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>The world is asking car companies to become tech companies No, the world isn't. Musk started a fad of replacing the hardware that worked in cars with softwar

>The world is asking car companies to become tech companies No, the world isn't. Musk started a fad of replacing the hardware that worked in cars with software to save costs and look "futuristic" on Twitter, and now everyone is racing to emulate the shitty parts of Tesla's approach, but EVs don't need to be this annoying and user hostile. Just give me something with a battery and a motor who's only controlled by switches and knobs and the meatbag between the seat and steering wheel, no fancy software, no autopilot, no touchscreens. Basically give me a 2000's car that's an EV and not a smartphone trying to be a car.

giantg2 3y ago
I'd accept software that helped with efficiency and battery longevity. It's not all bad. But those pieces of software are much more limited that what is packed in today. They reason they won't build vehicles that you or I want is because people aren't willing to pay the $50k+ prices for an EV that has the equivalent options as a basic $35k work truck.
- FirmwareBurner 3y ago
  >I'd accept software that helped with efficiency and battery longevity. The embedded software doing that quietly in the background is not the problem. It's the user facing software that thinks it can replace the hardware UX that has already worked for decades that's the problem.
  - giantg2 3y ago
    I mean, some of the embedded stuff is iffy too. I mostly agree though. For example, the Active Fuel Management in GM V8s requires the TCC to slip around 10-15 RPM all the time, so that if it goes into 4 cylinder mode the vibrations won't transfer through the drive train. Not a recipe for a long transmission life.
m_fayer 3y ago
The car we all want comes from a school of product design that respects both the machine it's building and the user of that machine. Specifically, it respects that user's time, money, taste, judgment, autonomy, and capability. I can't think of any mainstream consumer brands that practice this school of product design - and I hope there isn't something irreparably structural at play right now that would prevent such a brand from emerging.
mvkel 3y ago
So you're saying Musk, all by himself, tricked the world into making Tesla the best selling car of 2023, and tricked all the other auto manufacturers into copying him? Damn, he's smarter than I thought.

giantg2 3y ago

I'd accept software that helped with efficiency and battery longevity. It's not all bad. But those pieces of software are much more limited that what is packed in today. They reason they won't build vehicles that you or I want is because people aren't willing to pay the $50k+ prices for an EV that has the equivalent options as a basic $35k work truck.

FirmwareBurner 3y ago
>I'd accept software that helped with efficiency and battery longevity. The embedded software doing that quietly in the background is not the problem. It's the user facing software that thinks it can replace the hardware UX that has already worked for decades that's the problem.
- giantg2 3y ago
  I mean, some of the embedded stuff is iffy too. I mostly agree though. For example, the Active Fuel Management in GM V8s requires the TCC to slip around 10-15 RPM all the time, so that if it goes into 4 cylinder mode the vibrations won't transfer through the drive train. Not a recipe for a long transmission life.

m_fayer 3y ago

The car we all want comes from a school of product design that respects both the machine it's building and the user of that machine. Specifically, it respects that user's time, money, taste, judgment, autonomy, and capability. I can't think of any mainstream consumer brands that practice this school of product design - and I hope there isn't something irreparably structural at play right now that would prevent such a brand from emerging.

mvkel 3y ago

So you're saying Musk, all by himself, tricked the world into making Tesla the best selling car of 2023, and tricked all the other auto manufacturers into copying him? Damn, he's smarter than I thought.