07/30/2026
Somewhere along the way, cars stopped being machines we owned and started becoming rolling smartphones we finance.
I don’t hate technology. Backup cameras, blind-spot warnings, and better safety systems are great.
But I shouldn’t need a software update to turn on the air conditioner—and I definitely shouldn’t have to subscribe to a feature already bolted into the car.
Give me a dependable engine, a few honest buttons, and a dashboard that doesn’t look capable of launching a satellite.
Maybe this is middle age talking, but I miss when a car’s biggest privacy concern was the collection of French fries under the driver’s seat.
The real luxury may not be having more technology.
It may be owning something simple, reliable, repairable, and completely yours.