5 ms·

The challenge for legacy car makers seems to be less about electrifying the drive train and more about moving to a capable software architecture and UX.

heisenzombie 4y ago
I agree you’re probably right, but it frustrates me because I don’t understand why changing the drivetrain has become linked in peoples heads with lots of software and UI changes in the cabin. They should be totally orthogonal! That said if BMW had bought out a 5 series that was absolutely identical in the cabin apart from the fuel gauge showing battery and the tachometer showing energy out/regen — would that not have been a super popular product?
- potatochup 4y ago
  Agreed. Tesla needed flashy new tech to attract early adopter buyers, and also to attract talented engineers. Now that EVs are somewhat accepted by mainstream, only now we see the likes of Ford coming out with the comparatively normal EV F150.
hedora 4y ago
The i3 has the best UX I've seen in a car. It has a jog wheel (no touch screen), and lots of useful battery optimization features in the navigation system. I can navigate to addresses in my phone book (and change route efficiency vs time settings), play podcasts, internet radio and tidal albums using the jog wheel (while the car is moving), and make phone calls without taking my hands off the wheel.
nickfromseattle 4y ago
One of the other big challenges in the dealership model. Dealerships make most of their profit on services [0], not car sales, and electric cars need significantly less services than ICE [1][2]. [0] https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/where-does-the-car-dealer-make-money.html#:~:text=The%20new%20vehicle%20department%20of,on%20new%20and%20used%20cars https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/where-does-the-car-dealer.... [1] https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_maintenance.html#:~:text=All%2Delectric%20vehicles%20typically%20require,oil%2C%20that%20require%20regular%20maintenance https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_maintenance.html#:... [2] https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-02-10/people-want-electric-cars-dealers-dont-want-to-sell https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-02-10/people-want...
- fomine3 4y ago
  * in the US

heisenzombie 4y ago

I agree you’re probably right, but it frustrates me because I don’t understand why changing the drivetrain has become linked in peoples heads with lots of software and UI changes in the cabin. They should be totally orthogonal! That said if BMW had bought out a 5 series that was absolutely identical in the cabin apart from the fuel gauge showing battery and the tachometer showing energy out/regen — would that not have been a super popular product?

potatochup 4y ago
Agreed. Tesla needed flashy new tech to attract early adopter buyers, and also to attract talented engineers. Now that EVs are somewhat accepted by mainstream, only now we see the likes of Ford coming out with the comparatively normal EV F150.

hedora 4y ago

The i3 has the best UX I've seen in a car. It has a jog wheel (no touch screen), and lots of useful battery optimization features in the navigation system. I can navigate to addresses in my phone book (and change route efficiency vs time settings), play podcasts, internet radio and tidal albums using the jog wheel (while the car is moving), and make phone calls without taking my hands off the wheel.

nickfromseattle 4y ago

One of the other big challenges in the dealership model. Dealerships make most of their profit on services [0], not car sales, and electric cars need significantly less services than ICE [1][2]. [0] https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/where-does-the-car-dealer-make-money.html#:~:text=The%20new%20vehicle%20department%20of,on%20new%20and%20used%20cars https://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/where-does-the-car-dealer.... [1] https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_maintenance.html#:~:text=All%2Delectric%20vehicles%20typically%20require,oil%2C%20that%20require%20regular%20maintenance https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/electric_maintenance.html#:... [2] https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-02-10/people-want-electric-cars-dealers-dont-want-to-sell https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-02-10/people-want...

fomine3 4y ago
* in the US