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Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer

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Re: Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer

#131

Post by ledauphin »

prepend wrote: post #92

> but also a stopgap as Ford resets its entire software strategy around Android in partnership with Google. This doesn’t seem like a good idea because there are Android people and iOS people. Alienating a large swath of customers is not a good idea. That and I don’t want Google monitoring all my car data. One of the big reasons I don’t have a Tesla is their data policy. But I’d rather Tesla have my data than Google b…

no car company "maintains" their embedded software, either.

updates do happen, but there are no guarantees, no transparency, and essentially no aftermarket options for most modern cars.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer

#132

Post by sliken »

guntars wrote: post #106
TylerE wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of that. Costs. Buttons are expensive, and additional points of failure. Cheaper to just cram everything into a touchscreen.

Yet the cars are more expensive than ever. Nah, it’s a bet by the management that people don’t actually choose a car based on the polish of the infotainment system.

Maybe not, but I've done the opposite. The BMW, Subaru, and Fords I tried had terrible interfaces and I ruled them out. In particular BMW's i-drive seems to be hated by many.

Tesla on the other hand has buttons for many things, horn, turn signals, activate the windshield wipers for a moment (I use auto that handles most needs), engage cruise control, set following distance when using cruise control, high beams, pause music, music volume, etc.

Sure seat heaters, interior temp, ac, defrosting etc require touch screen use (or leaving them on auto), but those are emergencies and not much different than having to hit one of 8 buttons/dials on a center console. Especially since most are single touch, not touch -> select menu -> hit button.

While I find the above not annoying I really love the 15" screen that devotes the majority of the screen to things around the car (lane markers, cars, motorcycles, traffic cones, trucks, pedestrians, etc) and the map (with traffic). If the car sees a problem it blinks that object red, which I find helpful. Sure if I want I can get an inch for the current song. But generally I feel more situationally aware with a nice big nav screen up. On more than one occasion I've seen motorcycles splitting lanes behind me because of motion on the screen before I notice the noise or see them in the mirrors. I also really miss the current speed limit on the screen when I switch cars.

I also really like being able to say "play pink floyd", or "navigate to ...".

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer

#133

Post by WorldMaker »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #64
7952 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know two couples who both started out with small efficient cars. And then had to upgrade because they could not fit a stroller in the back. It feels like car companies just want to have skews that are intentionally compromised to push people into the next tier. When most people just need a compact sedan.

Yet most people who can afford to, choose to buy larger vehicles than they need. Car manufacturers are not shaping people’s desires, they are simply delivering them what they want. A Corolla/civic continues to be available for purchase. Yet people want to sit higher up, so you see the vast increase in sales for RAV4/CRV. https://www.statista.com/statistics/276506/change-in-us-car-...

The corolla/civic buyers seem to be on a longer planning horizon than the RAV4/CRV buyers. It's tough to compare sales apples to sales oranges when new car buyers on average buy sedans on 10-15 year schedules and SUVs on roughly 5 year schedules.

That planning horizon differential alone is enough to explain why car manufacturers would be greater incentivized to iterate on SUVs faster than sedans and include more features. Iteration and feature differentials will contribute as much to sales choices as "sit higher up" will, acting as a reinforcement in the cycle/spiral towards larger vehicles.

Car manufacturers aren't incentivized enough to lengthen their own planning horizons or otherwise better accommodate "sensible" sedan drivers, and it becomes very easy to pretend they don't exist and chase the short-term profits of the faster cycle time (especially when pushed by quarterly-earnings focused shareholders).

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer

#134

Post by LAC-Tech »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #58
7952 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. Just look at the appalling forward blind spot on a lot of trucks and SUVs. Or the way cars have become taller at the expense of aerodynamics.

People like sitting higher up, or do not like being seated lower, or so much lower, than others. It might also be safer to be in a higher up car in the event of a collision. Pretty much all the families I know with young kids and toddlers has a full size SUV. Every time I ask why they did not get a minivan such as Odyssey or Sienna, every response is they like SUVs and do not want to sit lower in the minivan. Even th…

> People like sitting higher up, or do not like being seated lower, or so much lower, than others.

Most of my driving is on country roads in a mountainous area, with some very tight turns.

I'm going to rent out an SUV soon and see what it's like taking sharp turns with a high vehicle. I suspect it sucks but who knows.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer

#135

Post by rootusrootus »

jconley wrote: post #113

Can confirm. I have an F-150 Lightning. The UI sucks and is slow. Much worse than my Teslas. It takes like 30 seconds when I get in the truck and turn it on before it's even usable. Switching between CarPlay and the native interface is ridiculous. It's a great truck though. Love it. :) AMA.

One of these days we will have big enough batteries to power a superduty a reasonable distance. I can't wait. I've loved my EVs, now I want that for my F250.

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer

#136

Post by LAC-Tech »

7952 wrote: post #63
lotsofpulp wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People like sitting higher up, or do not like being seated lower, or so much lower, than others. It might also be safer to be in a higher up car in the event of a collision. Pretty much all the families I know with young kids and toddlers has a full size SUV. Every time I ask why they did not get a minivan such as Odyssey or Sienna, every response is they like SUVs and do not want to sit lower in the minivan. Even th…

I know two couples who both started out with small efficient cars. And then had to upgrade because they could not fit a stroller in the back. It feels like car companies just want to have skews that are intentionally compromised to push people into the next tier. When most people just need a compact sedan.

I can fit a stroller in the back of my subcompact.

Granted I'm not able to go grocery shopping at the same time..

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer

#137

Post by TylerE »

guntars wrote: post #106
TylerE wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of that. Costs. Buttons are expensive, and additional points of failure. Cheaper to just cram everything into a touchscreen.

Yet the cars are more expensive than ever. Nah, it’s a bet by the management that people don’t actually choose a car based on the polish of the infotainment system.

You're not really arguing with logic, there. How do you know a car with lots of buttons wouldn't cost even more?

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer

#138

Post by vel0city »

syzar wrote: post #130
vel0city wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which cars have touchscreens and don't have steering wheel media controls?

Volvo and Ford Edge use touchscreens to adjust AC and there is no steering wheel control for it.

Changing the AC, even with physical controls, is a distraction from driving. I don't get why anyone drives without it being on auto climate as you're inviting more distractions. If its on auto climate why are you making adjustments while you drive?

Re: Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer

#140

Post by ct0 »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #43
bonestamp2 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A lot of automakers are chasing Tesla's one screen design -- they're so envious of the cost savings there. Except the Germans, they're still putting in lots of buttons and knobs -- my next car will likely be German because they seem to understand what people actually want.

Buy it quick. Even the Macan has a stupid piano-black console touch panel in its current generation.

My previous version Porsche (958) has a button for newly every function. Its very similar to a small plane and it 100% allows me to focus on the road and whats important without looking at the change of function.
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