got a feel for my automobile

A couple of friends and a neighbour have got electric cars. In each case they are insanely enthusiastic about their decision. All of them have different types of car too, with unfamiliar names like ID.3 and Ioniq5. I'm still in the era of 3,5,7 Series and A, C, E, S Class, plus the occasional Mondeo and Focus.

I didn't even realise that the S 3 X Y names were supposedly sexy, nor that Ford grabbed first dibs on the E, which scuppered Musk's plans. 

But since I started to drive electric I've become another one of the enthusiasts. What's not to like about having a space in the front where the engine would normally go? The Frunk. And all those dials that are no longer necessary. Oil Pressure. Water Temperature. Revolutions per minute. All gone.

Four wheel drive - yes, but no transmission tunnel. No complicated plumbing. No gearbox, no clutch.

I was sceptical about not having a separate speedometer and  just having one big screen with largely the sat-nav on it. But now I've used it, it is so much simpler. I've also received about four over the air (OTA) updates containing new features. And as for one pedal driving, with regenerative braking. Nice.

And I've realised that the Operating System has actually been designed for a car, not as an afterthought. And to think, in my novel Sleaze, a couple of characters said to one another that blokes in bars wouldn't be able to talk about cars after they all went electric.