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Volvo recalls 59,000 cars over software fault

bbc.com

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Re: Volvo recalls 59,000 cars over software fault

#21

Post by awqrre »

superuser2 wrote: post #10

Why don't any of the luxury car brands (other than Lexus) focus on reliability? It seems so strange that the market is willing to pay ~$40-$80k for a car totally indifferent to its engineering quality. If I were to own a luxury car, I'd want to know its engineering is rock-solid first and foremost. I'd want to be proud of it as a machine not just a symbol. Maybe that's just a techie thing, though. Volvo has been noto…

Toyota had it's fair share of bad software design issues (Lexus is a division of Toyota)...

Re: Volvo recalls 59,000 cars over software fault

#23

Post by cma »

superuser2 wrote: post #10

Why don't any of the luxury car brands (other than Lexus) focus on reliability? It seems so strange that the market is willing to pay ~$40-$80k for a car totally indifferent to its engineering quality. If I were to own a luxury car, I'd want to know its engineering is rock-solid first and foremost. I'd want to be proud of it as a machine not just a symbol. Maybe that's just a techie thing, though. Volvo has been noto…

> I'd want to be proud of it as a machine not just a symbol.

As a machine and as a symbol aren't necessarily independent of each other. Being less reliable and more expensive to fix can make it more prestigious in some cases:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Theory_of_the_Leisure_Clas...

Re: Volvo recalls 59,000 cars over software fault

#25

Post by quicklyfrozen »

superuser2 wrote: post #10

Why don't any of the luxury car brands (other than Lexus) focus on reliability? It seems so strange that the market is willing to pay ~$40-$80k for a car totally indifferent to its engineering quality. If I were to own a luxury car, I'd want to know its engineering is rock-solid first and foremost. I'd want to be proud of it as a machine not just a symbol. Maybe that's just a techie thing, though. Volvo has been noto…

Putting this kind of safety-related issue aside, the first purchaser probably won't keep the car long enough to have any real problems (at this price level it's probably a lease). Even if they do, the dealer will give them a loaner (and may even pick up the car) so problems aren't much of an inconvenience.

It's much more of an issue for those of us who like to buy several year old luxury cars -- they have become much harder and more expensive to repair in the last 10 years or so.

Re: Volvo recalls 59,000 cars over software fault

#27

Post by knappe »

FreedomToCreate wrote: post #2

With cars essentially becoming computers that hold your life in there hands, its going to be interesting seeing how software development strategies evolve to build software rapidly but without the fall back of knowing you can simply send out a large firmware update to fix an issue. Cars can't afford to be stuck parked because someone made a small coding issue that got pushed before it was caught.

The space industry has been doing this for decades. NASA published 'The Power of Ten' with some guidelines.

http://pixelscommander.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/P10.pd...

This was published _20_ years ago. http://www.fastcompany.com/28121/they-write-right-stuff

Re: Volvo recalls 59,000 cars over software fault

#28

Post by ktRolster »

rando289 wrote: post #12
superuser2 wrote: post #10

Why don't any of the luxury car brands (other than Lexus) focus on reliability? It seems so strange that the market is willing to pay ~$40-$80k for a car totally indifferent to its engineering quality. If I were to own a luxury car, I'd want to know its engineering is rock-solid first and foremost. I'd want to be proud of it as a machine not just a symbol. Maybe that's just a techie thing, though. Volvo has been noto…

I've always thought, if I was rich, I would hire one or more developers who's job was to educate me on software (empowering me), and write and run software I was interested in. Wonder why I haven't heard of any rich people doing that?

Your comment reminds me of the question: The Greeks invented the steam engine, why didn't they have an industrial revolution?

One answer is that slave labor made a steam engine unneeded: any work the engine could do was already being done by slaves. Similarly, Cicero had no need for a printing press, any time he wanted to print something (election pamphlets, for example), he had an army of slaves copy it over and over by hand.

So maybe rich people have the same thing: they don't need someone to code them a train schedule app (or whatever to empower them), they just tell someone to figure out their schedule for them.

Re: Volvo recalls 59,000 cars over software fault

#29

Post by Avshalom »

rogeryu wrote: post #8

>> The glitch had been reported by drivers of new Volvos who said the engine could cut out without warning, creating a brief absence of steering and braking. Created by Volvo - who wants to be death proof by 2020... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3409102/Volvo...

Yes, that why they are recalling it.

Re: Volvo recalls 59,000 cars over software fault

#30

Post by mikeash »

cmurf wrote: post #17

Buy used. If you have a healthy budget, give it to a shop for an overhaul/rebuild, new upholstery, paint, etc. That'll still cost less than new, and no computer b.s.

No computer BS, and none of the safety improvements made in the intervening time.

I don't understand why some people say that they prefer older cars because they're afraid the computers in newer ones will get them killed. Cars are overall much safer. Buy your older car, and sure, the computers won't kill you, but if and when you do crash it may well kill you where you could have walked away from it in a newer car.

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