Thoughts provoked

Airline pilots get retrained and certified every time they move from one type of plane to another so that they can safely operate the sophisticated electronic controls in modern aircraft. Motorists expect to jump in and out of cars with minimal instruction and a cursory skim of the owner's manual. For starters, how do you even turn on one of these new cars? For decades, you did it by twisting a key, holding it for a few seconds, then releasing it as the engine kicked on. Turning the car off involved twisting it in the opposite direction. The Toyota Motor Corp. recall uproar is spurring a reevaluation of the way new automotive technology should be designed—and how much consumers should know about how it works. Features such as electronic throttle controls, computer-controlled braking, push-button "keyless" ignition systems, new transmission designs and gas-electric hybrids present challenges to drivers who are accustomed to the well-known conventions that guided the desig