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Hear hear. I sold my old 2004 Skoda Fabia (which for Americans has the technology of a 2000 VW golf), since repairs were costing more and the car sharing here

by furyg3 5y ago

Hear hear. I sold my old 2004 Skoda Fabia (which for Americans has the technology of a 2000 VW golf), since repairs were costing more and the car sharing here in Amsterdam is really becoming reliable for the few times I need a car. Recently I rented a car for a ski trip, a recent Jeep Renegade, oh my lord. It was constantly trying to take the controls from me (god forbid you change lanes without signaling on a totally empty road!), the dashboard screen was constantly changing, and dynamically listed the speed limit in two places, but often it was completely wrong and sometimes it didn't even agree with itself. I am still not clear what it was trying to tell me. The console screen was 'dumb' in the bad way, and would lose connection with my phone constantly, but you couldn't re-connect it because you're not allowed to do that while driving. The interface was of course badly designed and slow to respond, so changing radio stations was a nightmare (which I had to do because my phone wouldn't connect. In the end I just used my ear-free headphones since it was easier. My old Skoda had none of this. Real dials / gauges, simple physical climate controls, and a hole which you can put a stereo head unit in (I put the dumbest one I could find with bluetooth in for €40). I had a strong magsafe mount for my phone and done.

noduerme 5y ago
I've had this experience with rental cars recently. It's terrifying! I usually spend half an hour in the parking lot sifting through menus turning off all the warnings I can find. I like Skodas. Although a Czech friend told me that Skoda in Czech is a car name, a common surname, and a casual term for "idiot".
- strzibny 5y ago
  The translation is not idiot, but misfortune, damage or pity (Schade for German friends). Funny name for sure.
  - noduerme 5y ago
    Hah. Noted - my friend's English is not the best, but I think his example was like a someone tripping over something in the street. He physically performed something, and I guess I misunderstood! Ah sorry for butchering another language ;) It reminds me of one time I was sitting in a bar in Spain, and a chicken walked inside. And it was a female chicken, not a rooster, so I thought it should be "polla" instead of "pollo". So I waved at the bartender and said "Mira! Está una polla en la barra!" and all the guys in the bar started roaring with laughter because "pollo" is male or female for any chicken, but "polla" in Spain does mean slang for "idiot". After that every time I'd walk into that bar they'd ask if I saw a "polla" hahahahah
- dagw 5y ago
  I love my 2014 Skoda. It is the most boring car I have ever owned. It just does exactly what I want every time without fail and is never 'surprising' or 'interesting' or 'fun'.
swiftcoder 5y ago
> dynamically listed the speed limit in two places, but often it was completely wrong and sometimes it didn't even agree with itself I had a rental car last year that did this. One speed limit is the (often outdated) speed limit it picks up from the navigation system's maps, and the second in the most recent speed limit sign the cameras OCR'd. The speed limit from the maps is invariably wrong as soon as you turn off a major road, and the cameras seem to miss about every 3rd speed limit sign...
komadori 5y ago
I can see why you might feel silly indicating on an empty road, but personally I find indicating to be such an integral and effortless part of turning or changing lane that I always indicate even if I can't see anyone about. By comparison, when drivers are making judgement calls about whether it's necessary to indicate, I'm often suprised by their unexpected movements. This is particularly true as a pedestrian as some drivers seem prone to not indicating if there isn't another vehicle behind them.
- ohgodplsno 5y ago
  Absolutely. Indicate all the time, even when not needed. It trains you to indicate when it is definitely needed, and prevents me from having to yell at you because you suddenly jerked to the lane I was on without any warnings.
- EliRivers 5y ago
  "I always indicate even if I can't see anyone about." Well of course. "Nobody else is here" looks the same to you (and me) as "I haven't seen that other road user", and in the event that you haven't seen the other road user, the only chance they have is for them to take action and they really, really need the warning of your indicator lights.
- furyg3 5y ago
  I totally agree with you... but I disagree that the car should be the enforcer of this behavior (unless there is actual danger of hitting a barrier, other car, etc). Drivers should not have an adversarial relationship with their cars. On a winding two lane (same direction) mountain road with light snow and no traffic, it's silly to tell the car 'I am going to cross this stripe now' to avoid the car trying to steer me into the barrier. I am constantly driving on top of the lane lines to avoid snow, ice, minimize breaking, and generally drive smoothly so as not to put unneeded forces on a car in icy conditions. Edge case? Yes, but there are tons of them. Examples (imagine snowy conditions at night): https://goo.gl/maps/bs6wRGZNywz39RgD8 https://goo.gl/maps/bs6wRGZNywz39RgD8 https://goo.gl/maps/XHHkGx9xtg8y9UWt6 https://goo.gl/maps/XHHkGx9xtg8y9UWt6

by furyg3 5y ago

noduerme 5y ago

I've had this experience with rental cars recently. It's terrifying! I usually spend half an hour in the parking lot sifting through menus turning off all the warnings I can find. I like Skodas. Although a Czech friend told me that Skoda in Czech is a car name, a common surname, and a casual term for "idiot".

strzibny 5y ago
The translation is not idiot, but misfortune, damage or pity (Schade for German friends). Funny name for sure.
- noduerme 5y ago
  Hah. Noted - my friend's English is not the best, but I think his example was like a someone tripping over something in the street. He physically performed something, and I guess I misunderstood! Ah sorry for butchering another language ;) It reminds me of one time I was sitting in a bar in Spain, and a chicken walked inside. And it was a female chicken, not a rooster, so I thought it should be "polla" instead of "pollo". So I waved at the bartender and said "Mira! Está una polla en la barra!" and all the guys in the bar started roaring with laughter because "pollo" is male or female for any chicken, but "polla" in Spain does mean slang for "idiot". After that every time I'd walk into that bar they'd ask if I saw a "polla" hahahahah
dagw 5y ago
I love my 2014 Skoda. It is the most boring car I have ever owned. It just does exactly what I want every time without fail and is never 'surprising' or 'interesting' or 'fun'.

swiftcoder 5y ago

> dynamically listed the speed limit in two places, but often it was completely wrong and sometimes it didn't even agree with itself I had a rental car last year that did this. One speed limit is the (often outdated) speed limit it picks up from the navigation system's maps, and the second in the most recent speed limit sign the cameras OCR'd. The speed limit from the maps is invariably wrong as soon as you turn off a major road, and the cameras seem to miss about every 3rd speed limit sign...

komadori 5y ago

I can see why you might feel silly indicating on an empty road, but personally I find indicating to be such an integral and effortless part of turning or changing lane that I always indicate even if I can't see anyone about. By comparison, when drivers are making judgement calls about whether it's necessary to indicate, I'm often suprised by their unexpected movements. This is particularly true as a pedestrian as some drivers seem prone to not indicating if there isn't another vehicle behind them.

ohgodplsno 5y ago
Absolutely. Indicate all the time, even when not needed. It trains you to indicate when it is definitely needed, and prevents me from having to yell at you because you suddenly jerked to the lane I was on without any warnings.
EliRivers 5y ago
"I always indicate even if I can't see anyone about." Well of course. "Nobody else is here" looks the same to you (and me) as "I haven't seen that other road user", and in the event that you haven't seen the other road user, the only chance they have is for them to take action and they really, really need the warning of your indicator lights.
furyg3 5y ago
I totally agree with you... but I disagree that the car should be the enforcer of this behavior (unless there is actual danger of hitting a barrier, other car, etc). Drivers should not have an adversarial relationship with their cars. On a winding two lane (same direction) mountain road with light snow and no traffic, it's silly to tell the car 'I am going to cross this stripe now' to avoid the car trying to steer me into the barrier. I am constantly driving on top of the lane lines to avoid snow, ice, minimize breaking, and generally drive smoothly so as not to put unneeded forces on a car in icy conditions. Edge case? Yes, but there are tons of them. Examples (imagine snowy conditions at night): https://goo.gl/maps/bs6wRGZNywz39RgD8 https://goo.gl/maps/bs6wRGZNywz39RgD8 https://goo.gl/maps/XHHkGx9xtg8y9UWt6 https://goo.gl/maps/XHHkGx9xtg8y9UWt6