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I'm unfortunately in the market for a new car, and I'm having to look into work vehicles like small cargo vans to avoid all this nonsense. Touchscreens, radars

I'm unfortunately in the market for a new car, and I'm having to look into work vehicles like small cargo vans to avoid all this nonsense. Touchscreens, radars, special Android apps, automatic climate control, buttons on the steering wheel... Enough already, I just want a fucking car! Airbags and antilock brakes save lives. A/C is useful in summer. Radio is nice. The rest is garbage.

tjohns 7y ago
The radars can save lives by detecting an imminent collision and sounding an alarm ("pay attention!") or automatically breaking. The buttons on the steering wheel are also a safety feature, since it lets you keep your eyes on the road.
andrewg 7y ago
Just bought a ‘99 BMW and I couldn’t be happier. All the important stuff (airbags, ABS, etc), comfort (a/c, heated seats, power windows/top), and beautifully simple controls. Nothing else.
agumonkey 7y ago
Old car EV conversion is ready for your money
- nickserv 7y ago
  I would do it in a heartbeat but for lack of a way to charge it.
  - agumonkey 7y ago
    I heard some countries are lacking a good enough electrical grid to do that .. sad.
gmueckl 7y ago
The right set of buttons on the steering wheel are a life saver. Quite literally. How often do you take the hands off the steering wheel to adjust the radio? Be honest. Even if you're not looking at the radio, your attention is focussed on finding and manipulating the controls by touch. The control over the car is diminished because you don't have both hands on the wheel (important for quick reactions, less so for driving straight). The same goes for cruise control that can be controlled entirely with the thumb and hands on the wheel. Maybe a set of useful buttons should be mandated on the steering wheel?
- nickserv 7y ago
  I admit that in the first couple months it might be more dangerous, but once I get used to the controls, I don't need to think about it and can just go on muscle memory. Yes it means that one hand is momentarily off the wheel but I drive a stick shift so that's gonna happen anyway. In any case I'm not completely against steering wheel buttons per se, just that all the cars I've seen have entirely too many of them. I feel all these gizmos are more distracting than anything else, and take away from focusing on the road. But maybe it's just grumpy old man mode slowly setting in.
- Marsymars 7y ago
  My Ford Fiesta feels like they really half-assed the QA on the steering wheel UX. There are some << and >> buttons on the steering wheel, which work fine for FM radio, but I exclusively use Sirius in the car and instead of going to the previous/next channels like you'd expect, << and >> just go straight to channel 184, and you have to use the center dash buttons to adjust the channel.
  - jessaustin 7y ago
    Is "184" the only channel that has been saved as a preset? Typically those buttons cycle among preset channels.
    - Marsymars 7y ago
      Oh my god, I've had this car for six years, and you're entirely correct. Thank you so much. Still awkward UX since the steering wheel buttons have exactly the same icons as the dash buttons yet do different things, but their functionality is described correctly if you read the entire vehicle manual.
      - jessaustin 7y ago
        Haha you're welcome. Also you should upvote that comment. b^)
- 7y ago

tjohns 7y ago

The radars can save lives by detecting an imminent collision and sounding an alarm ("pay attention!") or automatically breaking. The buttons on the steering wheel are also a safety feature, since it lets you keep your eyes on the road.

andrewg 7y ago

Just bought a ‘99 BMW and I couldn’t be happier. All the important stuff (airbags, ABS, etc), comfort (a/c, heated seats, power windows/top), and beautifully simple controls. Nothing else.

agumonkey 7y ago

Old car EV conversion is ready for your money

nickserv 7y ago
I would do it in a heartbeat but for lack of a way to charge it.
- agumonkey 7y ago
  I heard some countries are lacking a good enough electrical grid to do that .. sad.

gmueckl 7y ago

The right set of buttons on the steering wheel are a life saver. Quite literally. How often do you take the hands off the steering wheel to adjust the radio? Be honest. Even if you're not looking at the radio, your attention is focussed on finding and manipulating the controls by touch. The control over the car is diminished because you don't have both hands on the wheel (important for quick reactions, less so for driving straight). The same goes for cruise control that can be controlled entirely with the thumb and hands on the wheel. Maybe a set of useful buttons should be mandated on the steering wheel?

nickserv 7y ago
I admit that in the first couple months it might be more dangerous, but once I get used to the controls, I don't need to think about it and can just go on muscle memory. Yes it means that one hand is momentarily off the wheel but I drive a stick shift so that's gonna happen anyway. In any case I'm not completely against steering wheel buttons per se, just that all the cars I've seen have entirely too many of them. I feel all these gizmos are more distracting than anything else, and take away from focusing on the road. But maybe it's just grumpy old man mode slowly setting in.
Marsymars 7y ago
My Ford Fiesta feels like they really half-assed the QA on the steering wheel UX. There are some << and >> buttons on the steering wheel, which work fine for FM radio, but I exclusively use Sirius in the car and instead of going to the previous/next channels like you'd expect, << and >> just go straight to channel 184, and you have to use the center dash buttons to adjust the channel.
- jessaustin 7y ago
  Is "184" the only channel that has been saved as a preset? Typically those buttons cycle among preset channels.
  - Marsymars 7y ago
    Oh my god, I've had this car for six years, and you're entirely correct. Thank you so much. Still awkward UX since the steering wheel buttons have exactly the same icons as the dash buttons yet do different things, but their functionality is described correctly if you read the entire vehicle manual.
    - jessaustin 7y ago
      Haha you're welcome. Also you should upvote that comment. b^)
7y ago