Vehicle connectivity is a selling point in 2017. The more things the car can connect to, the better it is, almost naturally, to some. Cell phones, wearable technology, smart home devices, it’s all possible.
At the same time, it’s amazing to think even 10 years ago much of this wasn’t possible. Driving meant popping in a CD, maybe connecting an MP3 player via an auxiliary cord. But, decades ago? Those luxuries weren’t around.
Instead, connectivity came in the form of forging bonds with the car and road. That’s exactly what Bloomberg set out to do. The publication was lent a 1960 Cadillac Eldorado convertible for an all-out digital detox. No phones, no GPS, nothing. Just a landline at the cabin should there be an emergency.
The Eldorado’s charm was on display, per the report. It’s cushy seats, elongated mannerisms and big V8 engine all helped cleanse the mind from emails, tweets and SMS text messages.
Maybe some day a market segment will emerge for vehicles sans connectivity. The joy of the drive is still alive and well, and it sounds like we need to find ourselves a vintage vehicle to detox ourselves.
Comments
Amen!
I have a vintage car. It’s so good to get in a driving machine and enjoy the road.
So True ! A member of my family has a very nicely restored ’57 Chevy , it’s not a trailer queen but a car driven on nice sunny days and they take it to local car shows around town . It’s so nice to drive it on country roads and take in the scenery and just enjoy the surroundings and get beck to why some of us are car nuts , minus all the techy stuff and become one with the machine .
It’s an experience that will be lost with self driving cars and the like .
It’s wierd that even the AM Radio has tubes in it that you have to wait to warm up , no Bose 5.1 Surround Sound .
Now THAT is a Cadillac! One of Chuck Jordan’s masterpieces!
AGREED! Nothing GM makes comes close these days, save the occasional well optioned Escalade. And even it is severly lacking on style when compared to this quad finned beauty.
Ignore the quad finned remark. I misread the year to be 1961. Still just as lovely a Caddy.
Caddys today are just boring, cramped performance cars compared to the Caddys of the 1960s-70s.
I saw a great looking older Cad today parked in the lot of my mechanic. At first I thought it was a customer car. They do a lot of classic and exotic cars. It was red with a white vinyl half top, opera lamps. Just my speed. There was a sign in the window but traffic was so heavy for what looked like a car show at that intersection that I drove away.
I think I’ll check out that Caddy again tomorrow. Need a stick shift to navigate that traffic. CTS is nice but can’t move quickly enough for that. Had the pedal to the floor literally and nothing. Backed off the pedal in case it decided to respond. Would not have been pretty. Going back with the other car tomorrow.
I enjoy driving my 1981 Trans AM and 1987 Cutlass coupe. No bluetooth, no cell phones bothering me about irrelevant crap and no over complication. Just put gas in, put the simple easy to understand shifter into drive and crank up the tunes. That is real driving enjoyment to me!
Joe, I love that too. Ny nagging, backseat driving or any other irritating noise or pulsing that folks who know how to drive don’t need or want.
I’m getting that little convertible back on the road in a day or two. The burb resurfaced the road on my block. Didn’t want to put the real car at risk so the Caddy had a time to shine. Now it’s back to the real deal until the snow flies. My baby doesn’t know what road salt is.
Enjoy your cars!