With my one pickup I was frequently driving off with the gas cap on top of the topper. I had it survive home a time or two, once it dropped down and caught on the rear bumper, once I found it in the street, then I finally lost it for good. Same pickup carried a box of tools 125 miles, open. One of the socket sets (and an expensive one) with a couple screwdrivers and pliers on top. How it did it, I have no idea. I guess I was living right at the time. So I was pretty good until a year or two ago I was loading up at a motel and brought out something, set it down while I opened the back of the van. Had to go to the side of the van for something and sure enough, got distracted and backed into it while I was leaving. Heard the noise and thought at first my breaks were catching. Well in a way they were. Then it hit me. Got out and the owner of the motel started yelling that I had something behind me! DUH, yeah, I figured it out. When I managed gas stations people would drive off occasionally with the nozzle in the car. And they'd get upset when we gave them a bill for it. And one woman set the baby bucket on top of the car, got gas, came in and paid, and yep, got in, started up and put it in gear. I saw what was happening so I was on my way out the door when she put it in gear and yelled. And she was offended that I yelled at her. Sometimes you can't win.

Until recently, we drove older vehicles. I had a 95 Chrysler Cirrus (bought in 95) and a 02 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder (bought in 05). The Chrysler had 107,000 miles on it when sold to 16 year old as her first car. I traded the Spyder in for a 14 Chrysler 300C. Hubby drove his 99 van until the frame rusted out and we replaced with a 12 Ram 1500 PU. My family has always driven older cars. My brother has my dad's 96 Chrysler Sebring convertible and recently ventured into the 2000s by picking up a 03 Jeep Liberty. He drives multiple cars every day (utility purposes), switching between a work van, his personal 00 Dodge van and a 73 Plymouth Gran Fury. He's got a bout 7 cars (never less; you'd understand if you knew our family). My all time favorite car to drive is now in a museum. A 27 Dodge Cabriolet that was in the family for 30+ years. I loved driving it. The heavy duty truck transmission requiring double clutching, the "grabber" brakes that required an oh so gentle touch on the pedal. I miss that car.....Here's a picture of the car being loaded up to take to the museum. The guy's head that you see is the guy who's in charge of the car. We've kept in touch and they haven't modified the car at all. Still looks like this and is driven very frequently. I've been fortunate to have driven cars from every decade starting with the 1920s and I've enjoyed the heck out of each one.

Self driving autos do hold the promise of reduced accidents. However, it is my opinion that more work needs to be done on how to handle a failure. I also believe that accidents will still abound as long as there is a mix of human and automatic drivers. Humans have the capacity to do the unexpected and sometimes emotional charged actions. Forcing an automatic car to navigate in a human environment seems tough. Humans take so many cues from their surroundings and can process changes thereof, a situation that a programmed automaton might not be able to assess. For example, what happens to a self driver during a snow-fall? Highway features and markers begin to disappear. What about a downpour when the center-line is hard to see, has a sheet of water over it, and has the same reflectivity as the rest of the road surface? It seems to me that self driving cars will be successful only when those are the only vehicles allowed. This eliminates the human randomness and all vehicles on the road are obeying the same set of rules. This would affect road design; Features would be added that were designed to aid the automatic auto. I would not be happy with preceding restriction. I enjoy, too much, the freedom of driving to a remote part of the country and taking in the view. or maybe, live in a remote cabin for a month or two. Its an uncertain future ahead, but self-driving vehicles will increase. I see it as a boon for the trucking industry. An automatic truck driver doesn't need sleep, food, potty stops, or gets tired. It could cover as much distance in one hop as permitted by the fuel in its tanks. It doesn't need health insurance or a contribution to its retirement fund. It has no family dependents. Another segment is freight trains. These would be a natural for automation.

I was looking for confirmation that our Kaiser had the push button door opener inside like I remembered. I did find pictures and articles which showed them. A few times, I've looked up old Kaisers trying to also confirm that there was a 3 door version. I remember ours having 3 doors, but memory is a tricky thing and I could never find a 3 door model, so thought I must be mistaken. But, when looking for the door openers, I finally found a couple of articles that confirmed there was a 3 door model! Apparently, the rear driver's side door was welded shut and the spare tire was placed in the door-well, with a fake handle on the outside. I faintly remember the spare being over there, I think. It was nice to have my memory confirmed - that I wasn't crazy remembering it only had 3 doors.