When I was shopping for a new car, I narrowed my choice down to two cars. That part was easy. Then I had to decide what model I wanted.

The salesman asked the right question: What is important to you in a car?My answer was safety. I wanted every safety feature I could afford. The new cars have much more safety features than the 10-year-old car I am replacing.Lane-change warnings, a rear-view camera for when I'm backing up and a camera for an expanded camera-view during turns are welcome safety additions in my new car.I had an accident while making a left-hand turn two years ago. After all this time I still hear the crash in my head whenever I'm making a left-hand turn.If I want to be totally truthful, I have to admit that since the accident I am terrified in many driving situations. I go out of my way a few blocks just so I don't have to make a left-hand turn without a light, and I refuse to drive in heavy rain.Any safety feature that will give me more driving confidence is worth it for me. I don't mind paying more for that.But it dawned on me during my car shopping experience how my car expectations have changed.When I bought my last SUV, my "must have" list was short. I wanted a radio, all-wheel drive for winter driving and a roof rack for my kayak.Of course just about all cars came equipped with air conditioning and automatic drive, so that wasn't a decision that had to be made.This time, making a decision was much more complicated because as I priced the different models, I had to weigh what I gained in features versus how much I had to pay for it.Unfortunately, I had to conclude I couldn't afford one safety feature that appealed to me. Automatic brake assist comes on whenever the car senses you are too close to the car in front of you and might avert some accidents. But it only came on the top model, totally out of my price range.Aside from wanting safety features, I decided not to opt for any features that would up the price of the car."Is a power tailgate important to you?" asked the salesman. He said it was great for occasions when you were carrying groceries to the car and didn't want to struggle with lifting the cargo area door."I don't want to see the day I am too lazy to lift a door by myself," I told him.But there I was, yesterday, carrying several boxes to put in the car. I had to lay the boxes on the wet ground while I lifted the tailgate.Oh, my, how easy it is to get spoiled with automatic everything and remote commands that make things happen just by pushing a button.We've gotten to the point where we are upset if the remote control for the TV isn't working. Gone are the days when we have to get up every time we want to change the TV channel.In my house, I would secretly rejoice if the TV remote got lost or didn't work. That would mean my husband would have to watch one channel at a time instead of flipping back and forth between three channels.What is it about men and "clickers?" I don't think constantly flipping channels is a female trait. At least it's not in my house. I like to watch TV with David, but my brain has a hard time processing multiple shows at one time.Sometimes it takes two brains just to do something that used to be simple. That's been my experience as I try to learn how to drive my new car.I bought the exact car I was driving for the past 10 years. But the new model is so different, and even something as simple as starting the car has changed.The first night I drove the car to a church meeting I thought I would be stuck in the parking lot when the car wouldn't start. In the dark, I was pushing the wrong button for the keyless push button start.I don't think it's a big deal that you can start the car without a key. The key has to be in your purse and you have to be a few inches away from the door or you can't get in.My husband wants to know if there is a key that opens the door and starts the car the old-fashioned way. If there is, I didn't get one. It's one more question we have to ask.It's taking both David and me, along with the instruction manual on the Internet, to figure out how to use features on the car.My car has something in common with my smartphone. I'm sure it does wondrous things, if only I knew how to use it.While I've got a steep learning curve in front of me, I'm already reading about what will be my next car one of those driverless cars where I can just sit there and the car will drive itself.I can't picture how that will work. But I sure will welcome it.