Well, no cars, but some really spiffy buggies. Propane refrigerators. Flush toilets with holding tanks instead of septics. The tanks need pumping, of course. The businesses can have phones and faxes, but no computers. They ship UPS because UPS will give them a dedicated unit that doesn’t need to go online.
It isn’t Luddism, IMO. The car thing is about staying in touch with family, although they travel a lot by bus or train and one couple we know rented an RV and hired an English driver to go on vacation to a Amish resort in Sarasota. No phones, but one farmer will have one in a booth in a field. I have heard stories of Amish men w/cell phones in the sales barns. No vacuum cleaners, but they love Swiffers.
They complain of digestive problems and most of the women will admit their diet is low in fruits and vegetables, which I do not see them buying when I see them in the store, although they will buy canned ones.
They have their own mail order catalogs and are really big consumers of herbal and *patent* medications.
I’d say they are legalistic and if they can find a way around an Elder’s injunction, they will. Most of their machinery runs on diesel and uses belts and pulleys instead of electricity.
I gather it all varies by community and depends on individual Bishops. Our local Amish are Old Order, aka:Barefoot Amish, but that is only the kids and younger women, from what I see and they are barefoot Memorial Day to Labor Day, regardless of temperature.
My Dad had some work done on his house last year and the Amish crew had every modern air/electric power tool known to man. Funny thing though..they would not plug into the electric wall outlets in the house-not allowed in their particular faith but had no problem plugging in the gas powered generator they brought with them running out in the yard.
Funny story. I hauled 12-14 of them to a construction trade show which had many "booth babes" ..scantily clad women who was giving away signed posters of themselves in a bikini etc representing a particular tool or construction item,..i.e Ridgid Tool.
All the younger guys grabbed up these posters and as we were nearing their homes they folded them up and was hiding them in their bags so their parents would not see them. It was their version of internet porn..lol.
I would see stuff like this all the time.