Sure, people want simple, but simple is very subjective.
I want simple, +Bluetooth Audio
I want simple, +rear Camera
I want simple, +Cruise Control
I want simple, ....
https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2001/03/23/strategy-letter-iv...
Please make a dumb car
291–300 of 671 posts
Re: Please make a dumb car
#292I went car shopping this year in the new market and found that that if you want more a "dumb" car (UX occurs primarily outside of a touchscreen, no internet, no geolocation) you lose all potential for any nice non-smart features. So no heated/powered seats, no power windows, the material of the interior is refurbished from a spirit airlines airplane, etc. I think manufacturers are hoping that certain aspects of the m…
> these unwanted smart features Only within the niche HN-type tech crowd. Most people outside of this group want these features, even other techies, including myself. It's the same discussion on any thread involving smart devices. People want this stuff, that's why there have been over 200M standalone smart speakers sold. As far as why these things get bundled, that’s just how auto manufacturing works. Every unique c…
I'm always surprised how defeatist and negative the tech community's attitude towards computerized UX in cars is. Often the opinions are simplistic and dismissive instead of zooming into the details. It's similar to when onscreen keyboards in phones where "obviously never going to work" when now, most people probably wouldn't want to give up the screen real estate for a hardware keyboard, except even more one-note.
I find it much more true that most car software simply isn't very good yet on average. Let's say most existing implementations of touch UIs in cars don't add value and are cumbersome to use, for example - but that just means they're individually badly realized, not that it's not worth trying. And in reality, it's also a much more nuanced "depending on the use case and the situation" or "impacted by bad performance".
There are quality differences out there. And there's plenty of use cases in cars that benefit from a thorough software approach. This is an area with interesting problems to solve and plenty of innovation left to happen, and where hard and good work makes a mark.
Re: Please make a dumb car
#293I'm fine with a touch screen for things like rear camera and plugging in a smart phone, but I want actual volume, temperature, and fan speed knobs. I also want all of the information about the car I can get. For example, I don't want a "tire low light", I want an air pressure in each tire with an flashing indicator that its out of safe range. I don't want an "overheat", I want the temperature and big flashing when it…
Lexus has models with a HUD. It was far less useful than I expected. It displays just a compass, digital speedometer, and indicators for cruise control and lane assist.
No directions for the route finder? That sounds really lame. The BMW HUD is much more useful, if you have a route going on, the turn instructions appear on the windshield.
Re: Please make a dumb car
#294> Enough already. Make a car that’s pretty much all dumb and watch it sell
That's all that you need to know that the author is a tech blogger and not a car salesman.
Re: Please make a dumb car
#295I went car shopping this year in the new market and found that that if you want more a "dumb" car (UX occurs primarily outside of a touchscreen, no internet, no geolocation) you lose all potential for any nice non-smart features. So no heated/powered seats, no power windows, the material of the interior is refurbished from a spirit airlines airplane, etc. I think manufacturers are hoping that certain aspects of the m…
> I wonder how well my car will age when miscellaneous sensor all over the car start failing. That's just it, the tech is making the cars less reliable. Will all of these bespoke parts be available in 10, 15, 20 years? I would hate to have to dispose of a working car because the dead now obsolete chip on the bespoke LCD dash module shaped like the cars dashboard is no longer in production. I had cars who's odometers…
Backup cameras are mandated in the US now, so that requires an LCD screen on the dash.
Re: Please make a dumb car
#296I went car shopping this year in the new market and found that that if you want more a "dumb" car (UX occurs primarily outside of a touchscreen, no internet, no geolocation) you lose all potential for any nice non-smart features. So no heated/powered seats, no power windows, the material of the interior is refurbished from a spirit airlines airplane, etc. I think manufacturers are hoping that certain aspects of the m…
> I wonder how well my car will age when miscellaneous sensor all over the car start failing. That's just it, the tech is making the cars less reliable. Will all of these bespoke parts be available in 10, 15, 20 years? I would hate to have to dispose of a working car because the dead now obsolete chip on the bespoke LCD dash module shaped like the cars dashboard is no longer in production. I had cars who's odometers…
That's a bit much.
Not everyone has the aptitude for good, calm driving. That might make them excel in other areas of life, just not at driving safely in traffic. Has humanity failed because we provided them transportation? No, but we have an open challenge to provide transport and allow these (really, all) people the freedom to mentally engage with something else that they deem more important than the chore of driving safely.
Re: Please make a dumb car
#297I went car shopping this year in the new market and found that that if you want more a "dumb" car (UX occurs primarily outside of a touchscreen, no internet, no geolocation) you lose all potential for any nice non-smart features. So no heated/powered seats, no power windows, the material of the interior is refurbished from a spirit airlines airplane, etc. I think manufacturers are hoping that certain aspects of the m…
> these unwanted smart features Only within the niche HN-type tech crowd. Most people outside of this group want these features, even other techies, including myself. It's the same discussion on any thread involving smart devices. People want this stuff, that's why there have been over 200M standalone smart speakers sold. As far as why these things get bundled, that’s just how auto manufacturing works. Every unique c…
I'm going to push back on this statement, as I spend my day-to-day more immersed in the non-techy car world than in the HN tech world. I see a lot of frustration with new tech features among car reviewers and enthusiasts. You can read almost any car-related social media forums and see ire directed at stuff like complicated touchscreen-driven interfaces and flaky emergency braking systems. I also know many older folks who simply ignore and avoid all these tech features that now come standard on luxury vehicles. Anecdotal evidence, I know, but I don't think there's widespread acceptance of this stuff as you imply.
Re: Please make a dumb car
#298Earlier quoted context omitted.
And everyone wants to be part of that cool touch movement too, by using capacitive touch buttons. So modern! And cheaper too, but that doesn't stop you from marketing it as premium. Try buying a stove with induction and normal knobs. Nope, it's touch. Cheap touch buttons, that don't work if your hands are wet, or greasy. Which totally never happens when you're cooking. So you're handling three pots, one starts boilin…
Touch controls on stoves are mostly about making cleaning easier. You just wipe a flat surface.
I'd like to introduce you to my grandmother's flat surface stove from the 70s with 0 touch controls. It's easy, just decouple the controls from the heating element.
3/4 of the reason they're touch is being 'cool' and none of the designers ever cooking a meal in their life.
Re: Please make a dumb car
#299Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Then we can charge them for our optional (mandatory, if you want even basic modern functionality, such as remote start) monthly/yearly subscription services! We'll call it Car+!"
The easy solution here would be to eschew such features. Remote start seems like it provides no benefit except to waste slightly more gas, and also to occasionally suffocate the elderly or otherwise forgetful.
You obviously don't live in a place with harsh winters.
Re: Please make a dumb car
#300Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Then we can charge them for our optional (mandatory, if you want even basic modern functionality, such as remote start) monthly/yearly subscription services! We'll call it Car+!"
The easy solution here would be to eschew such features. Remote start seems like it provides no benefit except to waste slightly more gas, and also to occasionally suffocate the elderly or otherwise forgetful.
If you live in a place with cold winters, it's pretty handy to be able to start your car as you leave the office. By the time you've walked to your car, it's nice and warm and the engine is running optimally.[1]
1. I know modern engines claim not to need to be warmed up, but I think that's a load of crap. Oil and other lubricants at very cold temperatures need to warm up and there's no evidence that it hurts anything. And it only uses a little sip of gas.