Keys. I have a lot of keys. As a classic car guy, keys open doors and start cars. They do a pretty good job of it too. I can go to the locksmith today and have a key cut for my 73 914 with a look-alike blank from the OEM key in about 5 minutes for about $4.
I started thinking about all the keys to cars that I have had over the years. There are some good ones and some not so good ones. Many of the Japanese and German cars have just one key for everything. The American cars, for some reason, had two; one for the doors and one for the ignition. I never understood that.
I placed a call to the Petersen Automotive Museum to find out what car was the first car to use keys. I spoke with the curator’s assistant, and she said that they did not know which car was the first with keys.
If you have purchased a new car recently or are planning on buying a new car, one of the things that you may notice are the keys, or rather the lack of keys. They have things that look sort-of-like keys, but without the cut metal key part that works with the tumblers. It’s not there. You have a little plastic nub that you pop into the slot. You still turn it, but it’s not really the same. Or how about the cars with the little fob that you keep in your pocket. You don’t even need to stick it into the car anywhere. The car is smart enough to know that you have it, and all you need to do is press the start button.
My buddy’s 2004 Volvo has a key, and only the driver’s door has a key slot. To unlock the other doors, you need to use the fob. If you lose the fob, then expect a $400 bill from the dealership. This is a safety issue for him, as he needs to be able to put his kids in the car on the curb side so he has to use the fob to unlock the door. His 911 SC uses a regular key.
What worries me is that the trend towards keyless cars will make saving and restoring cars a challenge. It’s not just the keys that worry me either; it’s the in-dash DVD, iDrive, LCD screen controls and other electronic components that are in new cars. The HVAC runs through the LCD screen, the radio, the cell phone, the GPS, and all other functions, all running through one screen. We’ve all had cars with parts that were difficult to get. Sometimes, you had to improvise or fabricate a part. How are we going to do that with those electronics?
This begs the larger question of whether or not new cars are designed to be disposable. Is a new BMW 3-Series designed to be used for only 5 years? How about 10 years? Do you think that the current 3-Series will enjoy the cult following that the 2002 has? Do you think it will be possible to keep these cars alive when they are 10, 15, 20, 30 years old?
I am not a Luddite, but I think that the additional technology that is being crammed into cars is shortening their serviceable life. Try finding a replacement screen for an IBM Thinkpad 701C laptop. It’s a 13 year old laptop which is not very old by car standards. IBM likely made thousands of that model laptop, but finding a NOS screen for one is almost impossible. Apply this to the electronics in cars and see where this is heading.
Imagine having to total your car because the HVAC control system is NLA and a replacement is $1,500!
I assume, maybe wrongly, that the car makers could care less about this. After all, their goal is to sell new cars, not to worry about parts availability for 30 year old cars. But I can’t help but think that this move toward jamming as much technology into cars, whether it needs to be there or not, will only serve to make future classic car buffs' lives a little harder.
Classic cars all use keys. To me, that’s a good thing. The technology is simple enough to use, locks are not that hard to change. So for me, I am sticking to cars that have keys. Real keys are made of metal and cut by the local locksmith. If you try and sell me some car with a blue-tooth, WiFi enabled, chipped and encrypted fob; I’ll just keep my keys and my classic car, thank you very much.
Those are pretty standard Lucas ignition keys from the 50s and early 60s.
