Car accessories heading for the evolutionary scrap heap

Extinction. It’s a harsh, emotive word but the process it describes is, in my view, a necessary one.

In the animal kingdom natural selection dictates that those that are either passengers, evolutionary dead ends, or furry little good-for-nothings usually die off if they can’t compete against those creatures that are better adapted.

And so it is in this automotive world in which I now find myself. The weak car models, feeble features, and shabby accessories eventually get stuck in the mud and won’t be heard of again....until some scientist with a pickaxe unearths their fossilised remains and gives them a long Latin name such as "window winduperus"!

With animals, the threat of extinction isn’t always their fault - sometimes their habitat disappears, they die off from pollutants, or else, as is the case with our friend the red squirrel, they have to slug it out with introduced species that have an unfair leg-up.

With cars, generally, the feature that falls by the wayside does so because something better has come along. Features and accessories like chokes, cigarette lighters, lap-only seatbelts, manual window winders and cassette players are all but extinct, while car keys, spare tyres, street maps and even CD players are on the endangered list. With the introduction of Bluetooth and Smartphones even in-car phone kits (which often leave holes in the dash) are on their way out.

Of course there are those annoying little technological enhancements which, despite most being relatively new, in my opinion should already be on my evolutionary scrap heap. These include (in no particular order): seat belt warning chimes, rain sensor wipers (they always go wrong!); nitrogen filled tyres (don't get me started on their environmental impact...); and mirrors on sun visors - particularly those without covers - which let's face it are only ever used for women applying make-up, guys shaving or reapplying their hair gel, teeth pickers, and nose explorers!

On writing this blog, I decided to ask my mechanics what features they'd like to see meet their maker.....I think it's going to be a long day.