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Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

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Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#91

Post by progbits »

tonymet wrote: post #80

Quick poll: who here doesn't want infotainment software in their car? How about keeping cars limited to 1990s level logic: basic ICs, fuel / emissions / safety control (abs, airbags). Something like 1990s Mazda with a japanese-size pickup, miata & basic sedan / hatchback.

No infotainment doesn't mean no safety.

Keep the fancy airbags and traction control, adaptive cruise control etc.

Just throw out the garbage custom navigation and radio. It never works well. The display should be simply used for carplay/android auto, and be a black rectangle otherwise.

Maybe sell an addon package to just shove a preconfigured phone into the glove box for people who don't want to tether their device.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#92

Post by MikeKusold »

RandallBrown wrote: post #48
LarryDarrell wrote: post #26

The 2022 Chevy Silverado I rented died at 488 miles on the odometer. The roadside assistance mechanic said the transmission "lost data connection to the engine". Later, a tow truck had to drag it onto it's flatbed as the rear wheels were locked up. Also, apparently the tailgate is electric now. And for some reason it stopped working when the transmission died. Also also, there is no way to turn the truck off? When it…

> but I am gobsmacked at just how terrible modern vehicles are CarPlay, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, automatic lights (brights, on/off, turning), cameras, remote start from my phone, and lots of other things are awesome modern additions to cars that I wouldn't want to go without anymore.

I don't have any of these on my 2013 vehicles, and the only one I truly miss is CarPlay.

I've been in nice cars with these features, and I'm happy I don't have most of these. Adaptive cruise control brakes are too late and hard for me to trust, lane assist is nice on straights but is annoying when it bounces between the sides of the lane, and automatic high-beams are infuriating with the constant on & off.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#93

Post by abawany »

MikeKusold wrote: post #92
RandallBrown wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but I am gobsmacked at just how terrible modern vehicles are CarPlay, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, automatic lights (brights, on/off, turning), cameras, remote start from my phone, and lots of other things are awesome modern additions to cars that I wouldn't want to go without anymore.

I don't have any of these on my 2013 vehicles, and the only one I truly miss is CarPlay. I've been in nice cars with these features, and I'm happy I don't have most of these. Adaptive cruise control brakes are too late and hard for me to trust, lane assist is nice on straights but is annoying when it bounces between the sides of the lane, and automatic high-beams are infuriating with the constant on & off.

I was able to add android auto/carplay to my old car by installing an aftermarket pioneer head unit with this functionality. The nice thing about older cars is that such replacement is possible and relatively easy.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#94

Post by ramesh31 »

r00fus wrote: post #63
RandallBrown wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but I am gobsmacked at just how terrible modern vehicles are CarPlay, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, automatic lights (brights, on/off, turning), cameras, remote start from my phone, and lots of other things are awesome modern additions to cars that I wouldn't want to go without anymore.

Lane assist done poorly (seen on my latest Toyota Corolla rental) is distracting and made me want to turn it off. Any advanced features that are rushed or poorly thought out - can turn into liabilities instead of assets.

>Lane assist done poorly (seen on my latest Toyota Corolla rental) is distracting and made me want to turn it off.

TSS is actually pretty good once you get comfortable using it. But this is the Toyota philosophy on ADAS systems in general. They are not going all in on FSD like the other manufacturers because it simply isn't ready yet. And so their lane assist is designed to be a safety catch for innattentive drivers, not an automated system.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#95

Post by mbesto »

phkahler wrote: post #23
jdelman wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's probably the opposite -- they've probably hired him to help build their new entertainment+surveillance stack.

My understanding of GM is that they outsource almost everything. Last time I hired an embedded software engineer from them, the guy felt he was in a very tiny niche within the company and it was a fluke his group still existed to write code. Infotainment systems may be different, but suppliers were doing most of the code several years back (I hired one of those guys too). With the desire to bring SaaS to automotive I…

Correct - infotainment on manufacturers like GM are more than likely completely outsourced to a company like Aptiv: https://www.aptiv.com/en/insights/in-cabin-user-experience

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#96

Post by pySSK »

philwelch wrote: post #79
LarryDarrell wrote: post #26

The 2022 Chevy Silverado I rented died at 488 miles on the odometer. The roadside assistance mechanic said the transmission "lost data connection to the engine". Later, a tow truck had to drag it onto it's flatbed as the rear wheels were locked up. Also, apparently the tailgate is electric now. And for some reason it stopped working when the transmission died. Also also, there is no way to turn the truck off? When it…

Worth pointing out that GM actually failed as a business and only survived the 2008 recession because the government briefly nationalized it as part of an economic bailout. In a free market GM wouldn’t exist.

It's a moot point. In a free market, Tesla wouldn't exist either and neither would some of the biggest financial institutions, or the interstate highway system.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#97

Post by recursv_thnkng »

Mike is going to be shocked when he learns the majority of GM's software talent are nearing retirement or are fresh out of college with barely any background in programming. The company isn't the best at enticing and retaining software talent.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#98

Post by rqtwteye »

Reminds me of JCPenney hiring the Apple Store guy. They seem to think that a big name from a functioning organization like Apple can fix their own dysfunctional organization. And pretty much always the new guy will fail because he can’t do miracles in a bad organization.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#99

Post by neogodless »

tonymet wrote: post #80

Quick poll: who here doesn't want infotainment software in their car? How about keeping cars limited to 1990s level logic: basic ICs, fuel / emissions / safety control (abs, airbags). Something like 1990s Mazda with a japanese-size pickup, miata & basic sedan / hatchback.

I don't care about "infotainment" per se.

But there is information I want, and there is entertainment I want.

I want my readily replaceable phone to be able to connect to a screen that's safe for a driver to view, to display GPS information.

I want my readily replaceable phone to be able to play music through the car's speakers, and allow me access to basic sound playback controls.

Beyond that, I don't care. So do I want no infotainment? No, I can't say that. But this was a solved problem, that is now going to go backwards or get worse depending on the people making decisions for these corporations.

Re: Ex-Apple VP Mike Abbott Joins General Motors as Exec Vice President, Software

#100

Post by lallysingh »

MikeKusold wrote: post #92
RandallBrown wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but I am gobsmacked at just how terrible modern vehicles are CarPlay, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, automatic lights (brights, on/off, turning), cameras, remote start from my phone, and lots of other things are awesome modern additions to cars that I wouldn't want to go without anymore.

I don't have any of these on my 2013 vehicles, and the only one I truly miss is CarPlay. I've been in nice cars with these features, and I'm happy I don't have most of these. Adaptive cruise control brakes are too late and hard for me to trust, lane assist is nice on straights but is annoying when it bounces between the sides of the lane, and automatic high-beams are infuriating with the constant on & off.

Get a quad-lock for the most convenient air vent, then you can quickly mount/unmount a phone in a super convenient place.
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