Technology that I'm not certain I need

I sometimes wonder about our mindless rush towards new technology.

We bought a new Toyota Avalon a couple of years ago.  It was one of the earlier cars to feature no keys.

I can see some benefits in having no keys.  The door doesn't get scratched.  I don't have to fumble for key, and no one can run off with my key and easily have a copy made.

I have been driving cars for over 42 years.  Scratches on the door from keys have never been a big problem for me.  I have managed quite well getting in my cars, especially with automatic doors that unlock when I press a button on the key fob.  No one has ever copied one of my keys except me, and that has turned out to be pretty handy when three people needed to use the same car.

So none of those are good reasons that I need keyless starting of my car.

We have found the batteries in the keyless entry/start fobs lose their power quickly.  You have to go back to the dealer to have them replaced.  One of our lasted less than two years, the other slightly over two years.  The dealer says the average is about a year.

I guess the odds of both batteries dying at the same time are slim, but ours went out just a month a part.  While there is a key hidden in the fob that will open the doors, it doesn't do you much good if you also want to start the car.

It just might be that we have some great technology whose most visible effect is that it is just one more reason we have to go back to the dealer.

These days there is no way a shade tree mechanic could do much more than drain the oil from the engines of these cars.  It would probably take an engineering degree to change the spark plugs.

Now I have to have an electronic key to get the motor to run.  The key and switch were some of the most reliable technology on cars.

The companies have decided it is time to move on, I guess that is way "progress" happens these days, we need new technology just so we can have something new to sell.