DRIVERS PAY TO BE DISTRACTED?

From Motor Trend, via Insta Pundit, "4 Everyday Car Features That Turned Out to Be Too Smart for Their Own Good."  Doing so sells.  "Automakers keep adding bells and whistles to new vehicles, but they may have gone too far with some once-simple components."

Until it doesn't.

Mission creep sometimes comes from a good place, such as an automaker’s desire to improve upon a long-standing piece of equipment. But more often than not, it’s driven by the twin forces of marketing and design, which are more concerned with convincing customers to hand over their dollars than the actual human impact of altering how we use our vehicles. These bells and whistles can get in the way of getting the job done, and at their most extreme, they actually reduce our safety on the road.

Take multiple-function tailgates.  Please?  "All of the above has served to transform tailgates from simple, reliable mechanisms to complex and heavy equipment that can be a hassle to lift back into position, a puzzle to fold together properly, and a magnet for moisture, dirt, and grime to gum up and eventually corrode its internal works."  Or what author Benjamin Hunting calls "Play Station" steering wheels.  There are buttons on mine that I almost never use, and my car is a relatively simple crossover.  Then, there are heads-up displays, which might be useful on a fighter jet, but in their contemporary incarnation contribute to driver distraction.  Finally, there are key fobs.  I'm not sure, on some cars, why anybody even bothers with a key, you push a button to unlock the door — on some models, all you do is stand near the door — set the fob in the center console (near your cup 'phone, don't get me started), and push a button to start the car.

And yes, all these things start on the high-end models as extra-value accessories that probably lead to more shop time down the road, and cascade to all classes of that make over time.  It's hard, though, to complain about manufacturers offering consumers gadgets that the consumers seem willing to buy, at least until they stop.  Remember push-button automatic transmissions?  These days, the selector lever where the transmission hump used to be is at least a nod to the classic four-on-the-floor.