be that 1 hp/in^3 was an accomplishment.  Now we've far exceeded that.

Manual transmission?  Sequentials and now even some automatics get better gas mileage.  Ferrari's computer shifter -- introduced 5 or 10 years ago -- is smoother and quicker than anyone not named Schumacher (sp?).

Look, I'm all for the open road.  I've driven two vehicles cross country and neither had cruise control, although the next one I'll drive across country this summer will.  But I'm the exception.  Few of us have actually driven cross country (BlackIce and professionals excluded).  I'm excited as is my Dad because, at 63, he'll be doing it with me for the first time.  Driven the length of the Atlantic Coast but never cross country.  The fact is that many of us buy cars for creature comforts that we appreciate while stuck in our daily grind, and we're better off for it.

Besides why are we special?  If we're all so "pure" why not pedal everywhere we go?

[M.Brane]

 I don't have a problem with all the features, but you should understand how to actually drive before you can have 'em.

 You wouldn't recommend a fully loaded Goldwing to a new rider would you? Same concept. Priveledges should be earned not taken for granted.

[sammyseaman]

 I don't have a problem with all the features, but you should understand how to actually drive before you can have 'em.

 You wouldn't recommend a fully loaded Goldwing to a new rider would you? Same concept. Priveledges should be earned not taken for granted.

+1
I wonder if/when bikes will start to make a dramatic transition that way? Auto trannies, clutchless trannies, airbags, outriggers, heated everything, cruise control, dvd. One reason why the Triumph Bonneville is calling to me. Simple, simple, simple. I'm sure we'll have bikes that you can actually work on for a long time and the friendlier easier bikes to ride will help get new riders involved it. Makes me wonder.

[county]

the... security...of the womb.


Well, I was pretty comfortable in the womb.

[Kootenanny]

Nice editorial.

Does anybody heel and toe anymore?

+1

BTW, I "heel and toe"--learned as a teenager driving junkers that demanded it, and my Spitfire still does.  Trying to teach my wife, though...

[Mrs. DantesDame]

I thought it was well-written.

My car has none of the acrutruments that the author complains about (not even a radio, let alone a dvd player), so its easy for me to bash anyone else      Also, I find myself almost bored when I'm driving a "modern" car: there's nothing to do! Nothing to shift, the wheel turns with one finger, the brakes stop the car with the slightest of pressure, I can accelerate up hills... Where's the challenge??  


Oh, and I've driven across country (three times, actually) in a 5-speed manual transmission, in case anyone's counting.

[highside]

Yeah, things really started going down hill when they put seatbelts and airbags in cars. Making the cost of an accident lower just encourages people to pay less attention. Take out all those features and line the interior compartments of cars with rusty nails and broken glass and I bet people would pay a hell of a lot more attention to what they are doing.

^ That idiocy makes exactly as much sense as this editorial, but it doesnt specifically target wealthy people who can afford brand new luxury cars, and thus make the rest of us feel superior, so it won't be met with the same enthusiasm. It is amazing the sort of crap that people are willing to accept as long as it targets someone they dislike.

[natronazx6r]

Good editorial on the evolution of the car and driving - pretty good analysis of the disjointed drivers on the road.  Like the final paragraph...

ganked from http://discovermagazine.com/

 

[Morgan]

Nice editorial.

Does anybody heel and toe anymore?

No need.  The computer does it for you.  Sadly people think this is a marvel of technology to embrace and spend thousands of dollars on.  People seem to want to emulate life on every level rather than just put the effort in and learn the skill.  I heel toe my bike and my Jeep on nearly every downshift, for free.  It took me a while to get to the point that I could do it smoothly under hard braking on the bike, but the reward for practice is a good one.  

[Global Rider]

Does anybody heel and toe anymore?

You need to ask that when the vast majority of cars sold in North America come with an automatic transmission.

Worse yet, what percentage of Corvettes come with an automatic transmission?  

MB or BMW models available with a 5 or 6 speed in Germany are only available with an automatic transmission in North America.  

You really have to ask yourself if drivers on this continent are really as enthusiastic about driving as they are made out to be.

Lets not even get into the professionalism and skill level of the drivers. That would be a complete joke!

[Berry G]

Nice editorial.

Does anybody heel and toe anymore?

Depends on the corner. Some require left foot braking.

That was a great editorial. I never thought about it but to me the motorized vehicle (2 or 4 wheels, or winged) is an extension of, well, me.

I don't see 98% of the drivers today thinking of their cars as much more than a toaster.

[Uncle Bob]

since I work on cars for a living, I get to spend large portions of the day driving around some of the fancy stuff thats out there now.  Some of them are so over the top, you need to read the owners manual just to figure out how to start the dang things.  When the new GM's came out with the convoluted info station on the dash, I literally had to read the owners manual just to figure out how to display the odometer!  

I think the funny thing about this race by manufacturers to add the most bells and whistles as a marketing ploy, is just like programming the clock on the VCR, most people that own such cars, DON'T know what they can do, how to do it, or what means what.  Hell, most people don't even know what the oil pressure light means.

Simply put, the average person doesn't care enough to educate themselves on most aspects of cars, whether it be driving, maintenance, safety etc.  

[Rogue]

I agree with Uncle Bob and Global Rider's points.  The average driver around the world does NOT care about driving anymore than they care how to program their VCR's (remember those? ).  

Personally, I'm looking forward to the day when our cars give us the option to "Self-Drive" in the highway.  Given the number of stupid, attention-challenged drivers out there, I think I would want the computer to do the driving than the dumb-ass stuck to the cell phone, or eating a fookin hamburger while in the fast lane of a busy Interstate!  I believe this will eliminate a lot of the problems/issues we have with stupid drivers.  Motorcycles of course, will not have the self-drive mode.  I don't see how.  In any case, motorcycles by their very nature are meant for those who ALWAYS want to be involved in the ride.  This is why most AVERAGE people stick to cars.  Motorcyclist are not average people thank goodness!

Although the piece is very well written and makes some very good points, it focuses too much on the actual driving.  Yes I agree that before anyone is given a license, they need to learn how to drive on "manual control" only.  Then, later they can be given the option to automate the driving.  And that is the key word:  Option.  Future cars should give drivers the option to automatically drive themselves.  So those who don't care to drive, can still transport themselves in a safe manner.  Yet, those who LIKE to drive can choose to drive themsevles and be involved in the experience.

Right now, we are in a transition period.  We only have the pieces of the puzzle.  Transmissions that can act like an auto but can be switched to manual give lazy drivers the option to just step on gas and brake, yet give drivers who want to be involved the option to go manual.  GPS gives lazy drivers the option to be told when and where to turn, while drivers who want more involvement can just turn it off.  

Global Rider asked an intersting question:  How much does the NA driving community like driving compared to say, Germany?  Well, NA considers driving as a way to get somewhere in this vast continent.  Germans consider driving as a sport and a luxury.  Thus the existence of the Autobahn:  the ultimate road in which to test a car and driver's limits, and Germany's strict driving laws and licensing program.  They need that to weed out stupid drivers for the most part.  And this is why there are more automatic Corvettes than manual Corvettes in NA.  Most people who buy them buy them for looks. For 2008, Chevrolet will drop the 4-speed overdrive automatic trannies and offer the 6-speed autobox with a sequential/manual shifting option.  Thus, satisfying both posers and drivers alike.

[Bodhi]

Most cagers hate driving. They want to do everything they can to alleviate boredom. They want the drive to be like sitting in an armchair, listening to music, chatting with friends, relaxing, and having the car practically drive itself. Then when a hapless motorcyclist gets hit by one of these absent-minded denizens of the road, the first thing out of their mouth is "I never saw him". Op ed pieces inevitably follow regarding how dangerous motorcycles are because they are hard to see.

[JTM]

Ok, someone please educate me "What is heel and toe"

I drive a truck with a M5 transmission every day, and I don't know what this is.

[M.Brane]

 Heel & toe is using one foot to operate the brake, and throttle simultaniously so you can match RPMs while downshifting, and brake seemlessly with a manual trans. Some heel/brake toe/gas, and others visa-versa but the concept is the same.