Car Compications

It was about 30 years ago when I first encountered the hell of modern cars. I wanted a new car (Honda, I think), but when I went looking there were no options as there had been prior to that time. All was mandatory. If you wanted a car you had to have all the accessories – the electric windows, the electric mirrors, the electric locks, etc. I didn’t want all the electric whatevers because the more complication, the more that could go wrong and the more the cost of fixing what I didn’t need or want in the first place. Rolling up and down the windows by hand was fine with me. Today my concerns were realized. A few weeks ago I had accidentally switched on the rear window wiper when I had my bike rack on, and the wiper stuck against the rack, bisecting the rear window. I tried to correct the stuck wiper, but the blade wouldn’t budge. Today I took the car in for routine maintenance and had them look at the blade, maybe at least return it to the horizontal position. The diagnosis was that it would take a new motor, and that that would cost $200 for the part and $100 for the labor -- $300 for something I didn’t want or need in the first place. Of course, I’m not going to repair the needless appendage. I’d be more likely to disable all the unnecessary electronic do-dads in the car. Give me my 1959 Saab.