Please make a dumb car • Hacker News Board

Re: Please make a dumb car

#471

Post by asdff » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 8:57 PM UTC

stillsut wrote: post #179

I 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…

The old notion that sensors always go bad in cars was never really accurate. People would see a check engine light, get the code read and see it says "O2 sensor" and replace the O2 sensor. Then the code happens again, they say "That damned O2 sensor on this stupid car" and replace the O2 sensor again. Rinse and repeat until you get a new car.

However, I'm willing to bet the O2 sensor was actually giving the correct read and was working fine, and the source of the issue is probably well upstream of the O2 sensor.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#472

Post by adlorger » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 8:58 PM UTC

da_chicken wrote: post #470

sinab wrote: post #440

What I hate about "car discourse" like this is the apparent blindness to public transportation. Trains, bikes, buses, and street cars solve almost every problem that the author complains about. The only outstanding problem, however, is that American infrastructure has been deliberately designed solely around the car. Those who suggest alternative modes of public transportation are immediately written off as "impracti…

> The only outstanding problem, however, is that American infrastructure has been deliberately designed solely around the car. The problem is that "infrastructure" doesn't just mean roads. It's where houses are. Where schools are. Where food is transported. It's where water and electrical service runs. It's how property is zoned. It's how police, fire, and hospitals are located. It's how municipalities design snow re…

where do i sign up?

Re: Please make a dumb car

#473

Post by snth » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 8:58 PM UTC

sinab wrote: post #440

What I hate about "car discourse" like this is the apparent blindness to public transportation. Trains, bikes, buses, and street cars solve almost every problem that the author complains about. The only outstanding problem, however, is that American infrastructure has been deliberately designed solely around the car. Those who suggest alternative modes of public transportation are immediately written off as "impracti…

I wish America had more bikeable cities and better public transport too, but I don't see what that has to do with the linked article. I would also really like a dumbcar.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#474

Post by asdff » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 8:58 PM UTC

throwawayboise wrote: post #376

olyjohn wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actual rear visibility would be an upgrade. Cars don't seem to come with that anymore.

Wind tunnel engineering. Cars do not have large upright rear windows anymore because a sloping "fastback" design with a higher rear deck is more aerodynamic and gets an extra fraction of an MPG on the fuel economy rating.

The prius has this fuel efficient design and opted to just give you more window on the back of the car anyhow.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#475

Post by klyrs » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 8:59 PM UTC

kspacewalk2 wrote: post #435

dntrkv wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Nah. Most non-techies I've talked to about this are very frustrated with the move to touch screens and "smart" features they never use. This is particularly true, basically universal, among people over 50.

As a techie, I hate touch screens replacing what should be tactile buttons/knobs/switches that can be used without taking my eyes off the road. I don't mind them for a nav system. But, in many cars, they've stripped the radio and A/C controls and put them behind menus in a touch screen which has a dozen other screens that I never use. I don't care about all that garbage. I need to be able to adjust the A/C and the radio without taking my eyes off the road. And I don't need a default-always-bright screen in the cabin messing up my night vision. I was glad to find that setting buried in a menu somewhere, but holy crap.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#476

Post by hahamrfunnyguy » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 8:59 PM UTC

jhoechtl wrote: post #462

afloyd wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would absolutely love to ride a bike or say, roller skate to work, but as i live in a stroad infested car dependent mess of a town, that is sadly impractical at best and outright deadly at worst.

I do not like to ride a bike at 0 °C. Buses are fine, waiting for the bus at 0 °C not so. But yeah, owning a car which is only used 1% of it's lifetime is pretty laughable and actually prohibitive.

What's wrong with riding a bike in 0 °C weather? When dressed for the weather riding in the cold weather can be quite enjoyable as long as the roads are clear or your bike has appropriate tires.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#477

Post by asdff » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 9:00 PM UTC

secabeen wrote: post #412

twobitshifter wrote: post #396

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not so sure this is entirely due to fuel. A Volkswagen Golf with great fuel economy still has a big rear window and an FJ Cruiser has a tiny one and chugs gasoline. Many of the cars don’t actually have dramatic tapering roof lines, what they have is rising belt lines which cut into the window space.

Large pillars to hold airbags are also a big consumer of window space.

Not all cars have such high beltlines that make you feel like you are driving a sherman tank. American cars seem to have these issues more than imports. Maybe its a way to shirk around some crash testing metrics by deferring to less visibility than to offer more visibility and potentially spend more engineering something just as strong?

Re: Please make a dumb car

#478

Post by loudtieblahblah » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 9:00 PM UTC

sinab wrote: post #440

What I hate about "car discourse" like this is the apparent blindness to public transportation. Trains, bikes, buses, and street cars solve almost every problem that the author complains about. The only outstanding problem, however, is that American infrastructure has been deliberately designed solely around the car. Those who suggest alternative modes of public transportation are immediately written off as "impracti…

Trains, bikes, buses, and street cars only solve urban problems.

And I know urban environments are overall better for the environment, but they're not better for people's psyche. They're crime ridden. Theyre smog ridden. Theyre awful environments to live in during a pandemic.

People were moving into cities until a pandemic struck and riots became commonplace. Then they started to leave with the speed in which they arrived.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#479

Post by vel0city » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 9:00 PM UTC

tpxl wrote: post #298

Gigachad wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Messes go further than just the heating element. Things splatter, run over. Even with controls on the face of the range (not always practical) you may need to clean them from messes.

Its definitely easy to clean my entire range being a flat piece of glass, and personally I've never had any problems with sensitivity on the buttons. Plus, that whole cook top is then still useful as a counter top as even the glass is only slightly raised over the rest of the counter surface. In my experience the glass top range I have has been wonderful, and I was originally planning on tearing it out and putting in a gas unit. I've since second guessed those plans and will probably keep the range for a while longer, no knobs has actually been pretty nice.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#480

Post by asdff » Mon, Jan 31, 2022, 9:02 PM UTC

fingerlocks wrote: post #272

stillsut wrote: post #179

I 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…

Did you look into Subaru? They are still using physical controls for all car functionality. You can get heated seats, heated steering, stereoscopic lane keep assist & adaptive cruise control, etc. There is a touch screen, but I only use it for Apple Car Play.

I was a fan of subarus until around 2007-2008 when the interiors took a nosedive and never really recovered. A 35k car like a wrx shouldn't have panel rattle like a 14k economy car, but it does. Also the paint on the knobs tends to wear off fast.