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I thought the whole "integration" thing was bullshit in the first place, but a proprietary GM system? This marks a return to the days of massively overpriced A

I thought the whole "integration" thing was bullshit in the first place, but a proprietary GM system? This marks a return to the days of massively overpriced AM radios. The problem now is the way these systems are physically molded into the car. Back in the day you could put a good radio in. Good luck with that now. All we really needed for the last 15 years was a recess in every dashboard in which to put our already-giant phones, with a power and audio dock. I can't deny that CarPlay works relatively decently in my experience, but it's not really necessary. Even worse is the removal of auxiliary jacks from car stereos, another huge regression. So people can't even get a Bluetooth adapter that plugs into it and supplant this GM nonsense. There is no end to the mania for screwing the consumer. Subscription car features... WTF. Keep your old cars, people.

jojobas 4y ago
There are plenty of aftermarket head units for specific cars. It's not that hard for the manufacturers to make another plastic part. You shouldn't have to though, now that there is this dual communication standard.
- xattt 4y ago
  How do headunits like that address changing settings that can only be changed from the infotainment?
  - BobLaw 4y ago
    I can't speak directly for these aftermarket infotainment replacements but implementations of aftermarket ECUs for example record CAN bus traffic to build a database of the various node IDs, messages, and values.
  - jojobas 4y ago
    A hefty bit of reverse re-engineering and quite some pain in the neck. Also you'll do everyone a favour if you vote with your dollar for a car that has dedicated controls for AC and such.
- closewith 4y ago
  It's getting very hard, since lots of modern cars don't have space behind the dash for a head unit, since their infotainment screen is now not commonly attached to the amp. If your car has space for a head unit, and a fascia is available, and a steering wheel controls adapter is available, and a backup camera adapter (sometimes eight needed for the cars with "birdseye" view systems), and a climate control adapter, and sometimes a navigation system adapter, you might be able to seamlessly install a headunit. It just might cost a lot. For most modern cars, it's a pipe dream.

jojobas 4y ago

There are plenty of aftermarket head units for specific cars. It's not that hard for the manufacturers to make another plastic part. You shouldn't have to though, now that there is this dual communication standard.

xattt 4y ago
How do headunits like that address changing settings that can only be changed from the infotainment?
- BobLaw 4y ago
  I can't speak directly for these aftermarket infotainment replacements but implementations of aftermarket ECUs for example record CAN bus traffic to build a database of the various node IDs, messages, and values.
- jojobas 4y ago
  A hefty bit of reverse re-engineering and quite some pain in the neck. Also you'll do everyone a favour if you vote with your dollar for a car that has dedicated controls for AC and such.
closewith 4y ago
It's getting very hard, since lots of modern cars don't have space behind the dash for a head unit, since their infotainment screen is now not commonly attached to the amp. If your car has space for a head unit, and a fascia is available, and a steering wheel controls adapter is available, and a backup camera adapter (sometimes eight needed for the cars with "birdseye" view systems), and a climate control adapter, and sometimes a navigation system adapter, you might be able to seamlessly install a headunit. It just might cost a lot. For most modern cars, it's a pipe dream.