Technology and Technology Challenged.

There is no doubt about it. Technology in the automotive industry is a good thing: we are safer, cars are greener and passengers revel in entertainment impossible to imagine in the 1970's. There is a point, however, when the auto makers become obsessed with their own technology smarts and run amok.

The prime example is BMW's i-drive. When it was first introduced, you had to labor through screen after screen in order to change the radio station or the volume setting, using a knob on the center console. The latest version is more user friendly but still heavily criticized in the press. Why? Because no-one at BMW asked "why?" that's why. It gets to a point that a simple button is a better alternative to a screen. It has tactile qualities that allow you to feel around for it and punch it without taking your eyes off the road, for example. "i-drive" is complication for complications sake, and as such, reflects the arrogance that exits in BMW's management.

The other piece of technology that sounds awesome but in practice is hardly ever used by the average consumer is voice activated operation. When you see it in advertisements, you see a person crisply ordering the machine to carry out tasks such as calling Mary or taking the happy driver to Zing Ho's House of Dumplings. Having had cars with this feature, know that you must speak in a very specific language that takes up pages of the owners manual, and still gives you answers like "System does not recognize that command" and "Locating Zingers Mouse Droppings". Again, sometimes simpler is better.

Technology for technology's sake is pointless. We can all appreciate improved safety and emissions, an love our high end stereos. But adding gizmo's because they are cool is not a long term trend and is therefore, a waste of time and effort. Does anyone still have a car with a push-button transmission? Chrysler tried that back in the late 50's and it not exactly become the norm.