Hartley Neita There was a time in my life when I could repair minorproblems affecting my motor car. I could, for example, clean and adjust the spark plugs and could also clean the points. And naturally, I had to patch the tube in my tyres from time to time.
When I look at the engine of my car today, however, I recognise the radiator, the battery and a few other parts. Instead of one pulley belt as in the past, however, there are now three. One is to provide air conditioning inside the car, another is to power the steering and the third, I think, is to power a fan which keeps the temperature in the radiator low. There are more wires in the engine than before, as well as more pieces of equipment.
The inside of today's cars is also different. There are no vent windows on the front door to direct cooler air from outside into the inside of the car. The dashboard has more instruments displaying the temperature of the engine, miles per hour, distance travelled, revolutions per hour (what that means, don't ask me), and there is even a spot where a yellow night glows when the gas is running out and turns red when the gas is finished. Recently, I saw an outline of a car shining red on the dashboard with what seemed like lights flashing from the rear. Panicking, I called my mechanic. There is a electrical short somewhere in the car, I screamed. His response was that I should relax. What I saw was only an indication that one of the bulbs was blown.
Flick a switch
I can now flick a switch to have my windshield wipers move intermittently, dead slow, slow, medium or fast. Steering is now easy on my arms because of power steering and pressing the brakes calls for just a gentle touch.
When I shift the gear into reverse, two lights are switched on which illuminates the area behind me so that I can see where I am going. This also warns other motorists that I am reversing - which they always ignore. Passengers in the back of the car now have individual reading lights. I can start my car from outside which allows the inside to become air-conditioned cool by the time I enter it. Anda burglar alarm is triggered automatically 20 seconds after I close the door.
The front widows of cars were once made of two separate sheets of glass before the manufacturers discovered how to curve the glass. There were also running boards along the sides of cars which enabled cops to hop the vehicle and instruct the driver to "follow that car"!
Cars used to have a mini-garage of spanners of various sizes, pliers, and screw drivers.
There was also a foot pump - as distinct from a hand pump used for bicycles. With the pump came a repair kit of spare valves, a rasp, glue and patches to repair holes in the tube. The tubeless tyre was unknown in my youth. When a nail punctured the tube inside your tyre, it went flat immediately. Now, with tubeless tyres, you can drive for miles (I hate the word kilometres), and days before plugging the hole. In fact, you do not have remove the wheel from your car any longer - as long as you can see where the puncture is.
As to the horn, it is always in the centre of the steering wheel. No longer do you reach through the window to squeeze a rubber ball which pumps air through a reed to go toot-toot. And speaking of horns, will the Transport Authority remove horns from buses and taxis? And install a 'governor' so that they cannot drive faster than 30 miles per hour!
