4 ms·

If I have to choose between a massive tech corporation being able to know exactly what I do with the car I've bought, as well as the cops begin able to retrieve

If I have to choose between a massive tech corporation being able to know exactly what I do with the car I've bought, as well as the cops begin able to retrieve the same data, and buying a 20+ year old "gas guzzler" that has manual, physical controls, non-subscription-required heated seats, an after-market backup camera... You bet your bottom dollar I'm going for the "gas guzzler" - I hate these massive corporations more than I love the earth because they're the ones trying to force me into their ecosystem I can't back out of. Too bad the barrier to entry for car manufacturing is so high due to the tech involved, the "back-door" deals, etc. etc. - I'm sure a cheaper company selling a well made equivalent of the GNU/CAR meme would be popular if marketed correctly.

jollyllama 4y ago
Exactly. If they don't want us to buy the old cars, make good new cars, meaning, without all of the unnecessary and poorly implemented tech. The burden isn't on me to change and what's more, adding all the bad stuff is extra work, so they should just stop.
adql 4y ago
Margins on cars are pretty low, in single digit percentages, and only higher when you move to premium cars. You just cannot compete as "not huge" company with other big companies making cheap cars. They are making their money on service and replacement components, not on new economy car sales (well, pre-pandemic at least) So you're not getting "cheaper company" nor "well made" because making something well and cheap requires that scale in the first place. The issue is really that not that many come to dealership and want cheapest radio from the 90s in their new car. People do want at least android auto/carplay and that usually comes with whole rest of entertainment, and as we are in cheap economy car segment, well, the shit that cost few bucks in knobs also get moved to that entertainment.
ok123456 4y ago
A 20 year old Honda civic is hardly a gas guzzler. Under real driving conditions cars that are being sold new today have about the same emissions and fuel consumption as cars 20 years ago, with the exception of very large v8 engines and models like the The Suburban and the H2. You can only really start talking about old cars being generally 'gas guzzlers' if you go back to the malaise era in the 70s.

jollyllama 4y ago

Exactly. If they don't want us to buy the old cars, make good new cars, meaning, without all of the unnecessary and poorly implemented tech. The burden isn't on me to change and what's more, adding all the bad stuff is extra work, so they should just stop.

adql 4y ago

Margins on cars are pretty low, in single digit percentages, and only higher when you move to premium cars. You just cannot compete as "not huge" company with other big companies making cheap cars. They are making their money on service and replacement components, not on new economy car sales (well, pre-pandemic at least) So you're not getting "cheaper company" nor "well made" because making something well and cheap requires that scale in the first place. The issue is really that not that many come to dealership and want cheapest radio from the 90s in their new car. People do want at least android auto/carplay and that usually comes with whole rest of entertainment, and as we are in cheap economy car segment, well, the shit that cost few bucks in knobs also get moved to that entertainment.

ok123456 4y ago

A 20 year old Honda civic is hardly a gas guzzler. Under real driving conditions cars that are being sold new today have about the same emissions and fuel consumption as cars 20 years ago, with the exception of very large v8 engines and models like the The Suburban and the H2. You can only really start talking about old cars being generally 'gas guzzlers' if you go back to the malaise era in the 70s.