James Bond has contributed a lot to our cultural lexicon, but our favorite Bond gadgets were always car-related. A pen that shoots a laser is OK, we guess, but a Porsche Cayenne Turbo with actual flame-powered turbo boosters? That’s the essence of cool.
As cars go high-tech, car owners will get to feel increasingly like super spies. One immediate improvement: push-button starters with keycard activation. Turnkey starters are fine, but the feeling that comes from hearing a car rev up at the push of a button is something turnkeys just can’t replicate. Now that Nissan and Toyota are putting push-button starters in their most mass-market vehicles, it seems it’s only a matter of time before these high-end starters come standard in almost every vehicle on the market. Even at the risk of more faulty-electronics-related trips to the dealer, that sounds good to us.