Gadget overdose

Writer Homer Ashburn is all for high-tech devices in the car, as long as it doesn’t try to kill him.

The problem is not with new gadgets. Rather, the conundrum lies with the fact that there may soon be too many gadgets in the market and in our cars

RECENTLY, this writer encountered an irritating - and potentially dangerous - problem with his steel chariot. And it was an electronic gadget designed to protect my skin that was at the root of all my ills.

All it took was one out-of-whack ABS sensor – a technical do-dad designed to keep you in one piece in the event of an emergency braking situation – to put yours truly in a less than safe situation.

And, apparently, there are many of us out there that have suffered similar problems with defective or malfunctioning car electronics.

Gadgets that were designed to make our car travels safer, more comfortable, et cetera, do otherwise when they go kaput.

And yet, science continues to march on.

Take Japan’s Nissan Motor’s plans to equip some of their luxury Infiniti line with “steer-by-wire” technology, which is said to be more akin to piloting a modern day fighter jet.

According to interviews with the Japanese marque’s boffins, these cars will be more manoeuvrable and safer to be in, with the onboard electronics helping to ensure driver safety and ride comfort.

Such fly-by-wire systems, many believe, will eventually lead to cars being “piloted” by joysticks alone instead of the traditional steering wheel and pedals setup we are all familiar with.

Hmmm, joysticks on cars. Saab experimented on that once on the 9000 and what a palaver that turned out to be. Perhaps if Saab had managed to pull that rabbit out of the hat successfully, it might still be here today.

Apparently, you cannot smother a good idea. Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a test car that is driven by a single joystick. No steering wheel and no accelerator or brake pedals to step on; everything is controlled by a control stick on the centre column.

As proud as Stuttgart’s finest are of their cleverness, I can already foresee a problem. While the Xboxand PlayStation-generation will probably love this, the older folks like me may still prefer the reassuring feel of a round wheel to spin and pedals to step on.

Perhaps BMW had such a demographic in mind when they launched the M Performance accessory line for those of us who yearn for a BMW M3 or M5 but cannot afford one.

The star – to me at least – of this accessory line, is the M Performance steering wheel, which comes with a data display embedded in the steering wheel.

It has been said that this steering wheel offers a firm grip when you find yourself in extreme driving conditions while providing you information like stopwatch, G-force measurement, water and oil temperature, lap timer, and even when to shift up/down.

Wait, you may ask, why is a luddite lad like me praising a piece of technology after ranting over the overuse of it in modern-day motoring?

It is complicated. Let us just say that this writer is all for technology, especially if it does not try to kill you.

Take, for instance, the “invisible skin” car. Japanese scientists are working on a technology that allows the driver to “see” what’s behind him/her when parking, as if there were no rear passenger seats and car boot in the way.

The gadget works thanks to two cameras in the boot lid that captures the full view directly behind the car.

The images are then reflected onto the rear seats, which creates the illusion that the back of the car is transparent.

Then there is the XTOOL iOBD2 car diagnostic tool, currently available in Britain.

Plug it into your car’s onboard diagnostic socket (usually located under the dash panel), sync it to your smartphone and, while you are driving, you can monitor data from your car.

The iOBD2 is apparently able to detect faulty code as well as information like fuel economy, acceleration and temperature information, among others.

I could certainly have used one recently instead of spending four Saturdays at my local mechanic trying to locate the fault.

No, the problem is not with new gadgets. Rather, the conundrum lies with the fact that there may soon be too many gadgets in the market and in our cars.

Perhaps, the day will come when we will adopt a growing trend in United States ... and I am not talking about Gangnam Style.

This writer is referring to the growth in the number of call centres in the US dedicated to helping American drivers to cope with the electronics in their new cars.

These centres are there to help drivers deal with everything, from how to cancel their navigation settings to syncing their Bluetooth headsets to the vehicle’s in-car entertainment and satnav system.

Give it time and mark my words, soon there will be a 1-800-TOLONG line for Malaysian drivers who are swamped by way too much tech in their cars.