8 ms·
I do appreciate the sentiment, but I wonder if there's any actual market demand for a car with nothing smart whatsoever that isn't also a budget econobox?
by prottog 4y ago
I do appreciate the sentiment, but I wonder if there's any actual market demand for a car with nothing smart whatsoever that isn't also a budget econobox?
- shortstuffsushi 4y agoHuh, maybe the people I know are the exception, but everyone I know gripes constantly "ugh, I wish my car didn't have all this electronic crap, I just want the analog stuff and no computer." The exception for at least a portion of that group would be the rear camera, which I believe is now mandated by law, but... the rest of it could be left dumb and I think most people (I know) would be as happy, if not happier. ETA: I guess it could be debated as well whether the "auto brake" type features would be desirable by that group. My personal opinion is no, but I think other threads have indicated I may be in the minority.
- bentcorner 4y ago> a portion of that group would be the rear camera, which I believe is now mandated by law, but... the rest of it could be left dumb and I think most people (I know) would be as happy, if not happier. I rented a uhaul last year and it was mostly analog, with not a screen anywhere on the dash. The backup camera was ingeniously placed under the glass of the rear-view mirror. Most of the gauges were "digital-lite" (lots of lcd/led segmented displays). I'd say if there was a car version with the same interior I would have been quite happy to drive it.
- buran77 4y agoI'd say people who object to high-tech-ifying the car aren't against high-tech as much as against bad tech and poor implementation. For example a screen in the car doesn't have to be bad tech. But if the screen is where all the controls of the car are located then it probably is. Internet connectivity doesn't have to be bad tech. But if it allows access to the most critical parts of the car it probably is. Then there are things that aren't bad until you realize they're probably abused by the manufacturer. Your internet connectivity meant to allow you to locate your car in the parking lot is great and might be harmless until the manufacturer starts selling that data to pad the profits. Sometimes all the high tech in the car might be super useful, super secure, super private, and still be bad because in a few years it makes the car prohibitively expensive or outright impossible to maintain and repair.
- vlunkr 4y agoThe rear camera and bluetooth phone connectivity are very popular.
- judge2020 4y agoBackup cameras have been mandated in the US by NHTSA since 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backup_camera#Mandates https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backup_camera#Mandates
- shortstuffsushi 4y agoI would be ok with bluetooth, I think this can be done while maintaining a "dumb" interface though. I'm not much for the backup cam, but there are implementations of it that are also not too over the top.
- DogOnTheWeb 4y agoApple claimed during WWDC ‘22 that 79% of U.S. buyers would only buy a car if it was “CarPlay-capable”. Biased source, sure, but the data indicates most consumers value music, maps, and voice assistant in their cars and the manufacturers are responding with about 98% of new cars supporting them.
- rxyz 4y agoPeople want carplay, but also buttons and knobs for AC, seats, volume. Car manufacturers dont want to pay for both screens and buttons so they push everything into screens.
- di456 4y agoI'm in the 21%. I prefer my phone in a dash mount for navigation. I don't need or want an expensive, outdated head unit that costs an arm and a leg to replace. Give me Bluetooth and analog knobs and I'm happy.
- Nursie 4y agoWhy would you replace it? So long as your phone can take over the screen, that’s where your updates come from.
- di456 4y agoThey break just like why other car part. The replacement cost of a fancy, proprietary head unit is in the $US thousands. I'd rather save thousands on the car price up front with a basic head unit that is affordable to replace.
- yellowapple 4y agoI don't even need Bluetooth at this point. Give me audio and charging over my phone's Type-C port and I'm set.
- koolba 4y ago> Give me Bluetooth and analog knobs and I'm happy. Preach it brother! Throw in an analog dial for the A/C fan too!
- overgrownzygote 4y agoIs it the (lack of) reliability of electronic systems that people don't like? As a fairly anxious driver, I rather like the extra peace of mind that comes from having automatic braking, blind spot indicators, and cameras. ACC and lane centering are also quite convenient for long drives, and I do rather like CarPlay. Maybe I'm the problem?
- ilyt 4y agoIt's the implementation. In many cars stuff like automatic braking is kinda unreliable and twichy, can trigger by just someone changing lane in front of you (or so I've heard from colleague that have it). Personally I'm in for anything passive (cameras, sensors) as long as it is not intrusive, acc and lane centering is kinda.... I'm already driving and have hands and feet on controls, I don't need that automated in the first place. I am 100% or 0% on any "driving automation" or self driving. Either work as automated taxi, let me enter the address and let me read book in peace on back seat, or let me drive the car without bothering me. So I drive 15yo civic type R lmao.
- infotogivenm 4y ago> acc and lane centering is kinda.... I'm already driving and have hands and feet on controls, I don't need that automated in the first place. Anecdotally: I and a number of friends have held this same opinion for years, but recently it has changed. Not because of lane marker following, but because of this situation: “idiot in front of me slammed on their brakes at the last second while I was scanning left or right”; the system kicked in and legitimately prevented an accident. If there was some way to just enable that feature I’d be pretty happy.
- lelanthran 4y ago> “idiot in front of me slammed on their brakes at the last second while I was scanning left or right”; the system kicked in and legitimately prevented an accident. How many accidents have you had of that type in the past, say, 300000km of driving? Because you say it legitimately prevented an accident, but this is a routine thing that happens (drivers slam on brakes at the last second) and if you aren't routinely driving into the rear of cars who brake at the last minute, then ... no, the accident wouldn't have happened anyway.
- yazzku 4y agoYou're not alone. The electronic crap is always the first thing to break in any car, and this is a common sentiment from my experience too.
- 7speter 4y agoIve seen that the autobrake stuff can be glitchy and cause all sorts of (absolutely justified) steering wheel grabbing on the highway, so it would just be better if people… focused on the road while driving. Also, if anything happens to the car, even a minor fender bender, the cost to realign any of those sensors are ultra high, and gets passed along to everyone in a given are via increasing insurance premiums.
- King-Aaron 4y agoThere is, take a look at high end track-special sports cars.
- ilyt 4y agoI'd imagine minimum that's sellable would be A/C + android auto/carplay/bluetooth. Backing camera is kind of must for US market so I guess it would have to have it too
- ezconnect 4y agoCompany fleet cars just need a basic moving car.
- fragmede 4y agoSame as for the demand for a small-screened smartphone. There's a vocal minority and they do exist, but not in numbers that can really justify the segment, especially considering it's one that makes less money for the manufacturer. If profit on the spartan model is $W, and you sell X of them, vs the luxury model, which you make $Y profit, selling Z units; and it turns out that $W * X is much smaller than $Y * Z, you'd be a fool to try and go after the spartan market because of some weird emotional connection to the product. X is definitely non-zero, but $W * X just small enough that it's not clear that it makes for a winning product all is said and done. I'm on an iphone SE 2nd gen. The fact that Apple made one is proof that X is non-zero. The fact that they didn't announceme a 3rd gen today is also a comment on how small X is.
- horsawlarway 4y agoF150 2011 Lariat is maybe my favorite car I've ever driven from a "dashboard features" point of view. It's got what I consider the important features - auto lights, auto rear view camera in reverse (embedded in the rear view mirror), bluetooth. It has very little else smart. Knobs and buttons everywhere, basically no screens (a very small one under the dash showing trip stats, but dials are hugely predominate, and a normal radio display with nothing but the station, song, and clock). It's a very nice truck - was near top of the line for it's year, good sound system, heated seats, cooled seats - all of it has a physical button. I hugely prefer it to the dash of any modern car I've rented in the last 5 or 6 years. It looks like this: http://gtcarlot.com/data/Ford/F150/2011/41459168/Dashboard.html http://gtcarlot.com/data/Ford/F150/2011/41459168/Dashboard.h... --- I would absolutely prefer to buy a high end car with the budget dashboard (GIVE ME KNOBS AND BUTTONS!)
- infotogivenm 4y agoI have the same dash in my old ford, but with a screen with “Microsoft Sync”. Can’t praise it enough and tell everyone “I will run this truck into the ground” - the screen is almost completely unused; the Nav is.. ok in a pinch, and bluetooth sync is still completely seamless, autosyncs but shows no info about the song track. There are hard controls for everything. Just wish it had a 2A USB jack instead of 500mah or whatever it is pushing so I could avoid needing the cigarette adapter.
- NordSteve 4y agoCould upgrade that pretty easily if you're just using it for power. I just bought a bag of 5 3A 12v -> USB converters for my dash cam install for US$8.
- LargoLasskhyfv 4y agoObviously, otherwise things like https://overbuiltcustoms.com/cj-packages/ https://overbuiltcustoms.com/cj-packages/ , https://cjjeepbuilders.com/ https://cjjeepbuilders.com/ , https://www.fj.co/ https://www.fj.co/ and similar wouldn't exist?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- 2143 4y agoI don't mind clever features as long as it gives a positive benefit to actually driving the vehicle safely and efficiently. Here's some example clever features that I like: - automatic wipers - automatic headlamps - cornering lights - auto-hold - hill hold - tyre pressure monitoring Stupid features I don't like: - games in the infotainment screen - smartphone integration for, eg opening the glovebox - anything involving a subscription, especially for features whose hardware is already in the car
- wildzzz 4y agoI feel like automatic headlights should be mandatory. In my state, if your wipers are on, your lights should be on. Even during the day rain can make it difficult to see cars that don't have their headlights on and therefore don't have red lights on in the rear. I see many people driving around at night with no lights on and it's a safety hazard. Additionally, your dash lights will be at full brightness when the headlights are off so now your eyes can see even less light coming through the windshield. If relatively expensive backup camera and a display to show it can be mandated, then a much cheaper photodiode to switch on some lights should definitely mandatory. I wonder if the insurance lobby was the one that pushed for backup cameras, it's probably greatly reduced the number of rear collisions that they have to pay out.
- 2143 4y agoI noticed that when there's heavy rain, silver cars are practically invisible in rear view mirrors unless their lights are on. Particularly when there's plenty of water on the rear windshield. I think in my developing country daytime running lights have been made mandatory for all new vehicles, but the millions of existing vehicles don't have them, and their drivers don't bother to turn them on during rains.
- Gordonjcp 4y ago> I wonder if there's any actual market demand for a car with nothing smart whatsoever that isn't also a budget econobox? This is literally why I drive a 25-year-old Range Rover.
- HeyLaughingBoy 4y agoProbably not, if only because most people don't realize how much of their car's expected behavior is driven by computers.