Ford F-150 Lightning: Fast Truck, Slow Computer • Hacker News Board

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

#341

Post by Aloha » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 3:39 AM UTC

mymythisisthis wrote: post #293

Aloha wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've rented a bunch of cars, pretty much everything with a jog-dial type setup, sucks - just plain sucks, too much visual interaction is required for me to operate while driving. Ford and older GM products both has severe issues with lag, the Audi I rented seemed okay, but was maximally unintuitive, the Volvo I rented took me 15 min to figure out how to turn the radio off , the Mazda was pretty good, but again, jog-d…

I really want simple to use, nicely labeled, buttons for windshield wipers and high-beams. I've given up on anything being usable in a car's interface.

The 300 has that, multi-function switch on the drivers side of the wheel for all of that (as is typical in american cars) clear either icons or text labels.

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

#342

Post by digitalsushi » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 3:53 AM UTC

bombcar wrote: post #279

bri3d wrote: post #117

It's been 10+ years since cars have gotten screwed in the Consumer Reports and other outlets for bad infotainment. What's the fix? VW's MIB2/MIB2.5 was pretty much the pinnacle of automotive head unit innovation, IMHO, and it wasn't due to the technology - it's QNX and J9 Java like so many head units before it. It just... worked, which seems a bridge too far for modern infotainment. I think C+D and other outlets need…

The problem is cars are bought entirely on other things, the infotainment is not even considered and is rarely a dealbreaker.

I cant purchase a car that doesnt let me just aim the fan at my face, and set the temperature to a specific mix of outside air and heated air. I dont want automatic environments. Fan, face, 16C/60F degrees every day of the year.

There will come a day where we will prove I dont know what I want cause I cant buy it anymore.

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

#343

Post by golemiprague » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 4:01 AM UTC

eneumann wrote: post #48

As a cyclist, I'm super excited about one day being run over by one of these things. The giant vehicle trend is getting a lot of people killed. And why does any vehicle need to accelerate that quickly? It's irresponsible on public roads. I would really love to see acceleration and speed limiters on vehicles.

Why irresponsible? it is better to get to the desired speed quickly, it means less congestion and less distraction for vehicles behind you. Every driver should thrive to drive as fast as they can as long as it is not above the speed limit or road conditions.

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

#344

Post by modeless » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 4:04 AM UTC

ninefathom wrote: post #323

I'm struggling to reconcile these two: https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/ford-f150-lightning-elect... -- "the towing range of the electric F-150 is dismal." (~100 miles) https://www.theverge.com/23307298/ford-f-150-lightning-revie... -- "Happily, the F-150 Lightning is a terrific F-150 — and a terrific truck. If you can find one to buy for a reasonable price and you’ve got a handle on charging for how you’ll use it,…

> what exactly does The Verge think that a pickup truck is used for?

I think that The Verge has a better idea of what most F-150s are used for than you do. There are a whole lot of trucks out there that are never going to tow anything.

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

#345

Post by modeless » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 4:06 AM UTC

It's really funny to see the cargo cult design coming out of all the car companies switching to electric. "Tesla has a giant touchscreen, therefore our EV must have a giant touchscreen different than all our other models." "Tesla has OTA updates, therefore our EV must have OTA updates even though our other models don't." "Tesla has a 3D render of the car interior for climate control adjustment, therefore our EV must have a 3D render of the car interior for climate control adjustment even though our other models don't." etc etc

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

#346

Post by jwm20 » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 4:07 AM UTC

ninefathom wrote: post #323

I'm struggling to reconcile these two: https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/ford-f150-lightning-elect... -- "the towing range of the electric F-150 is dismal." (~100 miles) https://www.theverge.com/23307298/ford-f-150-lightning-revie... -- "Happily, the F-150 Lightning is a terrific F-150 — and a terrific truck. If you can find one to buy for a reasonable price and you’ve got a handle on charging for how you’ll use it,…

Save you a google, WVO = waste vegetable oil.

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

#347

Post by speed_spread » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 4:07 AM UTC

rkagerer wrote: post #257

speed_spread wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ford is not a tech company. By their CEO's own admission, Ford sees itself as a "data company": https://www.autoblog.com/2016/01/06/ceo-mark-fields-ford-dat... Their software chops are certainly dubious, but there is no questioning their intent when it comes to entering the surveillance economy.

Ford sees itself as a "data company" What a disaster. I wish they would focus on simply making good cars.

Ironically, Ford stopped selling the Focus and all other passenger cars (except the Mach-E) in the USA after 2018.

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

#348

Post by dangrossman » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 4:10 AM UTC

bonestamp2 wrote: post #26

Rooster61 wrote: post #7

It's incredibly frustrating to me that buying a vehicle with a pushbutton, working, reliable interface is becoming increasingly impossible to do. Why is UX so horrifically bad in the vehicle space? Is it poor management decisions or a shortage of good UX engineers? I get that lumping everything into the touchscreen can be a cheaper option to build, but I'd GLADLY pay for a different option. I don't understand it.

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.

My Volkswagen ID.4 (German-built) doesn't have a single actual button in it. All touchscreens, capacitive simulated buttons, voice control and even gesture control. But no buttons, and the only knob is for the mirror adjustment.

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

#349

Post by rascul » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 4:13 AM UTC

namecheapTA wrote: post #334

rascul wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's because I rarely drive in cities where there are buildings around for the sound to echo. 95% or more of my driving is in the country at 45 MPH or higher, or on highways at 65 or 70MPH. There are plenty of very loud vehicles in my area. Maybe the sound just can't go as fast as I'm usually driving. Or an idea I just thought of, maybe at the speeds I typically drive, by the time the sound does get to me, it's…

Yes, obviously the danger of getting passed by a much faster silent vehicle is much less in an area with low traffic density, low intersection density, yada yada. I'm glad we finally got to the bottom of your confusion.

We didn't though.

Edit: Also I feel like, from your last reply, that you might have taken one or both of my replies in a way that wasn't intended. It's also possible that I didn't word my replies in a good manner. I'm not always good at that. I am genuinely curious about how it is that others can hear loud vehicles behind them when driving while I can't. Your mention of echoes off buildings got me thinking of driving through a big city surrounded by big buildings, and that's an environment I am not familiar with except in pictures and videos. If that's the reason then it answers the question I've had for a couple years now when I first saw someone mention that they hear loud vehicles behind them.

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

#350

Post by hoten » Wed, Aug 17, 2022, 4:14 AM UTC

NobodyNada wrote: post #85

rmatt2000 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to own a Ford Fusion with an early version of Sync. The car itself was great. The Sync software by Microsoft, however, was not. One of the innumerable bugs was in the voice recognition system. No matter what song I requested, about half the time it played "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John. I was demonstrating this bug to a friend who asked "What happens when you request Tiny Dancer?" Sure enough, it played something…

I bought a Focus with Sync 1 last year, and it was infuriating. The most infuriating part was that every time the car starts it defaulted to aux in mode, and there’s no button on the panel to switch to Bluetooth — if I wanted to listen to music from my phone, it took about 8 or 9 button presses to navigate through three levels of nested menus to get to the “media source” option. Every time I got in the car. I finally…

I know exactly what you mean. I didn't replace it, but instead in my muscle memory (and part of my car "boot sequence") is pressing a button, precisely turning a knob twice and pressing a button again. I've done it thousands of times now.

Ford Fusion 2012 BTW