A lot of what’s touted as progress out there isn’t really progress at all. From Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com:
How can you tell when progress is no longer being made? That’s easy. It is when something simple and inexpensive that works really well – and lasts essentially forever – is replaced by something that is complex and expensive, that doesn’t last very long and provides no meaningful functional improvement over what it replaced.
Keyless/push-button ignition, for instance.
This system began – as most such things do – as a gadget rather than improvement. Instead of a key made of metal one inserted into a lock and then turned to start the car’s engine, a button you pushed – and a fob you held. At first, it seemed very “cool” and also “futuristic,” while putting a key into a lock seemed so old fashioned.
But what has been gained? And what has it cost?
The “gains” can be measured in the second or two one doesn’t spend inserting a key into a lock. And in the not having to find the key, in order to insert it into the lock.
And the costs?
First, the big one – of the fob itself vs. the key. A key is a piece of metal, cut to fit the lock. It costs less than $10 to cut one – or replace one. A fob can cost more than $100 to replace. Even the “inexpensive” replacements costs many times as much as it costs to get a new key cut.
And it is more likely you will have to get (and pay for) a new fob, sooner. They just stop working, being electronic things. And they do not like being run through the wash – also because they are electronic things. The can also be crushed under foot or otherwise physically damaged. It is much harder to hurt a physical key.
