[TenTec] How We Buy Things

[Grant Youngman]

Last time I purchased a car, I visited a lot of dealers, did a lot of on-
line research, test drove everything I though I might be interested in.

Found one that met my most important requirements in a price 
range that would leave me enough to eat .... the way most of us 
choose what to acquire in the first place ... and then I bought it.

What I did not do afterward, was begin a long discussion with the 
manufacturer of my car, complaining about features that were not 
available, about the location of controls and gauges on the 
dashboard, about the performance of the engine, about the tire 
pressure monitor that never seemed to work right, etc.  After all, 
engine performance, braking, door locks, headlights, temperature, 
seat position, radio, GPS,  and many other things are controlled by 
several on-board computers that can always have their code and 
parameters modified. So in a sense we all drive "software defined" 
cars .. and more than one very high end automobile the last year or 
two has suffered mightily from software bugs.  How about the 
equivalent of "stops transmitting and requires a reset" on a tight 
curve at 80 mph on the Interstate .. :-)

If something breaks I ask the dealer to fix it.  I have not asked my 
dealer to redesign my car because even though I bought it, I wasn't 
happy with its features.  Not that they would have done anything 
anyway but smile and show me the door, or try to sell me next 
year's model. 

So I drive the car I purchased, and it gets me comfortably where I 
want to go, even though it is not perfect in every possible way. 

Then there are radios ..... :-)

Grant/NQ5T