Does electronics make life boring?

This is the big moment for automotive electronics. No joke. Perhaps you now expect something like horror stories of air conditioning systems failing to work during a traffic congestion while at the same time the power window refuses to open. Or navigation systems that lead Ruhr area families including children and dog to the Atlantic coast instead of to their grandparent's farm in the Black Forest.

Sure, these things happen. Nevertheless I am serious: The moment all these people decamp to what typically is the longest-distance journey their whole year round is the moment when one really recognizes the value of the electronic circuits in their set of wheels.

It starts with things like navigation. Earlier, the wife on the front passenger's seat acted as co-pilot and navigator — a stressful job, and woe betide her when she got wrong. Now the only one who is to blame is the navigation system itself.

Or look at the cruising range of today's cars. I remember my first car back in 1971 — a Volkswagen Beetle. With its 30 liter gas tank and a fuel consumption impossible to mention today, one had to stop for almost every other filling station. By the way, these days the cars had to be serviced (oil change, grease etc) every 5000 km, and if you had forgotten to do this before take-off for Italy it could easily have caused a shortage of cash (credit cards were not common these days, but this is another story).

Having mentioned possibly defective air cons: In these days, cars did not have air conditioning systems at all — all you could do was open the window if the temperature rose beyond the level you could bear. And then, down the Simplon Pass in the Alps, where was the brake? It got hot and lost effect, and you better did not take a long down-grade in one go. You had to take a break in the middle and wait until the brake had cooled down to its normal temperature. And when you took a curve a little bit too fast, in some cars (the Beetle was infamous for this behavior), the rear end broke out and you found yourself in a situation somewhere between embarrassing and dangerous.

All these 'features' of yesterday's cars are gone. Thanks to electronic systems, nowadays we enjoy comfortable, fuel efficient and safe vehicles, and holiday trips are no longer adventures. Instead, those trips make a good topic for telling nostalgic stories and enjoy remembering the old days — but only for those who stay home and sit together in the beer garden. The other ones on the Autobahn may enjoy the safety and comfort the electronic systems in their cars provide.