OPINION: Car tech advancement has me all keyed up

I am a fan of cars — new ones, old ones, broken ones, rusty ones, toy ones ... In fact, I have a couple of hundred toy cars I have collected since I was a boy. But I am not writing about toy cars today. I’m writing about real cars and what starts them — a key. A well-known computer company (think fruit) has decided that next year it will introduce a proximity key to its phones that will enable you to unlock and start your car. In one form or another, this sort of thing has been possible for the past 20 years or so. Generally, we call this remote control and some of you probably have a device or two that enables you to open your garage door as you enter your driveway. But this idea, using your mobile phone to unlock and/or start your car, also comes with the option of sharing the “car start app” with other drivers such as a husband, wife or colleagues. Some of you might be prepared to embrace this advance in technology, but I am a bit wary of giving the keys to my car to a massive technological corporation. The possibility of your phone being hacked and your car being stolen appear very real to me — let alone the consequences of a phone that needs charging or the accidental calls that smartphones are prone to make. I also want to know, if you decide to change phones or cars, whether you’ll have to do both at the same time. I don’t like the way this is going. Seriously, why are we bothering to do this? What is wrong with a set of traditional car keys? It’s a system which has worked pretty well since we did away with the crank handle. The keys to the car are pretty symbolic, too — a rite of passage to adulthood. And I doubt you’ll be able to put a bottle opener on your smartphone car start app. Do we have any use for this sort of tech? It seems to me the best way to start a car is to put a key in the ignition. It’s pretty simple. And if you’re half smart, you’ll probably have a spare one, in case the key is misplaced. Good luck if you lose your smartphone!