> Stout’s data shows that occurrences of software being used to fix vehicle hardware problems has steadily increased in the past five years.
Reminds me of the Boeing 737 Max and MCAS
Software is eating the car
541–549 of 549 posts
Re: Software is eating the car
#542I've been exploring building my own car from scrap. This wsj sort of motivated me (1). The ideal would be no electronics at all. An issue I have with new cars are monitors, I hate them they are distracting. My eyes are pretty sensitive to computer screens etc. Maybe, I'd settle for just a radio. "Maybe" because you then get looking at a cd player then all the sudden you want the further desire to control what you lis…
A Youtuber has been working on putting a v8 into a Tesla model S: https://youtu.be/b85MS7MiTKM
It would be fun to go one step further, and turn a Tesla into a totally analog car. A Tesla might be a good starting point as they’re structurally some of the safest cars around (and this is one area where older, naturally analog cars compare badly) and turning the most technologically-laden car into the least... would be apposite.
Re: Software is eating the car
#543Earlier quoted context omitted.
FWIW Subaru kinda just has crappy digital components. Corresponding touch screen console from recent year Toyotas are pretty good, especially with CarPlay / Android Auto.
In my recent Subaru Impreza, CarPlay works just fine, however when I start the engine and put it in reverse, it will mostly ignore the volume control until you finish backing up and then a few second after you shift into drive/forward, it will then process the volume up/down messages it received in the meantime. It's like it dedicates all processing to booting up the screen and then in displaying the rear-view/backup…
I don't think it's bogged down processing. It is explicitly muting the audio as part of the reversing protocol to avoid distractions, and possibly to let you hear other sounds such as from a parking assistance system.
Re: Software is eating the car
#544Earlier quoted context omitted.
if you’re prone to stress while driving a machine that can potentially kill you, that’s a sign you are aware of your predicament
Have you ever seen how stressed out drivers behave? We've all seen that person in a Honda fit who's so terrified of being on the freeway during rush hour they're driving like an overloaded scrap hauler and generally causing a problem in whatever lane they're in. That doesn't make the roads safer.
Exactly this. I cannot sum this up better. In NZ the police fine such people occasionally, I think there was a case when one such driver caused massive traffic jam during national holiday.
Re: Software is eating the car
#545Short answer to the lede: no, the industry cannot cope. Or rather, it will limp along with bloatware, bugs, and malware exactly the same way we see desktop OSes bloat, or the way we see routers and set-top boxes hacked to become botnets. In my 40+ years in the industry I've yet to see code get SMALLER. With the exception of Linux kernel 1.0 in the 90's which was a step backwards into smaller, more compact code, code…
Glad to hear I'm not the only one who wants a dumb car. Unfortunately, the idea of electric cars has become bound up with the notion of software-driven cars. I want an electric car with analog controls, no touch screens or over-the-air updates, and minimal software. A car that I feel like I own, rather than one I'm getting a click-through license to use.
I think this way of thinking should lead people to take another look at bikes, perhaps power-assisted electric bikes. Cheap, simple and efficient in comparison to cars. Not to mention all the benefits of cities made for bikes vs cities made for cars.
Re: Software is eating the car
#546Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some of the extra infotainment stuff (read: media content) is subscription only. Some functional extras like full self-driving or faster acceleration are one-off purchases. The rest of the software -- all the things you'd expect the car to do -- comes with the vehicle and gets regular OTA updates.
If it's really just contained to media content, that's like saying Sirus XM means your car operates on a subscription model.
As a Tesla owner, I’ve slowly come to realize that most complaints about Teslas online don’t reflect the reality of driving one. I was skeptical of all the things people are complaining about here, but I decided to take advantage of the seven day return policy and drive a Mode 3 for a week: I discovered that nearly every control I care about is controlled by one of two sticks or two little thumb wheels and I almost never have to interact with the screen while driving. Similarly, as others note here, the subscription is for the cell connectivity and media packages, not for the “car’s firmware”. Finally, as a software developer, I really appreciate that Tesla has made updating my car’s firmware trivial and they actually ship firmware updates to older cars: there’s much less difference between a 2018 Tesla and a 2021 Tesla than between similarly spaced cars from other manufacturers.
Re: Software is eating the car
#547Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my recent Subaru Impreza, CarPlay works just fine, however when I start the engine and put it in reverse, it will mostly ignore the volume control until you finish backing up and then a few second after you shift into drive/forward, it will then process the volume up/down messages it received in the meantime. It's like it dedicates all processing to booting up the screen and then in displaying the rear-view/backup…
I don't think it's bogged down processing. It is explicitly muting the audio as part of the reversing protocol to avoid distractions, and possibly to let you hear other sounds such as from a parking assistance system.
> It is explicitly muting the audio as part of the reversing protocol to avoid distractions
No. It is NOT letting me turn down (or up) the radio. Meanwhile the radio plays loudly.
Re: Software is eating the car
#548As someone in the industry of supplying parts to keep older cars running, I view the increase of automotive software and electronic complexity as ensuring a future crisis of maintainability. Availability of parts and service information has always been an issue for aftermarket repair/modification of vehicles. However, as long as there are enough vehicles and committed owners around to create a small market for repair…
How big or profitable is your business or the industry of maintaining old cars?
According to SEMA,[0] in 2019 there was $890 Million in retail sales of parts for pre-1974 vehicles. Size of businesses encompasses everything from large operations like RockAuto or O'Reilly to small ultra-specialized one-man operations.
[0] https://mcusercontent.com/8af94f2880dbe283f4188cd3d/files/b8...
Re: Software is eating the car
#549Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's bogged down processing. It is explicitly muting the audio as part of the reversing protocol to avoid distractions, and possibly to let you hear other sounds such as from a parking assistance system.
> It is explicitly muting the audio as part of the reversing protocol to avoid distractions No. It is NOT letting me turn down (or up) the radio. Meanwhile the radio plays loudly.
Sorry for misunderstanding and for not noticing your message before! That certainly sounds like a poor UX! I have only driven other brands, and have only seen an opposite effect. Some systems seem to have a multiplicative factor, so you CAN turn it up and then be blasted with very loud music after switching to a forward gear and having this mute effect released.