efaardvark
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Wasted a weekend, but I got my car!
I must say, this was something of an experience. I don't buy cars often. I treat them well and tend to keep them until they die naturally or are murdered. My last car was an '07 model that a tree fell on. The one before that I think I bought sometime in the mid 80s. I haven't been in the market for over a decade. These days cars seem a bit different. Much more exposed electronics and gadgetry. In fact, these days they're more like "smart" phones. For example, ipad-like touch consoles seem all the rage (whether you like them or not). You also tend to have to charge them overnight before you can really use them.
The dealerships I visited were all pushing either hybrids or EVs, or at least things claiming to be hybrids or EVs. (Is a double-sized battery and a larger starter motor /really/ a hybrid, even if it shuts off the engine at stop lights? I have my doubts.) And the apps! Why apps on your car when texting and cellphones are already such a problem? Really. Bad. Idea.
One thing that hasn't changed however.. that new-car smell.
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Yeah, BT is a Good Thing. For cellphones, well, I'm one of the 0.01% of the population that will actually turn off their cell connection when driving. What calling I do is usually just 30-second "I'll be late" type notices when stuck in traffic. Though I don't use it much, for those times hands-free calling is wonderful. I also had a bluetooth gadget for wirelessly connecting my phone to my old car's "aux" audio input for spotify because I literally wore out my last phone's audio jack plugging/unplugging for the commute. (I don't buy new phones very often either.) I made sure this car had both hands-free phone and BT audio input built-in.
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I wasn't impressed with the apps I saw either. The apps I want/need are already on my phone for the most part, and I don't need the distraction of dealing with any of the ones in my car while I'm driving. The only apps I use with any regularity while actually driving are waze and spotify anyway. I'll probably use the built-in GPS instead of waze because the car's display is bigger. It would have been nice to have spotify built-in too, but with the BT connection that's not a big deal. The car does have Sirius XM and Pandora. XM I'll probably use for the 3 month trial and not miss it afterwards. I have yet to try Pandora, even though I have a subscription. That might be good enough to replace spotify when I'm in the car. Other than that the rest is uninteresting at best, and distracting at worst.
Invisibility would be cool. Dangerous, but cool.
The dealerships I visited were all pushing either hybrids or EVs, or at least things claiming to be hybrids or EVs. (Is a double-sized battery and a larger starter motor /really/ a hybrid, even if it shuts off the engine at stop lights? I have my doubts.) 
