HOT FUSION
HOT FUSION
As I’ve mentioned before, Noel has a ninety minute drive to and then from work each day, the jaunt from LA to Irvine, CA. It’s one of many reasons why we’re going to sell our old home, and open up a new Wolfmanor as soon as we can. But that many miles adds up and after 140,000 miles, she needed a new car. Thing is she didn’t want to buy a car while we were living in Tarzana and add so many miles to it; she wanted a new car with the new home, whenever that is. But she still needed a solid car now so I came up with the idea that since I don’t drive all that much; I work at home after all, and rarely have more than a 20 minute trip to any place, that we buy a new car now that once we move I’ll inherit and she can get yet another new vehicle. So the car had to be something I’d want and yet had to be a vehicle Noel would be comfortable with for months. With that in mind we began researching cars and prices a few months back. As her car became more and more trouble, we decided these labor Day weekend was time to upgrade. After test driving dozens of cars, I had fallen for the Ford Fusion Hybrid; it was comfortable, was packed with more tech than Bill Gate’s bathroom, was surprisingly affordable and looked really cool. Armed with prices, we made our way to Galpin Ford in Van Nuys, and several hours later we drove out of there with a Candy Apple Red Fusion Hybrid as seen above.
The car has everything; the GPS, which operates both by voice command as well as touch screen, Satellite radio, sun roof, Sirius radio, high-tech everything else (we’ve only begun to crack the two huge instruction books so for all we know the thing will walk the dog) and even mood-lighting on the cup holders. And almost all of that operated by voice command, too.
But the weirdest thing we’ve found so far is something called breadcrumbs. I read we had it but didn’t know what it was and I couldn’t find anything in the instruction book to explain it. But breadcrumbs is exactly what it sounds like, only digitally. Coming home from a party tonight, on our GPS map, we saw some weird markings outlining the roads we took today. Those were the breadcrumbs; the computer remembers where we went and leaves behind digital breadcrumbs so you can backtrack to anywhere you were. I have no idea who came up with that, but can you imagine that meeting at Ford where suited execs are making suggestions as to what little extras they could throw into their GPS unit. One guy suggests a larger touch screen. Another suggests that the gas station POI icons be the actual gas station logos rather than a picture of a gas pump. Then one guy sitting in back, probably cutting paper dolls, says, why don’t we leave breadcrumbs so the driver can find their way back home. Everyone turns to him and says “What a good idea! Breadcrumbs.” Either that or they stone him.
Still, the idea, though so far out it’s in, is still way cool. And though I don’t know if I’ll use it, I’m glad I have it. After all, it couldn’t hurt. And I might find my way home one day.
Monday, September 6, 2010