Speeding Through L - I wouldn’t have survived the early 1900s

Speeding Through L

ife

by

Neal H ogden Editor

I was born in 1995. The time in America and throughout the world where the computer and cell phones were in development and the technology boom of the 1990s and 2000s was in full swing. So for most of my adult life, I’ve known technology to make my life easier.

This rings true for remote start in vehicles. My parents got their first vehicle with remote start when I was about a junior in high school.

It was a treat to drive my mom’s vehicle in winter because I knew I could start it before I had to go out into the cold. However, I drove vehicles that didn’t have this option up until about three months ago.

We ended up getting a Volkswagen Atlas which has all of the bells and whistles you’d need to stay comfortable. The vehicle has remote start on the key fob and I can also start it from anywhere using the Volkswagen app on my phone.

It’s fancier than anything I’ve ever driven but by golly I’m happy I have it during cold spells like we’re experiencing now. It’s not lost on me the memory of freezing while waiting for the 2001 Saturn SL1 I drove throughout high school, that didn’t have power windows or locks much less remote starting capabilities, to warm up while I made the 12-minute drive into town to go to school. A lot of times, I’d get to Colby and that’s when my car was finally starting to warm up. It’s a good thing the school buildings were usually always warm otherwise I might have just had to spend the whole day in snow bibs and a jacket.

All this technology is nice for keeping warm but it wasn’t always available. I can’t imagine having to crank start your vehicle or ride in a horse and buggy in these frigid temperatures. I was doing some research on when remote starters began to be built into vehicles and I was surprised to learn that the first remote car starters became available for consumers in the mid-1980s.

However, it wasn’t found regularly in vehicles until 2004 when General Motors started offering it as an option on its vehicles.

The remote start, along with other amenities like the cell phone or computers have made our lives easier and it’s hard for me to picture what life was like as a newspaper editor or reporter without those amenities. Sending an email or texting someone for information is the new fad. Giving someone a call or an old fashioned Norwegian visit that lasts 20 minutes more than it should, seem to be things of the past.