GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard • Hacker News Board

Re: GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard

#21

Post by api » Wed, Dec 06, 2017, 6:30 PM UTC

I'm thinking the economy car market is going to head the way of the economy PC/laptop market and the low cost inkjet printer market. Every manufacturer will converge on a model where crap devices are sold with no margin and all the money is made via after-market schemes. With PCs/laptops this was pre-loading malware and other "foistware." Same happens with lower-end Android phones. With printers it was expensive ink. With cars it will be ads and surveillance.

This is the dark side of competition and is what happens when all margin on the actual product is crushed out of an industry. It's known as a deflationary race to the bottom. Product quality goes to hell and greasy "monetization" schemes replace simple sales at a profit as the primary source of revenue.

Another place you can see this effect of deflationary race to the bottom very clearly is media, where click bait and filler and various forms of tabloid and "fake news" is now the norm. Good editorial writing and real investigative journalism costs money, so it's dead. The model now is to churn out absolutely vapid "content" as a vehicle to carry ads and get clicks/impressions.

In the future you'll have to buy a luxury car if you want a car that is of decent quality and doesn't spy on you or constantly pester you with ads. Same is true today for PCs and laptops. You have to buy premium (Apple, high-end Dell, etc.) to get a laptop that doesn't come pre-loaded with malware and that has anything like a decent build quality.

Re: GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard

#22

Post by mikestew » Wed, Dec 06, 2017, 6:40 PM UTC

randomdata wrote: post #16

zitterbewegung wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On Subaru’s they disable functionality related to Bluetooth pairing when you are driving . This would be a good solution for things like these. On the other hand touch screens don’t let you have tactile or muscle memory which is probably a big part which would add to distractions . And your point about that these should be regulated I agree with .

> On Subaru’s they disable functionality related to Bluetooth pairing when you are driving I have always felt that ends up incentivizing simply using the device itself, which seems to be less safe than letting the car take control and using the functions that are designed to be used while driving. Ideally people wouldn't feel the need to use their phone while driving at all, but the world is far from ideal.

Ideally people wouldn't feel the need to use their phone while driving at all

I understand what you’re saying, and agree, but I just want to play some tunes. On our Nissan Leaf, it takes seven taps on the screen to get BT to connect to my phone, because my phone isn’t the “default”. Seven, and plenty of opportunity to make a wrong choice along the way. And I have to do this every time the car restarts, and it can only be done while the car’s not moving. The car has a list of known devices, it just refuses to iterate through them. Real incentive to use the safer option, that is.

New rule at our house: car either has CarPlay, dash unit can be swapped for something with CarPlay, or it doesn’t come home.

Re: GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard

#23

Post by 205guy » Wed, Dec 06, 2017, 7:04 PM UTC

mikestew wrote: post #22

randomdata wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On Subaru’s they disable functionality related to Bluetooth pairing when you are driving I have always felt that ends up incentivizing simply using the device itself, which seems to be less safe than letting the car take control and using the functions that are designed to be used while driving. Ideally people wouldn't feel the need to use their phone while driving at all, but the world is far from ideal.

Ideally people wouldn't feel the need to use their phone while driving at all I understand what you’re saying, and agree, but I just want to play some tunes. On our Nissan Leaf, it takes seven taps on the screen to get BT to connect to my phone, because my phone isn’t the “default”. Seven, and plenty of opportunity to make a wrong choice along the way. And I have to do this every time the car restarts, and it can onl…

I drove a Leaf for a while, and while I do agree the center console had its share of UX issues, I think you are being a bit too demanding. For the default paired phone, the Leaf will re-connect with zero taps, just do it automatically. So you're probably in a shared car--yay, single electric car households are the future--and since you say you only want music, the solution is to leave a USB cable in the car. I was in exactly the same situation: my wife's phone was the default because she used it to make hands-free calls while driving. When I used the car and listen to music, I just plug in, and get my phone charged as a bonus. Do other cars/manufacturers handle multiple paired phones better?

By the way, beyond all the branding and advertising in the video, the gassing up was another huge "do not want" for me. It's like people are ignoring that cars of the future will be electric.

Re: GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard

#24

Post by 205guy » Wed, Dec 06, 2017, 7:13 PM UTC

alexasmyths wrote: post #8

Not only will it be a disastrously bad shopping experience, it will cause death and carnage. This is exactly the kind of ridiculously crazy stuff they come up with with board rooms when the sycophants don't have enough balls to tell their leaders they are nuts. It's good to be ambitious, this is just stupid. Now - if they could make it so you could get your car filled up and 'pay with your car' i.e. no credit cards,…

That's fixed already: it's called an electric car. Get in your car in the morning and it is charged up and pre-warmed. Drive sportily but quietly and without pollution to your destination. If it's far away, plug in while eating and/or shopping. No need to stop anywhere with carcinogenic fumes and dirty pumps to pay for conflict-gasoline.

Re: GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard

#25

Post by RegBarclay » Wed, Dec 06, 2017, 7:17 PM UTC

mikestew wrote: post #22

randomdata wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> On Subaru’s they disable functionality related to Bluetooth pairing when you are driving I have always felt that ends up incentivizing simply using the device itself, which seems to be less safe than letting the car take control and using the functions that are designed to be used while driving. Ideally people wouldn't feel the need to use their phone while driving at all, but the world is far from ideal.

Ideally people wouldn't feel the need to use their phone while driving at all I understand what you’re saying, and agree, but I just want to play some tunes. On our Nissan Leaf, it takes seven taps on the screen to get BT to connect to my phone, because my phone isn’t the “default”. Seven, and plenty of opportunity to make a wrong choice along the way. And I have to do this every time the car restarts, and it can onl…

Android Auto support was a key feature in my last auto purchase. It's very handy for dealing with phone calls and text messages. Less good for handling audio apps. AA has a 6-tap limit to prevent too much "browsing" while driving and voice support is sketchy for the audio apps. I'm probably less safe as I try to navigate around the tap limit or just pick up my phone and select a playlist.

Re: GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard

#26

Post by sailfast » Wed, Dec 06, 2017, 7:25 PM UTC

Well, so much for buying a GM Vehicle any time in the future.

Unless this significantly drops the price of their cars vs. their competition (it won't) I'm not sure how this benefits drivers / consumers. For that reason alone I imagine this is not a good idea.

Re: GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard

#27

Post by flyinghamster » Wed, Dec 06, 2017, 7:39 PM UTC

adjagu wrote: post #19

So at launch this will only have Shell, Exxon Mobil, TGI Fridays, Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts. None of those are even within twenty miles of me. I can imagine the usefulness now... Driving past Speedway and get bombarded with an advertisement for Shell and Exxon Mobil. Drive past McDonald's, KFC, Taco Bell, Arby's, Waffle House and Wendy's (all in my town) and get blasted with advertisements for TGI Fridays who clos…

OnStar was the single biggest reason by far that my most recent car purchase was a Honda instead of a GM product. Now GM is adding spam to the mix? They seem hell-bent on pushing me away from their products.

Re: GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard

#28

Post by cft » Wed, Dec 06, 2017, 7:42 PM UTC

flyinghamster wrote: post #27

adjagu wrote: post #19

So at launch this will only have Shell, Exxon Mobil, TGI Fridays, Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts. None of those are even within twenty miles of me. I can imagine the usefulness now... Driving past Speedway and get bombarded with an advertisement for Shell and Exxon Mobil. Drive past McDonald's, KFC, Taco Bell, Arby's, Waffle House and Wendy's (all in my town) and get blasted with advertisements for TGI Fridays who clos…

OnStar was the single biggest reason by far that my most recent car purchase was a Honda instead of a GM product. Now GM is adding spam to the mix? They seem hell-bent on pushing me away from their products.

They should also play ads on the dash screen. I have already encountered it in Delta airlines, in the screen in the back of the seat in front.

Re: GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard

#29

Post by Something1234 » Wed, Dec 06, 2017, 7:47 PM UTC

mikestew wrote: post #9

“Financed by the merchants...” I’m trying to think of a scenario where this ends well. I apparently lack imagination. I mean, Apple tries very hard to discourage me from using my phone while driving (I have to push a button that say, “I’m a shithead who thinks he’s the exception that can drive while looking at a phone”). How hard do you think those “financing merchants” are going to try?

How'd you turn this on? It doesn't happen on my mother's phone and she fiddles with it when driving.

Re: GM puts an e-commerce marketplace in the dashboard

#30

Post by mikestew » Wed, Dec 06, 2017, 8:14 PM UTC

Something1234 wrote: post #29

mikestew wrote: post #9

“Financed by the merchants...” I’m trying to think of a scenario where this ends well. I apparently lack imagination. I mean, Apple tries very hard to discourage me from using my phone while driving (I have to push a button that say, “I’m a shithead who thinks he’s the exception that can drive while looking at a phone”). How hard do you think those “financing merchants” are going to try?

How'd you turn this on? It doesn't happen on my mother's phone and she fiddles with it when driving.

Go to Settings, focus the search text box at the top of the screen. Enter “driving”, it should show “DND while driving”. Turn that on. Not much of a deterrent, because there's a "I'm not driving button" when you try and use your phone. That's understandable, since I doubt "Fuck everybody else, I've got toots to post!" would fit in the modal, and localization would be difficult.

I also thought it was the default, but obviously not.