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Please make a dumb car

techcrunch.com

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Re: Please make a dumb car

#121

Post by nikolay »

noduerme wrote: post #86
nikolay wrote: post #82

The article describes my own vision 100%. To me, a car is a vehicle, i.e., it needs to transport me from point A to point B most safely and reliably. I don't listen to music when I drive, I don't text or make calls - I enjoy driving, and I focus 100% on this and, thank God, I've never been in an accident, not even a fender bender, and I have over half a million miles behind the wheel. When I'm in Bulgaria, I drive a…

I'd have a very hard time not playing some music if I were driving an A4 through Bulgaria. But the laser focus between you and the road is the most important thing.

Why would I want to play music? I enjoy driving more than listening to music. I don't get bored even when I'm driving thru heavy traffic on I-5 or I-405, so, why would I need music not being in a traffic jam and having beautiful scenery?!

Re: Please make a dumb car

#122

Post by ohgodplsno »

komadori wrote: post #99
furyg3 wrote: post #87

Hear hear. I sold my old 2004 Skoda Fabia (which for Americans has the technology of a 2000 VW golf), since repairs were costing more and the car sharing here in Amsterdam is really becoming reliable for the few times I need a car. Recently I rented a car for a ski trip, a recent Jeep Renegade, oh my lord. It was constantly trying to take the controls from me (god forbid you change lanes without signaling on a totall…

I can see why you might feel silly indicating on an empty road, but personally I find indicating to be such an integral and effortless part of turning or changing lane that I always indicate even if I can't see anyone about. By comparison, when drivers are making judgement calls about whether it's necessary to indicate, I'm often suprised by their unexpected movements. This is particularly true as a pedestrian as som…

Absolutely. Indicate all the time, even when not needed. It trains you to indicate when it is definitely needed, and prevents me from having to yell at you because you suddenly jerked to the lane I was on without any warnings.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#123

Post by dagw »

nikolay wrote: post #121
noduerme wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd have a very hard time not playing some music if I were driving an A4 through Bulgaria. But the laser focus between you and the road is the most important thing.

Why would I want to play music? I enjoy driving more than listening to music. I don't get bored even when I'm driving thru heavy traffic on I-5 or I-405, so, why would I need music not being in a traffic jam and having beautiful scenery?!

Music while driving seems to be one those divisive subjects. Some people basically need music while driving and some people find it pointless or annoying.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#124

Post by squarefoot »

I'd be generally fine with "smart" cars, provided they can be kept disconnected 24/7, that is, no phoning home to report where I am going or at what speed, and no ads. Otherwise, then thanks but no thanks.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#125

Post by k3liutZu »

viburnum wrote: post #68
tsujp wrote: post #41

One thing I was flabbergasted at recently was Tesla offering, and the government allowing, regular drivers to use a yoke steering wheel like F1 drivers. Not only is it harder for the average person to handle but their firmware hadn't accounted for the fact that if you steer fully left or right the yoke is upside down and if you try and indicate it ends up indicating on the wrong side. What is wrong with a wheel and f…

The steering wheel in an F1 car only goes about 220 degrees in either direction (drivers have to keep their hands on the wheel and their arms aren't made of rubber). The steering in a regular car goes about 540 degrees in either direction (one and a half times around). When parallel parking you often have to turn the wheel three whole revolutions. F1 steering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVz6IW_wegs&t=45s Tesla st…

Really seems Tesla is regressing a lot of _important_ controls :(

Re: Please make a dumb car

#126

Post by nikolay »

dagw wrote: post #123
nikolay wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would I want to play music? I enjoy driving more than listening to music. I don't get bored even when I'm driving thru heavy traffic on I-5 or I-405, so, why would I need music not being in a traffic jam and having beautiful scenery?!

Music while driving seems to be one those divisive subjects. Some people basically need music while driving and some people find it pointless or annoying.

Yeah, some need country music, others - techno. I personally like to be able to hear the engine. I then wonder why race drivers don't listen to music if it has benefits to some people.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#127

Post by user-the-name »

zqna wrote: post #46
EdwardDiego wrote: post #24

I would kill for Ye Olde Manually Wound windows. Electric windows struggle in temperature extremes, and seem to break down far more often than my old hand-cranked windows ever did. Also, I had more precise control with the hand-crank.

The saddenning part that the majority of the drivers are very proud and enjoy their electronic windows. I guess potentially manual windows could be an option in the new cars, but I'm afraid the most of the new car buyers prefer as much of gimmicks in their cars, about which they could boast right after their purchase. The adults are really just children with the thicker wallets.

Why is it sad that people enjoy a thing? They enjoy it because it works and is less of a pain in the vast majority of cases. That is not sad, that is a good thing.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#128

Post by Broken_Hippo »

saiya-jin wrote: post #114
porknubbins wrote: post #23

Power seats are not a pointless luxury. I’m pretty sure they are continuously adjustable which is much better than trying to pull on some lever and get the seat to pop into approximately the right place. To say nothing of mulitple drivers with memorized positions etc.

Exactly, plus movement in more directions (up & down, didn't see a single car with manual adjustment that allowed this), very useful for us blessed with non-standard body dimensions (ie I am quite tall). It changes default-settings car where I touch roof with my head into one where there is more than 5cm/2" clearance. Adjustable tightness of part of the seat above your hips which keeps you better in tight/fast curves…

I used to have a Neon many years ago that had the up-and-down adjustments for the seats - and it was all manual. You just turned a knob on the side at the base of the lever that allowed you to recline.

EDIT: It was still a tight fit for tall folks, though. In that particular car, the adjustment mostly helped short folks see better.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#129

Post by divbzero »

This is a major reason I’ll probably never buy a Tesla. I do not want my car to connect to the manufacturer via Internet nor have anything complex enough to justify over-the-air updates. (I also feel similarly about most home appliances.)
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