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This is all tremendously frustrating to me because electric cars don't have to be this complicated. I've enjoyed the restoration work on my electric-converted m
by jcrawfordor 3y ago
This is all tremendously frustrating to me because electric cars don't have to be this complicated. I've enjoyed the restoration work on my electric-converted minitruck because it's all very simple. Sure, there is software, running in the motor controller and the instrument cluster. Both are fairly straightforward to work with, though, and have small functionality scopes that makes it unlikely you'd want to change anything besides configuration. The user interface is mostly just 12v through switches to GPIOs on the motor controller, though the instrument cluster receives data via CANOpen which of course greatly simplifies the wiring.
What I'm saying is that I don't think there's really any connection between these software problems and electric vehicles... the problem is that electric vehicles are being introduced at the same time that the auto industry has bet on advanced software features, touchscreen interfaces, and sophisticated infotainment as the way to win customers. Since the EVs are broadly new designs, they're often getting all these new features first. Major examples like Tesla have caused consumers to conflate "electric drivetrain" and "huge touchscreen, no buttons," when one does not need to imply the other.
Look at the hobby EV community, they can be built in very straightforward ways that are easier to diagnose than combustion engines. The industry just doesn't want to.
- willsmith72 3y agoyou can blame tesla for that. the whole premise was EV + autopilot, lumping software in the electrical hardware bucket
- eddywebs 3y agoHobby EV community sounds fascinating, are there any links to active community?
- theteapot 3y agoNow do it a million times and see if a failure mode crops up.
- gambiting 3y agoYep, the best example is our little EV - the Volkswagen e-Up, I love that little car, it still has normal analog gauges, basic bluetooth radio, physical controls for AC(!!!!), no touchscreen anything.....it just works day in and day out. 150 mile range in summer, 120 in winter, it's enough for us, fits a baby seat, stroller, shopping from costco...and it was "relatively" cheap to buy too. I wish we had more of this, rather than modern EVs which apart from pushing the electric drivetrain have to push some crazy complex infotainment system on you.
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- rurp 3y agoI totally agree and can't wait for the trend of conflating awful touchscreen interfaces with EV drivetrains to die off. I'm interested in getting an EV for my next car but I find the UX on all of the current options atrocious. I would add that product decisions in general are extremely fad and trend driven. Tesla took a huge lead in EVs and then most manufacturers have fallen over themselves trying to copy aspects of that style regardless of whether they are a good idea or not. Sooner or later they will start chasing some new shiny ideal, hopefully before I need a new car.
- gorkish 3y agoI routinely get downvoted on various platforms including here when I attempt to remind people of this simple and obvious fact. EV's do not have to be spaceships. But carmakers have a lot of difficulty envisioning a future where their BOM costs go down. They want to sell the customer a vehicle at the very limit of their purchasing ability. In fact, with the EV credit the strategy is even worse: they can now sell a customer a car that is $7500 more expensive than the customer could originally borrow/afford. Its fucked up in the extreme. Here we are in the US quibbling over the minutiae of a $7500 tax credit; meanwhile China is getting busy building $7500 A-segment EVs. Guess how that is gonna work out
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]