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I think a lot of the smart car features have to do with legislation. All new cars require a back up camera due to legislation. But a backup camera with a huge

I think a lot of the smart car features have to do with legislation. All new cars require a back up camera due to legislation. But a backup camera with a huge 8" screen is only useful for backing up. So the manufacturers try to use that screen real estate for infotainment when the car is moving forward.

missedthecue 5y ago
This is a great point. It's only logical. After all, a customer who doesn't want to use the infotainment system can ignore it, but the customers who want one will reject your automobile offering out of hand if you don't include one.
- garyfirestorm 5y ago
  Mechanical things break and require lot of design, testing and validation. A screen solves that problem more efficiently and eliminates 100’s of other parts and wires that go to other buttons.
  - theodric 5y ago
    Counterpoint: it locks all functionality behind a single point of failure, rendering all cabin controls useless simultaneously in the event of a failure of the screen or the upstream chain to the computer driving it (to say nothing of the distraction caused by a system you can't operate by feel with your eyes still on the road)
  - gnicholas 5y ago
    The screen in my Ford CMAX goes out on a regular basis. It appears to be trying to update its software, and hanging in the process. Eventually it comes back, but it could be weeks later. In the meantime, I have no backup camera, navigation, or radio. Fortunately the HVAC is controlled via physical buttons.
  - salawat 5y ago
    Says the bean counter overseeing a software project or industrial offering who has never grasped why those pesky customers assume they factor into a product offering anyway.
theodric 5y ago
Small LCD screens embedded behind double glass in the rear-view mirror are common in the aftermarket backup camera sets. Any sufficiently-motivated car manufacturer could design something similar to meet regs without moving their controls to a central screen.
- datavirtue 5y ago
  I had a F-250 with the backup camera screen in the rear view mirror. It was a factory option and it worked perfectly. Kept my eyes on the mirrors with additional feedback from the camera. It was most useful when hitching trailers. My last two trucks have been lower trim packages to avoid the distracting screens and other "features" I don't need.
lkozma 5y ago
Who is pushing/lobbying for that type of legislation? Isn't it a case of regulation helping the incumbents?
- checker 5y ago
  I imagine this organization and similar orgs. It would be interesting to see if the new legislation has helped decrease the number of backover accidents. This appears to be an example of technology solving a design flaw rather than rent-seeking capitalism. http://www.kidsandcars.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Backover-fact-sheet-FINAL.pdf http://www.kidsandcars.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Backov...
- com2kid 5y ago
  There are multiple long standing "Project 0" efforts in the US that aim to get pedestrian fatalities down to 0. They have a range of goals including reducing Urban speed limits to 20-25mph and adding more safety features to cars. Sad fact is modern giant SUVs have very poor rear visibility and children are just not visible if they are behind the vehicle. Backup cameras are the only reasonable option aside from "stop driving obscenely oversized vehicles." (Another solution would be changing current laws so that 3 row station wagons were legal again, right now SUVs and Minivans fill a need that the 3 row station wagon used to, but it was legislated away long ago.)
etskinner 5y ago
8" backup camera screen aren't required. I've seen some as small as about 4". The standard requires only that a certain spacing/size of objects behind the car is at least a certain visual angle. Screens in rear view mirrors and just below the bottom edge of the windscreen abound.

missedthecue 5y ago

This is a great point. It's only logical. After all, a customer who doesn't want to use the infotainment system can ignore it, but the customers who want one will reject your automobile offering out of hand if you don't include one.

garyfirestorm 5y ago
Mechanical things break and require lot of design, testing and validation. A screen solves that problem more efficiently and eliminates 100’s of other parts and wires that go to other buttons.
- theodric 5y ago
  Counterpoint: it locks all functionality behind a single point of failure, rendering all cabin controls useless simultaneously in the event of a failure of the screen or the upstream chain to the computer driving it (to say nothing of the distraction caused by a system you can't operate by feel with your eyes still on the road)
- gnicholas 5y ago
  The screen in my Ford CMAX goes out on a regular basis. It appears to be trying to update its software, and hanging in the process. Eventually it comes back, but it could be weeks later. In the meantime, I have no backup camera, navigation, or radio. Fortunately the HVAC is controlled via physical buttons.
- salawat 5y ago
  Says the bean counter overseeing a software project or industrial offering who has never grasped why those pesky customers assume they factor into a product offering anyway.

theodric 5y ago

Small LCD screens embedded behind double glass in the rear-view mirror are common in the aftermarket backup camera sets. Any sufficiently-motivated car manufacturer could design something similar to meet regs without moving their controls to a central screen.

datavirtue 5y ago
I had a F-250 with the backup camera screen in the rear view mirror. It was a factory option and it worked perfectly. Kept my eyes on the mirrors with additional feedback from the camera. It was most useful when hitching trailers. My last two trucks have been lower trim packages to avoid the distracting screens and other "features" I don't need.

lkozma 5y ago

Who is pushing/lobbying for that type of legislation? Isn't it a case of regulation helping the incumbents?

checker 5y ago
I imagine this organization and similar orgs. It would be interesting to see if the new legislation has helped decrease the number of backover accidents. This appears to be an example of technology solving a design flaw rather than rent-seeking capitalism. http://www.kidsandcars.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Backover-fact-sheet-FINAL.pdf http://www.kidsandcars.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Backov...
com2kid 5y ago
There are multiple long standing "Project 0" efforts in the US that aim to get pedestrian fatalities down to 0. They have a range of goals including reducing Urban speed limits to 20-25mph and adding more safety features to cars. Sad fact is modern giant SUVs have very poor rear visibility and children are just not visible if they are behind the vehicle. Backup cameras are the only reasonable option aside from "stop driving obscenely oversized vehicles." (Another solution would be changing current laws so that 3 row station wagons were legal again, right now SUVs and Minivans fill a need that the 3 row station wagon used to, but it was legislated away long ago.)

etskinner 5y ago

8" backup camera screen aren't required. I've seen some as small as about 4". The standard requires only that a certain spacing/size of objects behind the car is at least a certain visual angle. Screens in rear view mirrors and just below the bottom edge of the windscreen abound.