All about cars and driving

When our grandfathers bought their first vehicles, they paid what in their minds was a ton of money. A brand new vehicle could be bought for a few hundred dollars, which would equate to a couple of thousand dollars in today’s economy. Try going to a new car dealership and asking to pay only $3000 for a brand spanking new car and see how fast they laugh you right out of the building.

We have been conditioned to see a price tag of over $30,000 for a new vehicle and not think much about it. Just thirty years ago, $30,000 would buy a decent three bedroom house in a good neighborhood! Today, it’ll buy you a middle shelf “luxury” car with only a few bells and whistles if you are lucky. You will probably be disappointed when the integrated GPS directs you to the wrong restaurant, too. I simply can’t see spending a little less than what a regular blue collar American typically makes in an entire year for a vehicle, no matter how nice the leather seats are.

Vehicles were designed to get the driver from Point A to Point B without having to walk or ride a horse. As the decades progressed, auto makers began getting a little more sassy with their designs by adding climate control and heated seats. Today’s new vehicles can do everything but sweep the kitchen floor! Now I don’t mind a nice air conditioner in the summer heat, but in this author’s opinion, we have added too many features that don’t do much more than drive up the prices of vehicles and raise our need to keep up with the Jones’.

The average ordinary American simply does not need all the complicated bells and whistles that come with today’s vehicles. Sure, the added features are nice, but be honest and think about how often you use those features. Some top shelf cars have so many features that it almost distracts the driver from his or her chief function, which is to safely driving the vehicle. Fiddling around with the ten disc CD changer is much more appealing than watching the driver in front of you and then you wonder why you find yourself in an “accident” at the next red light. Keep your hands at ten and two and your eyes and mind on the road!