3 ms·

100% agree on this. What I'd really like to see is less software in an EV, complete isolation between higher and lower functions, normal physical controls and

by cjk2 2y ago

100% agree on this. What I'd really like to see is less software in an EV, complete isolation between higher and lower functions, normal physical controls and an ability to run the thing entirely disconnected from the manufacturer's dragnet. It should be able to charge and be driven with all critical instruments working fully disconnected from anything and without software updates. My colleagues who drive EVs regularly are always having a panic about software updates which break things. I currently don't own a car as I live in a big city but I do rent one occasionally and did own a Model S for a very short time. If I was to buy a car I'd like an EV next time, but not in the current state of things.

unixhero 2y ago
Wow youre missing out, car is such a fundamental freedom enabler - of movement
- cjk2 2y ago
  Yeah I hire one if I need it. Which is about 4 times a year max. I live in London UK and have a really damn good public transport system that stops outside my house, a bicycle and a massive airport on my doorstep. Incidentally I'm actually on a bus on the way to pick up a hire Polestar at the moment because I have a funeral to get to on Monday...
  - dotBen 2y ago
    (Brit living in SF here) Given that this forum is slanted towards America, you have to appreciate that the quality of public transport in London is nothing like what we have here in the US other than New York City. You're not wrong about London (I never owned a car when I lived there and that was a decade before Uber) but your worldview is skewed. If you look at American history from the last century, in cities like Los Angeles the car companies actually bought public transport railways and dismantled them in order to promote a car culture. And this is what we have.
    - ulfw 2y ago
      If you live in any decent large city in Asia it's not an issue. I haven't owned a car in 12 years since I've moved to Singapore, then Bangkok and then Hong Kong. I wouldn't need a car in Tokyo, Seoul, Osaka, Taipei, Shanghai or Shenzhen either. Gosh, many people in Melbourne or Sydney don't have one. Whose worldview is skewed then exactly?
- pjc50 2y ago
  In a big city, a car is a massive impediment as you have to find somewhere to put it. Every five years or so I forget this and drive into London for something and immediately regret it.
  - tetris11 2y ago
    one does not simply drive in to London, one drives sunwise or widdershins to it.
- afavour 2y ago
  Man, that’s just not true. I live in NYC and the number of things accessible to me and my family via public transit or bike is mind boggling. Then, when we want to leave the city for a few days we rent a car. Costs less than car insurance would be over a year, let alone maintainence, upfront cost, etc. Everyone can live their life in the way of their own choosing, I don’t begrudge anyone who owns a car or anything like that. But I assure you it’s very, very possible to be free without owning a car.
  - dotBen 2y ago
    New York is really the only exception in the US to this - world class public transportation system both within downtown areas and out to the suburbs and beyond (Acella is what all of AmTrak should have been like). Even here in San Francisco you need a car to get around efficiently (or use Uber which comes to a point where you might as well pay for a car), plus it's impossible to fully enjoy the natural beauty further afield without a car.
    - citiguy 2y ago
      Well, I wouldn't go that far. The Acella sucks if you have to depend on it. As does Amtrak. It's expensive and crappy. Public transportation is designed for getting people from the boroughs into the city center, not the other way around. If you use public trans for leaving the city it's very difficult to get from the train station to your final destination, there's just so few options.
  - CyberDildonics 2y ago
    It's not true in general because you happen to live in the one place in the US that it's not true? Everyone can live their life in the way of their own choosing, cool, thanks it’s very, very possible to be free without owning a car. If you live in one specific place and stay there.
    - afavour 2y ago
      But I don’t “happen” to live in NYC. I wasn’t even born here, I chose to live here. While NYC is pretty rare in the US a walkable dense city isn’t rare worldwide. My point is that freedom can come in different forms. A car is one route to one form of freedom but counter to the OPs assertion I’m absolutely not missing out not owning a car. I’ve just taken a different path, one that’s available to others too.

by cjk2 2y ago

unixhero 2y ago

Wow youre missing out, car is such a fundamental freedom enabler - of movement

cjk2 2y ago
Yeah I hire one if I need it. Which is about 4 times a year max. I live in London UK and have a really damn good public transport system that stops outside my house, a bicycle and a massive airport on my doorstep. Incidentally I'm actually on a bus on the way to pick up a hire Polestar at the moment because I have a funeral to get to on Monday...
- dotBen 2y ago
  (Brit living in SF here) Given that this forum is slanted towards America, you have to appreciate that the quality of public transport in London is nothing like what we have here in the US other than New York City. You're not wrong about London (I never owned a car when I lived there and that was a decade before Uber) but your worldview is skewed. If you look at American history from the last century, in cities like Los Angeles the car companies actually bought public transport railways and dismantled them in order to promote a car culture. And this is what we have.
  - ulfw 2y ago
    If you live in any decent large city in Asia it's not an issue. I haven't owned a car in 12 years since I've moved to Singapore, then Bangkok and then Hong Kong. I wouldn't need a car in Tokyo, Seoul, Osaka, Taipei, Shanghai or Shenzhen either. Gosh, many people in Melbourne or Sydney don't have one. Whose worldview is skewed then exactly?
pjc50 2y ago
In a big city, a car is a massive impediment as you have to find somewhere to put it. Every five years or so I forget this and drive into London for something and immediately regret it.
- tetris11 2y ago
  one does not simply drive in to London, one drives sunwise or widdershins to it.
afavour 2y ago
Man, that’s just not true. I live in NYC and the number of things accessible to me and my family via public transit or bike is mind boggling. Then, when we want to leave the city for a few days we rent a car. Costs less than car insurance would be over a year, let alone maintainence, upfront cost, etc. Everyone can live their life in the way of their own choosing, I don’t begrudge anyone who owns a car or anything like that. But I assure you it’s very, very possible to be free without owning a car.
- dotBen 2y ago
  New York is really the only exception in the US to this - world class public transportation system both within downtown areas and out to the suburbs and beyond (Acella is what all of AmTrak should have been like). Even here in San Francisco you need a car to get around efficiently (or use Uber which comes to a point where you might as well pay for a car), plus it's impossible to fully enjoy the natural beauty further afield without a car.
  - citiguy 2y ago
    Well, I wouldn't go that far. The Acella sucks if you have to depend on it. As does Amtrak. It's expensive and crappy. Public transportation is designed for getting people from the boroughs into the city center, not the other way around. If you use public trans for leaving the city it's very difficult to get from the train station to your final destination, there's just so few options.
- CyberDildonics 2y ago
  It's not true in general because you happen to live in the one place in the US that it's not true? Everyone can live their life in the way of their own choosing, cool, thanks it’s very, very possible to be free without owning a car. If you live in one specific place and stay there.
  - afavour 2y ago
    But I don’t “happen” to live in NYC. I wasn’t even born here, I chose to live here. While NYC is pretty rare in the US a walkable dense city isn’t rare worldwide. My point is that freedom can come in different forms. A car is one route to one form of freedom but counter to the OPs assertion I’m absolutely not missing out not owning a car. I’ve just taken a different path, one that’s available to others too.