darcyw

really? I grew up as cell phones came to market and never did see the appeal of them, even now. Clever tool, I'll admit, but so is a hammer. Plus I don't need the government to track me wherever I go. I wear my tinfoil hat to bed, too.
Interesting study was done on teenagers several years ago- Scientists measured brain function after taking away their cell phones. The study showed it caused the same level of distress as losing a limb.
Friend of mine runs the service dept. at the Dodge/Jeep dealer- want to know what customers complain THE most about? Its not about mechanical problems (um, my brakes don't seem to work right). Its that they can't get their phone to pair with the car. Humans are strange animals.
darcy

Fokker

To answer the initial question: No. Outside of a solid sound system, I want no gadgetry in my car. I'm driving, so I'm ignoring my phone for the most part outside of uses of GPS and for that I just have the audio directions on.

mosesbotbol

I love that option and forgot to list it. Really useful in a sports car or car with limited visibility. Gets the car dead center in the space!

s.hasan546

Yes 100%. Not even a question. I live off my phone. Honestly, most useful tool that I have. Not for social media and stupid crap like that, but for work. I am essentially always working and driving. Lots of phone calls, emails, and texts. Also if I need to sign something, or scan/fax it, or look something up, I can do it all over my phone within a few seconds. Honestly makes the insane amount of miles I drive much easier.
It makes my life much more productive. If I had to sit and do more work after I got home at the end of the day to answer phones calls, emails; etc, I would spend another few hours after a full work day.

zeroptzero

i'm in the same boat, I wish I didn't need one but I use mine for work all the time. I actually work off my phone on weekends and holidays just so I can work less during the week. I have no idea what social media is all about, but I know that I am much happier without it, and I don't like people for the most part, lol.

darcyw

makes sense then! its a tool of the trade.
darcy

Hertz Donut

I only have my phone because of work, I'm on-call 24x7, and it's my pager, work phone and mobile hotspot all in one. I consider it a necessary evil. Every Easter though I take my son camping somewhere with no cell reception and it's the most peaceful 3-4 days all year.

ealand0001

GuthNW

For me I suppose it comes down to how you define tech. My 2005 S2000 is loaded with technology — the engineering that went into this car continues to amaze me. The same goes for my 2013 Honda CB1100. This motorcycle features the first all new air-cooled engine that Honda built in over twenty years and it was designed to pass upcoming emission standings that had yet to be put in place when designed. The engine alone is a technological marvel in that sense. But neither of these Honda's feature very much at all in the way of personal technology or convenience technology or whatever you want to call it. Aside from a few things like fuel injection, the CB1100 is a total throwback to an earlier time in motorcycling and for me personally that's what makes it so special. Much like the S2000, the CB1100 was designed with a rather specific experience in mind when it comes to how we engage with these machines. These are the kind of vehicles that make for a very basic, yet uniquely visceral type of experience compared to almost every other vehicle now being made. This is not based purely on performance, neither of these vehicles are considered to be all that fast. But the experience they provide is greater than the sum of the parts so to speak. I credit this to a lineage that ran through Honda's engineering departments for many decades. I'm not sure that this same pureness of thought still exists within Honda's engineering ranks. Even if it does the world is changing and the way society looks at transportation is changing right along with it.

That fact that the S2000 and the CB1100 are both rather spartan in nature holds great appeal to me. A couple of years into ownership I've yet to use the stereo in the S2000 and I'd actually be fine if the car had a manual top and windows as opposed to the powered units used. But the car is still straightforward enough to appeal to me. This simplicity in design continues to be a big part of my personal attraction to these vehicles and surely will for many years to come. When it comes to vehicle design I despise an overabundance of electronic screens and various interfaces for other technologies, most of which will soon enough be outdated. At that point such features only serve to degrade the vehicles looks and compromise the functionality that it once had. I'd rather most all of those things just be left out of the equation. My other vehicle is a 2001 Toyota Tundra and it doesn't even have remote locking functionality, lol. Newer vehicles hold very little appeal to me for the reasons mentioned above. I do have a cell phone, but it stays tucked away when I'm driving or riding. I might not be the best driver or rider out on the road, but I'm intentionally focused on the task at hand when I'm driving or riding and that does not involve processing input from a variety of other sources. There's plenty going on in front of me to keep me occupied, including plenty of other people who aren't paying attention to what they're doing thanks to all of the personal technology that their too busy screwing around with. I'm now at over four decades of driving and riding accident free on the street and am hoping to keep it that way as long as possible. Surely time and the odds will catch up with me at some point, but hopefully this never comes at the expense of my own distractions. Hence to some degree the relative simplicity of the vehicles I own.

Saki GT

I was (trying) to watch a Doug DeMuro video on the new A-Class MB, and I gave up after five minutes of him talking only about the infotainment system. The sad fact is that other than tech, all automakers can deliver is more horsepower, and we're well beyond what we really need. Cars all look like the same jellybeans now and the tech is like selling appliances - its what mainstream consumers want - can I connect my phone to it?

So, I find myself going in two directions - one increasingly expensive digital tech-laden luxo-barge SUV that pampers and automates the driving experience, and then trying to find those increasingly expensive old cars for the analogue experience. Annoying that the "old" cars have old tech, which is just painful to use in some cases.

Overall, if it's tech that helps the driving experience, I'm on board, but the tech that hinders the experience I can do without. ABS? Sure. Lane-keeping? Meh, maybe for the luxo-barge, but not a fun car.