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Please make a dumb car

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Re: Please make a dumb car

#551

Post by rcpt »

cmil15 wrote: post #459
rcpt wrote: post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ACC and LKAS on our 2019 Honda is so awful I simply can't use it. When someone crosses 3 lanes in front of me ACC will hit the brakes hard to maintain the correct distance. It's jolting and scary. LKAS only sees about 80% of the lanes. Rather than just driving like normal which I'm experienced with I have to sit there paranoid that something will go wrong and I'll need to react to a surprise event. I don't know if it…

Surprised to hear that. The ACC on my 2019 CR-V is the best adaptive cruise control I've used, a lot smoother than ACC I've tried in substantially more expensive cars. I agree the LKAS is pretty crappy (off of highways, it seems closer to 60% of lanes), but I've never experienced anything with it that's caused actual problems. The crappiness just comes from it frequently not knowing where the lane is, but I leave it…

I've never tried other ACC so it might just be me.

The specific situation is this: I live in Los Angeles and set ACC for max following distance on the freeway. Inevitably this means that someone will use that space to cut across 3 lanes and, as soon as do, ACC will rapidly slow me down to put distance between me and the new lead car. I'll find myself suddenly under 50 on the freeway as a result. maybe that's just how ACC is but imo the PID controller or whatever could be toned down a bit.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#552

Post by throwaway946513 »

jbl wrote: post #320
xbryanx wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get why, but my Volvo (2017) WILL NOT let me lock the keys in the car. Which is annoying if I'm trying to safely warm it up on a -15 Minnesota day and have the spare keys in the house. There's lots of forums detailing tricks involving rolling the windows down or locking the car from the back seat. I love all the tech automation and safety features, but at times I find myself befuddled by the designers choices.

Odd. I believe my 2018 model year Volvo allows me to start the car, take the key with me, and lock the doors (so long as I take my key fob with me).

I'm guessing that the parent has a physical key and the fob won't let them lock it.

My '05 Nissan Altima let me start the engine with a physical key, and then lock the car with the fob.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#553

Post by jraph »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #533
jraph wrote: post #526

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nah. Just dress normally and then put warm clothes on top (gloves, hat, a good coat, possibly some overtrousers for the rain) that you can remove at your destination. Gloves needed at 0°C are reasonable. Sure, don't take gloves that let the wind go through. I used to bike without gloves and a hat when freezing. Because I always lose them. The hands hurt, you end up being very cold. With appropriate clothes it's night…

> Just dress normally and then put warm clothes on top (gloves, hat, a good coat, possibly some overtrousers for the rain) that you can remove at your destination. Great. I'm going to the mall. How do I remove my clothes while I'm there?

You put them in your backpack (or around your hips for the coat?).

Yes, you need a backpack or some sort of bag. Is it a big issue? If it's not raining you don't even need the overtrousers and the coat might as well be the one you usually wear when it's cold. This coat probably has pockets big enough that you can put the gloves and the hat in them.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#554

Post by ggreer »

rektide wrote: post #65
tsujp wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's kind of fascinating. For me I'd replace that with: scary. Full size A4 paper and bigger screens in cars you can stream movies on while driving (distraction leading to accidents); the Las Vegas Loop which is just a tunnel for only one type of car (waste of infrastructure space); pushing untested AI (crashing and killing people). These aren't fascinating things.

I don't like the pedestrian killing murder-machine aspect of their vast In Vehicle Entertainment systems at all. The Vegas Loop tells such a strong tale though, to me, of control over infrastructure itself, in a vulgar & horrific way. Just like Tesla's charging infrastructure! Can you imagine if you had to find a Ford or a Toyota gas station to fill up at? This world used to be able to get along, to find general welf…

Tesla's charging is different because they created their charging infrastructure before anyone else. The first supercharger was built in 2012. Despite Tesla open sourcing their patents[1], other EV manufacturers used different standards. Also Tesla is starting to let non-Teslas use their superchargers.[2] All Teslas can use other charging stations, though they'll charge slowly. Newer Teslas (since late 2019) have support for the high speed Combined Charging System standard and Tesla is rolling out CCS adapters.[3] Lastly, most EV charging happens at home using level 1 or level 2 systems, which are standard NEMA plugs that Tesla sells adapters for.

If Tesla's goal was to lock-in their customers and exclude other vehicles, they seem to be doing all the wrong things.

1. https://www.tesla.com/legal/additional-resources#patent-pled...

2. https://www.tesla.com/support/non-tesla-supercharging

3. https://driveteslacanada.ca/model-y/tesla-ccs-adapter-activa...

Re: Please make a dumb car

#555

Post by ericmay »

voakbasda wrote: post #502
titzer wrote: post #491

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In many ways, fixing the infrastructure problem in the US means razing the whole continent and starting over. In some places, particularly cities designed around cars (i.e. the last 100 years). Other cities just need things to be upgraded . E.g. I recently moved to Pittsburgh. It's pretty dense in terms of housing and infrastructure--not suburban with big lawns. That's partly because it's hilly. Around here the inv…

One problem with implementing all of those upgrades is that they will be unaffordable for the City, unless they take tax revenues from other areas. But those other areas have their own crumbling infrastructure, so “upgrade” is not a solution that can be applied everywhere equally.

And they’re in this predicament precisely because they built unaffordable car-first infrastructure in the first place. Saying that they can’t afford the more cost-effective option (walk, bike, tram) is just icing on the cake.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#556

Post by driverdan »

causi wrote: post #227

I love having a dumb car. My wife has a modern car and my experience is superior in almost every way. She has to select a temperature and then her AC system blasts her with freezing or burning air until it decides the car is at the desired temperature. Since the selector only goes down to 65, it's impossible to get medium-temperature air on a nippy day. My dash, on the other hand, has a dial that goes from cold to ho…

Automatic climate control has been around for about 40 years and common for 20 years. There is no excuse for not getting it right in 2022. I had cars 20 years ago that had great auto climate control.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#557

Post by incomplete »

galdosdi wrote: post #267
incomplete wrote: post #197

the answer is always miata.

How are the latest new ND miatas with regards to this sort of thing, anyway, if you know? The old NB and NA generation miatas (no idea on NC) were just wonderful perfect "dumb cars." Is it still good in the 2022 model year or has it been slightly ruined yet to any degree?

the ND miata is about as close to 'dumb' as you're gonna get these days. aka it's nearly perfect. :D

Re: Please make a dumb car

#558

Post by antod »

sho_hn wrote: post #301
MisterTea wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Note that "cars are getting less reliable" is a gut feeling that many people have, but largely isn't backed by real metrics. When's the last time you saw a broken-down car by the side of the road, and is this happening more or less often than 20 years ago? Do you think cars require more or less upkeep and maintenance than 20 years ago? Yes, cars do have some new components that have introduced new failure modes, and…

> When's the last time you saw a broken-down car by the side of the road, and is this happening more or less often than 20 years ago?

The same? Cars 20yrs ago were already very reliable compared to say 30-40yrs ago. And breakdowns observed 20 yrs ago were mostly cars that were aleady old then.

If I see a broken down car now (which is rare anyway), it could almost be age from 30+yrs old to new. There doesn't seem to be a pattern with age. Adjusting for 20yr old cars having 20yrs more wear and tear, you would expect a pattern correlating with age. I wonder what todays cars are going to seem like in 20yrs?

Note: I'm not in the US or Europe, so my observations of the car population may be different to those that are. My cars have usually been 15-20 yrs old Japanese models, bought cheaply 2nd hand, mostly neglected, but still very reliable machines.

Re: Please make a dumb car

#559

Post by blacksmith_tb »

hahamrfunnyguy wrote: post #476
jhoechtl wrote: post #462

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Good gear can make it perfectly doable, but icy roads are no fun regardless how warm you are.
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