Technology

A few months ago, I bit the bullet and laid out the cash for an iPhone. Ironically enough (consider the source), I’m a bit of a technology whore. I love gadgets that make my life easier… The iPhone has done more than that – it has changed my life. See, I’m used to being tethered to my laptop. From porn spam on the Garage Journal to folks that have lost their password on the Jockey Journal, there are just some instances that need immediate attention. In the past, that meant leaving dinner early to get to a computer or hours of a nagging chore left undone eating at my conscious while I tried not to think about it. The iPhone changed all of that as I can now do pretty much anything from anywhere.

Very few times in life can you say a simple innovation changed you and made things… well, just better. This experience has made me think about innovations of the past. You know, the things we might take for granted now but made life for a hot rodder easier in his time. The first that came to me was the overhead v8 engine. Years of research and development on the flathead were put to rest when Detroit came up with something more efficient. Browsing old hot rod magazines, it seems like the transition to the technology was almost instant. Records at Bonneville fell, drag racing began getting more traction (no pun intended), and everyday cars performed better and more reliably. Hot rodding… hell, the automotive industry changed forever.

Still as I sit here and type this, I can’t get rid of the feeling that I am missing something. From 1947 to 1958, the automotive industry, hot rodding, and customizing changed by leaps and bounds. There has to be other, even more simple, innovations that changed the lives of our hot rodding/customizing forefathers for the better – right? What am I taking for granted? Spout off in the replies…