Motormouth: New-age electric cars make this old-school motorist feel like a dinosaur on its last legs

Modern electric cars are driven by high tech and also driving this dino to extinction, but not before he burns some more fossil fuel.

This technological dinosaur is a survivor, because I managed to get through the transition from the analogue devices of yesterday to the digital gadgets of today. 

When smartphones became mainstream, I continued to use a “stupidphone” with no touchscreen, no 3G connectivity and no clever features. But it could send/receive SMS and make telephone calls. It was also a classic (some said spastic) clamshell design in an era of sleek candy-bars and stylish sliders. 

I made full use of my trusty handphone because it met my needs and was as reliable as a Toyota. Most importantly, it was a major upgrade from my previous tele-tool. I didn’t hanker after the original iPhone because my relatively ancient handset was already far more advanced than my pathetic Motorola pager, which came with a choice of alert tones and a gold chain for that beng-executive feel. 

I also didn’t lust after the latest digicams at the time because my battle-scared Canon was already more capable than my first SLR, which used film, that needed to be developed and all. 

This old dino did get new gizmos every now and then, but always long after the early adopters. In marketing terms, I was a straggler - slow in the purchase of innovations and low in personal technology. 

I was also a little lost in cyberspace, because I preferred to read books instead of blogs and my automotive writing experience till then was almost entirely in print rather than online, with tons of magazines to my name in more ways than one. 

The only part of the internet revolution that made an immediate impact on me was the switch from snail mail to e-mail, which started in my first full-time workplace (a publishing firm) with a shared terminal and basic “mbox” addresses.  

I even remember the typewriter. Yes, I’m the type of writer with a rear view mirror which reflects a yesteryear long gone and far behind, yet forever closer than it appears. 

One of my greatest podium moments in the past as a gadget idiot was when I bought my very first smartphone in 2010. The Apple iPhone 4 not only supercharged my mobile connectivity and editorial productivity, but also supported navigation apps that allowed me to ditch my dog-earred street directory once and for all. 

This big boy refused to give up his turbo Rex until he became fossilised.

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