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I think I posted this before: '39 Peterbilt, 1 of about a dozen built. Found abandoned, rusted & busted in the Nevada desert. Rescued & recycled :

For some folk, 'tech' it's never enough/right. Just subliminally unhappy unless it's brand new/different. Having a fob in your pocket you never have to take out, and a push-button start is ideal- the pinnacle. Hands-free & superior in minimal/no time required outside of opening the vehicle door and pushing a button. As soon as you have to 1. pull out your phone, 2. enter your thumbprint, 3. open the vehicle app, 4. look into the camera- you've exponentially increased the time & effort to get to the same point. Of course- if your phone is dead (and there's no fob), you'r stranded. But this is what consumerism focuses on; convincing you that 'newer is better'.

Smart garage door sounds potentially useful, but it's just another failure point. Hitting the Homelink button in my car is more convenient than fiddling around on the phone. A fob or key makes sense for many use cases, for example, when you have to let someone else drive the car...I'm not going to hand over my phone over to some rando at the dealer or to a valet... Evolving technology makes everything more complicated, rarely ever makes things simpler...and more points for failure.. Phones get lost, destroyed, replaced and the batteries go dead. Don't want to be completely dependent on a device when a simple key works just as effectively to get in the house...

^ I've also liked that feature. The Taurus we had here for a short spell had it. This very morning, I went out the door with my wife- she was going out, I was going to my truck to see what I had left in the bed last night (it rained here a decent amount). For some reason, she apparently didn't see me cross in front of her car (despite us conversing from the house thru the garage) in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, and she buttoned the garage door down and backed down the driveway. I yelled and waved my arms- she finally saw me at the end of the driveway & opened the door. I was in me jammie-bottoms- no keys/fob, and the truck was locked. I was nearly locked out, in me jammies. And I actually did have the flash thought- 'too bad the truck doesn't have a keypad'. ?

You said that twice. And I will agree to tech making it simpler and easier to live. Yet... THAT doesnt seem to be a simple task... We dont need to access garage doors and windows and lights from our phones. Accessing all that does NOT make our life simpler. It just makes our life ATTACHED to our phones... Think about it... A key is just needed to open the door of a muscle car, the second key to start her up... Carbs and press gas pedal half way down once or twice or if fuel injected, do nothing else but crank the key. Put the damned thing into drive and...just drive. Mash on the throttle to beat the tech laden whatever it is car next to you or just coast and cruise. Now...with all that tech bullshyte we got, do a countdown of what you need to do to your phone to access your phone...so you could access the app to open the car door and ultimately start your car. I guess its easier to do all that then to just get your old school keys out of your pocket, huh? Have a key fob? yeah...I guess its hard to press on the button that says open door whilst the key fob is still in your pocket. Take out the fob when you are getting into your car (at that point in time, the door is unlocked and its like having the car recognize you...) and using the key to start the car... Listen...Im not against future tech and all that. Im actually quite excited from all that futuristic mythology. But...when does it become too much? I get it with the high tech wizardry as I have cameras that I check on periodically from my iPhone to see if everything is OK at the restaurant. Its a tool to ease business ownership on all kinds of levels, but like I said, when is tech too much when the more we rely on it, the more we become slaves for it. And becoming slaves for material objects like that does NOT make life simpler and easier, it reduces our life to have new masters. Technological and digital material masters...

One thing I've always found neat that I'd like to have seen go mainstream was Ford's door keypad. I like that idea..would certainly be convenient at the beach. When I go to the beach I still take my key fob and phone w/ me and stash them in my beach chair when I go in the water, but it would be nice to be able to leave the fob in the Jeep. Though it is convenient to pop that hatch as I walk toward it dragging the beach chairs/etc at the end of the day...

Im afraid you are correct with that analysis. I guess alcoholics could also feel tech savvy as they need to breath into the car for it to start... LOL

Even though I am a 'tech guy', I have no interest in opening or starting my car w/ my phone. I don't need to connect to everything via my phone, I don't mind carrying the key fob. When I leave my house, I always have my wallet, phone and car key & house key. I do like the way my Jeep unlocks when I grab the door handle w/ the fob in my pocket and the push button start is fine. I keep my phone locked and unlock w/ a finger print, don't need face recognition. But the younger digital native resource units probably find keys to be an antiquated concept and want to control everything via their phone or smart watch. So face recognition for opening a car or starting it is for them...

Such an odd look... Im sure their software technologies promise us heaven and earth like all the modern shyte we end up consuming nowadays, and will be par for the course with other vehicles sold, but what an odd look that thing has.

@David For me, it is no big deal to wear a suit and tie to a party if it was requested. Even if it wasnt requested, Id feel comfortable wearing a suit and tie when everybody else is in Hawaiian shirts and shorts. But this party is about you and not me. There are several facets to this for me and the suit is not the problem. Covid is. For me, in a Covid pandemic, with 2 vaccine shots and adequately protected, but definitely not wanting to catch Covid, because vaccines dont prevent Covid, vaccines lessen the symptoms... Id be weary of going to a party full of people because the risk of catching Covid is real regardless of being vaccinated or not. Are these people worth the risk? Are these people family? Or are these people just mild friends? For you, wearing comfortable clothing and NOT formal wear, are you gonna piss them off? If these people are family, then I dont think these people will care that you showed up in comfortable clothing. They'd be happy to see you and your lovely wife (and kids?) regardless! If these people were good friends, same thing applies! However, if these people are gonna be bitchy about what you decided to wear, maybe you shouldnt be risking catching Covid for them...because THAT is how I sees it. That is my opinion. Take the other Cheers and Gears folk's opinions and make the best decision for you and your wife and that is that!!!! PS: I havent been to a gathering requiring a suit and tie several years now. My mom passed 5-6 years ago and I had a wedding to attend in and around that time and that was the last time I wore a suit and tie. So I have a suit and tie on alert of need be. But I was thinking in acquiring 2-3 new suits soon. Even if I may not have any events to go to anytime soon. Taylor made is the only way I go.

Got my 3rd Pfizer shot the week before Thanksgiving and my flu shot in October, no ill effects of either. I've had a cold/mild sinus infection for the last couple of weeks...always seems to happen when the weather turns cold. Just rolling into the end of the year exhausted. Looking forward to some time off between Xmas and New Years.

Wife & I’s 3rd stab is in about 10 days.

pic-shoppe' ~

No need for an app on a phone for that. I could do that within the car itself with the key fob on the Fusion. Tech definitely has a place in automobiles. The very same tech Im bitchin' about here is actually useful in many cases! To which I agree 100% with your very next statement below!!!

Having read the details of all the press releases I do get where Genesis is going with their tech. Face recognition is you looking at the camera built into the B pillar so that the auto unlocks for you and once you're in, just push the start button. Seems to really simplify the access part. Software on the phone allows a parent to monitor and limit what their child, valet or anyone else could potentially do with your auto when they borrow it. I like this as GM will have something similar when you use your GM Software app so that you can lock other users out of say the Watts to Freedom mode in your new Hummer Truck by GMC. Genesis has not clarified if there is a fob or not or if your phone would be the access point, but I do get where you all are coming from. I get the phone access as an alternative way to manage things in one's life. As I pointed out, my kids love having it on their phone, they both have it setup with their auto's HomeLink in the auto so they can just push the button to open. Yet the phone makes it simple to when needed open the garage from a remote distance that the old-style garage door opener would not do. An example of this is say @Robert Hall who shares his house with his sister breaks or has a dead battery in her garage door opener. Calls her brother and asks him to open it. He is at dinner in the city, takes his phone, opens the garage, she thanks him and drives in and closes it. I think we need to open our minds to the various USE CASES that tech can help us with that many times we might not think about but can make life easier. I do agree with you all that at times a simple key is the best solution or a keypad on above the door handle like FORD offers can also give outstanding use cases such as at the beach or hiking where you might not want to carry much with you. Overall, some very interesting things to think about. I for one wish they would have a way to enforce drivers to only drive and not be a slave to their social media apps on their phone.

I have that stuff but I doubt I’d go. Screams of poor planning to announce that later. And also inconsiderate since so many people not only don’t have that stuff but a bunch of us have put on Covid weight so the stuff we own my not fit anymore.

That Ford feature IS awesome! Whenever as a family, we go somewhere (Softball games and practices or amusement park and water parks) and our belongings like wallets and keys seem to be more at risk of being lost and/or stolen on that particular outing, we take the Fusion and we do exactly that. We leave our stuff in the car, hidden of course like in the trunk, and off we go. Yes, the key pad feature is great. I remember trolling a pro-Ford guy over at Motor Trend Forums with that saying that its useless, but its really really great! I LOVE IT!

Many consumers are used to using their face to unlock their phone, so this is just an extension of that..

442s and Roadrunners

Idiotic - why anyone would want that is beyond me.

^^^ There were a couple of those radios in my life back in the day!!! Thanx for the memories!!!

That'd be me.

Legault (Quebec's Premier---leader if you will) and Quebec has authorized and acquired 3rd booster shots for the old fogeys. Time has come where the old fogey's 2nd shot is waning so its time for them to get the boosters. And next month, Quebec will authorize the rest of the population whose 2nd shot has come to its 6 month limit to get their boosters. My family's time for the 3rd booster is gonna be in January. Soon.

WOW, Talk about another reason to NOT BUY TOYOTA. If you have a 2018 or newer Toyota where they have tied the remote start monitoring in their software app, if you want remote start to work, you now have to pay Toyota $8 a month or 1 year for $80 to use the remote start on your Fob according to this news story. Toyota Made Its Key Fob Remote Start Into a Subscription Service (thedrive.com) FAILURE and another reason to NOT buy Toyota!