Worst Features/Ideas from Auto Manufacturers

[CudaMan]

To be clear I wasn't knocking the Volvo or tech in general, just the idea of having systems hang and fail and need the ol' CTRL ALT DEL or turn it off and try again thing like a printer seems wrong to me. It's climate control, it should just work barring a mechanical component wearing out. The glass half full view I guess is that A) it was rebootable in the first place, and B] that fixed it. Hopefully that doesn't happen on a recurring basis.

At the surface level I'm not sure I buy software being cheaper than a switch. The switch is engineered once and is done (possibly for a decade or two with some manufacturers), and the component cost is probably not huge. Software is continually being updated and reevaluated and fixed and I understand software engineers don't come cheap. Regardless, I think most of us agree tactile buttons/dials are better for driving.

To get off my grumpy soapbox for a moment , some tech can be really welcome. Proximity keys comes to mind, they just work and they make our lives easier. And there's a pretty easy backup solution in the event of a dead battery.

To keep this post somewhat on topic, I nominate LED headlights 4-6 feet off the ground. Horrible idea for everyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the path of those beams.

[MR2 Fan]

To be clear I wasn't knocking the Volvo or tech in general, just the idea of having systems hang and fail and need the ol' CTRL ALT DEL or turn it off and try again thing like a printer seems wrong to me. It's climate control, it should just work barring a mechanical component wearing out. The glass half full view I guess is that A) it was rebootable in the first place, and B] that fixed it. Hopefully that doesn't happen on a recurring basis.

At the surface level I'm not sure I buy software being cheaper than a switch. The switch is engineered once and is done (possibly for a decade or two with some manufacturers), and the component cost is probably not huge. Software is continually being updated and reevaluated and fixed and I understand software engineers don't come cheap. Regardless, I think most of us agree tactile buttons/dials are better for driving.

To get off my grumpy soapbox for a moment , some tech can be really welcome. Proximity keys comes to mind, they just work and they make our lives easier. And there's a pretty easy backup solution in the event of a dead battery.

To keep this post somewhat on topic, I nominate LED headlights 4-6 feet off the ground. Horrible idea for everyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the path of those beams.

Part of why I love Gordon Murray's new cars is that he focuses entirely on the experience without any touchscreens, pure tactile, high quality buttons/knobs and basically monochrome information screens...proper stuff.

[retsmah]

Ok hopefully this isn't annoying to keep talking about it but I find this topic interesting:

At the surface level I'm not sure I buy software being cheaper than a switch. The switch is engineered once and is done (possibly for a decade or two with some manufacturers), and the component cost is probably not huge. Software is continually being updated and reevaluated and fixed and I understand software engineers don't come cheap. Regardless, I think most of us agree tactile buttons/dials are better for driving.

I don't have insider knowledge so it'd be interesting if anyone else does, but I think there is a good chance that at least on a Tesla where they've removed a large number of switches it saves money. Touchscreens are really cheap, you can buy a single screen at retail for like $30... not sure if Tesla would pay more because they have a little higher quality display than this or less because they're buying much higher quantity.

I counted 50 buttons and knobs for the front seats on my older economy car. Some of those are reused in multiple locations and can share tooling costs but most are unique. Many also have LEDs in them, and then you've got to run wiring to each one, and deal with the assembly work for each button. It's not a ton of money, but you have to do it all for like $30 or something to be cheaper than a touch screen.

I'd suspect engineering costs are kind of a wash. For tactile switches the mechanical design on all those switches takes quite a bit of time for a mechanical engineer, like anything that requires input from industrial design. Then you've got tooling design for all the parts, and manufacturing engineers have to plan the assembly steps and write work instructions and set up the assembly line for those steps.


To be clear though, I don't think this is good. I think like every study done on the subject shows that tactile buttons are a lot safer. But I think if a car company can get away with something cheaper that doesn't annoy their buyers enough on a test drive to buy something else, they're going to do it. They're definitely going to if they're Tesla and the buyers view it as a premium feature despite it actually being less expensive.

[Tom Servo]

I am definitely unclear on why Volvo decided to go with the on-screen climate control stuff. There is a physical volume knob and play/pause button, as well as a few other hardware buttons on the center dash, as well as the full compliment of buttons on the steering wheel and on the turn signal/wiper stalks. It's the only one that doesn't make sense to me right off the bat.

[Crazed_Insanity]

I agree with retsmah that it’s mostly for cost cutting. Cost of buttons and knobs may be small, but all these little parts can add up during manufacturing. Now if we’re talking space craft, minus all the knobs and wiring can also save a lot of weight! However, I still question whether flat panel controls are really as functional and safe…

Climate control, especially for high end cars are typically very automated now. At least I personally don’t touch climate controls much unlike volume knobs… so perhaps it makes sense for Volvo to cut those?

[Rare White Ape]

Fully anecdotal, but I saw a tweet from someone who claimed to have taken a USB stick with them to a car dealership and took a bunch of cars for a test drive, replacing all the cars’ operating systems with Linux.

This allowed them to brake by typing an instruction in the command prompt (pretty dangerous to do on a touch screen, surely a physical keyboard would be better for this) and install Bitcoin mining software.

If true, then we’ve come a long way from BMW’s iDrive system.

[Yw-slayer]

I watched MKBHD's video about Model S Plaid long term ownership, this bit about the steering wheel is insane to me. He doesn't even seem that bothered by this whole wheel and capacitive buttons that to me look very difficult to use, but he frequently has to make right turns without signaling because the button is unreliable. I can't imagine just having to live with that.

Wow. That is a recipe for disaster, not to mention getting third-fingered.

Or maybe it explains a lot about Tesla drivers in HK?

[Cam]

Leaded gasoline. We are still breathing poisoned air decades after its use was discontinued in developed countries.

[Crazed_Insanity]

Can't really blame car manufacturers on that!

https://ourworldindata.org/leaded-gasoline-phase-out

Learned something new today thanks to google... Thomas Midgley Jr turned out to be the culprit! Not only lead, this chemist also invented the CFC which destroyed ozone!!!

Man, thanks to this guy that your wife has a job and gets to visit the White House! Anyway, Mr. Midgley is really a climate disaster... However, I suppose it's not entirely his fault. Surely I have rode in cars powered by leaded gas and enjoy the cool AC breezes thanks to the CFC he invented...

Just another trade off I guess...

[CudaMan]

To be clear though, I don't think this is good. I think like every study done on the subject shows that tactile buttons are a lot safer. But I think if a car company can get away with something cheaper that doesn't annoy their buyers enough on a test drive to buy something else, they're going to do it. They're definitely going to if they're Tesla and the buyers view it as a premium feature despite it actually being less expensive.

It brings up an interesting question. Are physical buttons going to start to be considered a premium feature in higher priced cars or trim levels? I'd guess not, as humans are enamored with tech and probably generally feel that screens and menus are more premium. On the bright side, we have seen Honda bring back a physical volume knob pretty quickly after the CTR came out without one, and all the YouTube car reviewers hate the MK8 GTI's capacative sliders.

Can you really get a large automotive-grade multi-touch screen for $30 though? I'd imagine those are basic laptop replacement screens without touch and with modest brightness/contrast levels.

The biggest question of all, though, is are we making humans' lives better or worse through the forced use of touchscreens and software in cars? Those in position to influence how people experience the world have a responsibility here. When we're all being transported in fully autonomous vehicles this approach may make more sense but that seems to be a ways off in the future.