By Pattie Mihalik

When I was buying a new car three years ago, the salesman tried to talk me into a higher-priced model.

“The SUV you are thinking of buying doesn’t have an electronic lift to raise and lower your door,” he said.

I told him if I couldn’t manage to open and close the back without assistance I was probably too feeble to drive.

It just seemed like one more way to get us to spend more money.

Three years later, I find there are times when I would have liked that hands-free door. But not enough times to warrant the expenditure of money.

My main concern back then was the same it is now: safety features. Anything that keeps me safer on the road is desirable.

I opted for the built-in navigation system because I’ve got a rotten sense of direction. If I’m at a place where I can turn right or left, there is a 100 percent chance of probability I will make the wrong choice.

With today’s busy roads and drivers with cellphones or other distractions, I can’t afford to take my eyes of the road for two seconds.

Unfortunately, when I bought my car, a lot of what is now standard issue on new cars was only available with the top models.

My friend, Jeanne, bought a car with all the safety bells and whistles.

If she doesn’t brake in time to avoid hitting the car in front of her, her car will do it for her.

If she gets too close to a car in the next lane, her car will beep and let her know.

I’m amazed at all the technical advances we have that we didn’t dream of 10 years ago.

First there was Siri to tell us information, then along came Alexa.

My husband was given Alexa for Christmas. After he figured out how to work it, we’ve been having fun testing Alexa to see how much she knows.

I no longer have to turn on my computer to learn the week’s expected weather. Alexa is good with specifics, giving us the weather in every location we query.

We’re amazed at how fast Alexa can spit out obscure information. Who knows where computers and artificial intelligence will take us next.

I have a friend who says she’s “so over Alexa.” She had it for a while but quickly tired of it, she said, and gave it to her grandson.

She does have another gadget I wish I had. If she forgets where she parked her car she doesn’t have to roam a big parking lot trying to find it.

With her cellphone she can zoom in on the location of her car.

I just read online that I should be able to do the same thing without buying another gadget.

I read where my iPhone should be able to find my car, just by tapping into the Apple Map. When I disconnect from Bluetooth, Map will mark the spot where I parked.

The internet article made it sound easy. For me, nothing about using new technology is easy.

It took me two months to figure out why I couldn’t get Amazon Prime movies on my TV. After a lot of trial and error I was jubilant when I could finally do it. Yet it’s something a 10-year-old could do in minutes.

I am tempted to hire a kid to help me do all the technological things I am struggling to learn.

It pays to be aware of what we can do with a little bit of technology. I have a friend who was worried about his wife driving around their island at night, so he put a tracker on the car that immediately tells him where it is.

The tracking device wasn’t a secret. He told his wife about it, saying it would be an added measure of safety for her.

She must have forgotten because one night she told her husband she was going to choir practice at her church. Every Wednesday she went to “choir practice” until her husband happened to notice her car was parked each week at a remote motel, not at the church.

The end of the story is spelled d-i-v-o-r-c-e.

Some of our friends said they would never want a tracker on their car. I would.

I had an incident a few years ago when I was lost in a remote area that was nothing but construction sites. The GPS on my cellphone wasn’t in service.

When I noticed car lights behind me turning every time I did, even when I went around in circles, I figured I was in trouble.

I found myself thinking no one would even find my body because no one knew where I was going.

Luck was with me when I finally came to a home with lights on. I went up to the door and pretended I lived there until the car drove away.

I’m told that most new cars today can be tracked using a Smartphone with location settings turned on. Google Maps can also track your location, I’m told, Again, I need a 10-year-old to explain it to me.

I think I’d better put an ad in the paper to hire a kid. Oh, that’s right. Kids don’t read newspapers.

They’re too busy playing with all the new technology.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.