3 ms·

Software in Japanese cars is terrible from European point of view, yet people are buying them because of the hardware (reliable engines).

by strus 2y ago

physicsguy 2y ago
The software in my Skoda Scala and my Vauxhall/Opel Corsa is terrible as well, but like most new-ish Toyota's, all of them support Apple Play so it doesn't matter.
- ghaff 2y ago
  The Honda software is mediocre as well but I suspect any sensible automaker realizes that most consumers are using Car Play or Google Play so they put some junior engineers on a checklist item and call it a day.
  - generic92034 2y ago
    I wonder when cars become inoperable without using a smartphone.
    - ghaff 2y ago
      People had paper maps and often precise directions that they had on their laps or a human navigator using those maps or directions. They stopped at gas stations to ask for directions (or didn't--guys refusing to stop to ask for directions was something of a trope). So obviously they managed but probably in ways a lot of people today wouldn't find satisfactory. How did you manage before smartphones and even email/text for meeting people and generally coordinating activities generally? People managed.
      - bluGill 2y ago
        That is a different question. I can use my car without a smartphone. However if I buy a new car will I be able to use it if I break my smartphone?
        ghaff 2y ago
        Sure. You may just not have a navigation system or be able to park in some places. I don't need a smartphone to drive in general and don't always plug it in locally. (I may more or less need a transponder on some roads or have a bit of hassle.) I guess that could change at some point but would guess that there would be a lot of pushback to Operating this vehicle requires a working smartphone especially given there's no cellular access in a lot of places.
        bluGill 2y ago
        So far. Will that continue is the question.
        ghaff 2y ago
        At a minimum, connectivity would have to be much more universal than today. Certainly, cellular is very far from pervasive and even satellite isn't 100%.
        generic92034 2y ago
        The smartphone could bridge gaps in connectivity with buffered data, depending on the purpose.
doctorpangloss 2y ago
We shall see. Cars with better software are a really important differentiator. Toyotas may be reliable, they may be the most popular today, but then why doesn't everyone choose a Toyota? And anyway, Toyota's most innovative and market-making vehicles, like the Prius: software plays a pretty big role no? I don't think you can reduce a complex product like this, but I'm not wrong: a car with great user-facing software is pretty exciting to consumers. The Apple Car would probably be pretty successful, the Tesla has pretty innovative software that differentiates it from other EVs, the deployment and preferences for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto enabled cars... it can be true that someone buys something despite the software being bad, but that's not where the trend is going.
- lupusreal 2y ago
  > why doesn't everyone choose a Toyota? Because Honda also exists. I kid, I kid.. A lot of Americans buy American cars simply because they're loyal to American brands, or European cars because they want their neighbors to be jealous of their ability to buy such overpriced transportation. I think software is low on the list.
- AnthonyMouse 2y ago
  People buy Teslas because they go fast, get 300 miles to a charge and have five star safety ratings. "Software" is thing main thing capable of rivaling build quality and repair costs as the thing people most complain about. They're leaving a major untapped market for competitors to fill with electric cars that have tactile HVAC controls etc. There was a meme a while ago where thing thing people used to want out of their car's entertainment system was satellite navigation and fancy everything, whereas the thing people want now is a dumb standard plug to connect their phone to the car's speakers.
nuancebydefault 2y ago
It's the customer-facing software that looks sub-par. There are hundreds of thousands of lines of embedded code in almost each ECU. Those cannot be crap in a prius without having an effect on the car's (the hardware) performance.
hulitu 2y ago
> Software in Japanese cars is terrible from European point of view, So is software in European and American cars. Testing is expensive. (the overall quality of software has gone downhill in the latest years)

Software in Japanese cars is terrible from European point of view, yet people are buying them because of the hardware (reliable engines).

by strus 2y ago

Software in Japanese cars is terrible from European point of view, yet people are buying them because of the hardware (reliable engines).

physicsguy 2y ago

The software in my Skoda Scala and my Vauxhall/Opel Corsa is terrible as well, but like most new-ish Toyota's, all of them support Apple Play so it doesn't matter.

ghaff 2y ago
The Honda software is mediocre as well but I suspect any sensible automaker realizes that most consumers are using Car Play or Google Play so they put some junior engineers on a checklist item and call it a day.
- generic92034 2y ago
  I wonder when cars become inoperable without using a smartphone.
  - ghaff 2y ago
    People had paper maps and often precise directions that they had on their laps or a human navigator using those maps or directions. They stopped at gas stations to ask for directions (or didn't--guys refusing to stop to ask for directions was something of a trope). So obviously they managed but probably in ways a lot of people today wouldn't find satisfactory. How did you manage before smartphones and even email/text for meeting people and generally coordinating activities generally? People managed.
    - bluGill 2y ago
      That is a different question. I can use my car without a smartphone. However if I buy a new car will I be able to use it if I break my smartphone?
      - ghaff 2y ago
        Sure. You may just not have a navigation system or be able to park in some places. I don't need a smartphone to drive in general and don't always plug it in locally. (I may more or less need a transponder on some roads or have a bit of hassle.) I guess that could change at some point but would guess that there would be a lot of pushback to Operating this vehicle requires a working smartphone especially given there's no cellular access in a lot of places.
        bluGill 2y ago
        So far. Will that continue is the question.
        ghaff 2y ago
        At a minimum, connectivity would have to be much more universal than today. Certainly, cellular is very far from pervasive and even satellite isn't 100%.
        generic92034 2y ago
        The smartphone could bridge gaps in connectivity with buffered data, depending on the purpose.

doctorpangloss 2y ago

We shall see. Cars with better software are a really important differentiator. Toyotas may be reliable, they may be the most popular today, but then why doesn't everyone choose a Toyota? And anyway, Toyota's most innovative and market-making vehicles, like the Prius: software plays a pretty big role no? I don't think you can reduce a complex product like this, but I'm not wrong: a car with great user-facing software is pretty exciting to consumers. The Apple Car would probably be pretty successful, the Tesla has pretty innovative software that differentiates it from other EVs, the deployment and preferences for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto enabled cars... it can be true that someone buys something despite the software being bad, but that's not where the trend is going.

lupusreal 2y ago
> why doesn't everyone choose a Toyota? Because Honda also exists. I kid, I kid.. A lot of Americans buy American cars simply because they're loyal to American brands, or European cars because they want their neighbors to be jealous of their ability to buy such overpriced transportation. I think software is low on the list.
AnthonyMouse 2y ago
People buy Teslas because they go fast, get 300 miles to a charge and have five star safety ratings. "Software" is thing main thing capable of rivaling build quality and repair costs as the thing people most complain about. They're leaving a major untapped market for competitors to fill with electric cars that have tactile HVAC controls etc. There was a meme a while ago where thing thing people used to want out of their car's entertainment system was satellite navigation and fancy everything, whereas the thing people want now is a dumb standard plug to connect their phone to the car's speakers.

nuancebydefault 2y ago

It's the customer-facing software that looks sub-par. There are hundreds of thousands of lines of embedded code in almost each ECU. Those cannot be crap in a prius without having an effect on the car's (the hardware) performance.

hulitu 2y ago

> Software in Japanese cars is terrible from European point of view, So is software in European and American cars. Testing is expensive. (the overall quality of software has gone downhill in the latest years)