<p>Has anyone else bought a new car lately and realized life has passed them by?</p>
<p>I just upgraded the software in my car by plugging a thumb drive into the car’s USB port. Go figure.</p>
<p>And, I plugged my iPod into that USB port and found out that, if I say, “Play LYLE LOVETT”, the nice lady who lives in my dash will start playing all the Lyle Lovett songs on my iPod. I wonder what she’ll do if I say “CHANGE MY OIL” or “PUMP MY GAS”?</p>
<p>Now, I’m watching a YouTube video explaining how to link my phone to the car so I can make calls by saying something like “DIAL MY BOOKIE”. Is this a great country or what? </p>
<p>And, I figured out how to toggle the LED “ambient/mood lighting” from white to magenta to red to green to blue! It will probably take me at least a week or two to figure out why anyone would want LED ambient lighting in a car… Maybe it’ll make sense when I find the button that pops a disco ball down from the roof. If I recall, disco was the new thing the last time I was doing anything in a car that would have benefitted from ambient/mood lighting… :)</p>
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<p>Any other geezers struggling with these new fangled cars? Any fun stories?</p>
<p>I guess we will need the extended warranty on cars too. (big sigh!) Regular oil changes and checking tire pressure will not keep all this electronic crap from going bad. I have already conceded the need for extended warranties on all my home appliances. I remember the good old days when the hardest part of purchasing an appliance was escaping the relentless sales pitch for the expensive and unneeded extended warranty.</p>
<p>Well, I successfully linked my phone to the car and made a call by saying “CALL AUNT TILLIE AT HOME”. I have HAL the computer nightmares. What if the nice lady in my dash turns on me? Whew, I better stay on her good side…</p>
<p>I now have this joy stick I have to use to operate anything, it’s like driving a video game. And since now manually entering an address can be too tedious I can push a button and a real live person can download directions and find anything I want in my vicinity or anywhere in north America. I too can’t wait til I can just say, take me to … And have the car just take me there. How did we live before air conditioned seats and gps?</p>
<p>Speaking of technologically challenged, some 20 years ago my non-techie father let my toddler son pretend to drive his new car… while parked in the driveway, my son standing on his lap in the driver’s seat… for awhile during a long weekend visit. After we left he had to take the car back to the dealership to have everything reset. My son had pushed every button, dialed every dial, changed every setting.</p>
<p>I miss him every time I think of that story.</p>
<p>I am waiting for my gps to ask me why I bothered to set it if I am not going to follow it. I frequently set it to go somewhere that I don’t exactly know but do know how to get to the general area so I ignore it most of the way and it is for ever recalculating. One day I am sure she will say s***w you and find your own way.</p>
<p>My poor car can’t reveal it’s full potential because the data plan on my cell phone is limited. (apparently, my car connects to my phone’s 3G plan). Just wondering why Verizon hasn’t caught on to this yet and started selling car plans.</p>
<p>You all are way above me. H won’t allow us to get electric windows or door locks. I am serious My wildest dream is to push a button and roll my window down at McDonald’s or push the clicker button and have my car unlock when my hands are full.</p>
<p>If the items in this thread require a smart phone, I guess it doesn’t matter!</p>
<p>I remember when a great aunt had a cadillac with power windows & seats in the 1960s! I would never buy a car without it- I am so spoiled - reaching across the car to roll down the window is sooo difficult! ;)</p>
<p>^^I want one of those! I want a car with manual windows, rubber floors and no carpet and does not talk back at me or need an electronic key. I’ve replaced the drivers switch 2x on my Volvo because the window would not go up (in the winter at an ATM) and I’ve had to replace my car key ($150 for a KEY) that I didn’t even know was electronic until I went to the hardware store and asked them to make me a spare key. Yuck. Give me a manual car with a manual transmission and NO electronics and I’ll be happy…a retro car…Detroit are you listening??? My H wanted me to get an automatic starter thing and I said heck no…the car warms up while I’m brushing the snow and ice off it in the winter after work, when they come out with some gadget that cleans the snow and ice off your car and warms it up then we’ll talk…that’s one electronic jiggy i wouldn’t mind.</p>
<p>That’s actually an important tip. Cars today will not run if they don’t “read” the correct code from the microchip in the key. So, it’s crucial to read what is required to program a key in case you lose one. For example, if you buy a replacement FORD key, you can program it yourself, but you need TWO good keys to program the new one. So, if you only have a total of two keys and lose one, you are outta luck and have to go to the dealer to get the whole thing reprogrammed. The upshot is that, if you have a FORD, you better have THREE keys available. Cheaper to get the third one now and program it as insurance.</p>
<p>True. Although a valet already has your car if they want to steal it!</p>
<p>I don’t have any problem with needing two keys to program a new one. It’s just a rude surprise if you haven’t figured out the need in advance! BTW, I’ve had one of these microchip keys fail. No longer started the car and couldn’t be reprogrammed. Wife came out of WalMart, car started, but immediately died. She called me to come get her. On a hunch, I took the spare key, and it worked like a charm. Drove straight to the dealer to buy a replacement “third” key. </p>
<p>The dealer can do a full reset of the system and reprogram all the keys, but I was told that was a couple hundred dollar haircut, not to mention the aggravation of taking the car to the dealer.</p>
<p>Dam those smart keys. Especially in the summer when I don’t carry them in my coat pocket and they get tossed in the cupholder. I will admit to occasionally “forgetting” to turn my hybrid car off. It makes no noise when running all electric, is- while parked. I usually remember while walking away, but not always.</p>
<p>^lol, I forgot to turn my Prius off last week but as soon as I opened the door to get out of the car, it started beeping at me. I couldn’t figure out why it was beeping til I got back in the car and noticed the electronic display was still on. </p>
<p>My Prius doesn’t have a key…push button start, door locks open if you have the key fob in your pocket/purse.<br>
The first day I drove it to work, I pulled into a parking space, put it on park, then had a moment of panic because I couldn’t remember how to turn it off. Called DH who laughed at me and said “push the power button”. Yeah, I felt pretty stupid. It’s hard to get used to not having a key for your car!</p>
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My wildest dream is to push a button and roll my window down at McDonald’s or push the clicker button and have my car unlock when my hands are full.</p>
Especially in the summer when I don’t carry them in my coat pocket and they get tossed in the cupholder. I will admit to occasionally “forgetting” to turn my hybrid car off. It makes no noise when running all electric, is- while parked. I usually remember while walking away, but not always.</p>