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EV Stupidity Checklist

hypercritical.co

31–40 of 145 posts

Re: EV Stupidity Checklist

#31
post #2

China has already mandated an end to retractable outside door handles and electrical inside door handles. That takes effect January 1, 2027. There were two major incidents where people could not get out and could not be rescued. The powered charger port door would make sense if there were robot chargers that used it. Tesla demoed that, but people disliked the snake robot approach. Technically, a snake robot is ideal…

Rear view cameras are a) 2d not 3d like a physical mirror, so judging depth is inferior on them b) a nightmare for most of us in the second half of our lives who lose the ability to quickly adjust focal length between near and far (not a problem with a real mirror) c) yet another potential failure point and d) a dumbass idea in the parts of the world that salt their roads

The various cameras on my polestar2 are routinely getting caked in salt and dirt in the winter 30 seconds after I start driving down the road. I fail to understand why I'd want this for a critical system like rear or side view mirrors.

I drove in a Polestar4 with its rear view camera only view the other day. Did not like. Would not want as my only option.

I did drive in a Bolt that had dual mode and that was fine.

Re: EV Stupidity Checklist

#33
post #27

Please eliminate the glass roof. Why do EV companies keep making this customer hostile decision? On my 2019 Model 3, a stress fracture showed up overnight and everytime I look up I see a 3000$ fix for a car that is worth 10k max. I have no idea who wants it. It is hot in the summer, cold in the winter and you can have a sudden bill related to a rock on the street. Somehow everyone, from Tesla to Ferrari has this insa…

Isn't Tesla the only one that made it mandatory?

Hyundai, Ford, etc have it as an option.

Re: EV Stupidity Checklist

#34

Ok, I'll take the bait. I have a thermostat at home, I set a temperature, it keeps my house at that temperature. I have a thermostat in my car, I set the temperature, it keeps the temperature. Fiddling with with climate controls and vents is not something I've done for 8 years now. Why is everybody always touching these things?

My wife needs drastically different settings than I do for virtually everything, at home or in the car. It's easier if I'm just uncomfortable. I've stopped noticing. She can't.

Re: EV Stupidity Checklist

#35
I think this desire is reasonable, but also completely misses two of the main reasons Tesla did their "everything mediated thru the touch screen" in the first place (besides cost, which TFA mentions).

1. It allows for having "presets" for everything configurable in the car. If you've ever shared a Tesla, you understand this: the driver's seat adjusts itself to the right position, as does the HVAC, etc. Everything being digitally mediated means I can loan my car to someone and when I get it back, all of my settings will be exactly as I left them.

2. It paves the way for "robotaxi". You don't need physical buttons geared towards maximum ergonomics of the driver if there is no driver. Obviously Tesla hasn't quite achieved that goal yet, but that is what they are aiming for so it makes sense they wouldn't invest much at all in driver ergonomics.

Similarly, the doorhandles being flush is not entirely about "looking futuristic", but is instead another way to squeeze every last drop of aerodynamics out of the vehicle, which is incredibly important for EVs.

Re: EV Stupidity Checklist

#36
post #2

China has already mandated an end to retractable outside door handles and electrical inside door handles. That takes effect January 1, 2027. There were two major incidents where people could not get out and could not be rescued. The powered charger port door would make sense if there were robot chargers that used it. Tesla demoed that, but people disliked the snake robot approach. Technically, a snake robot is ideal…

> Rear view cameras are better than rear view mirrors. The field of view is better.

Rear view cameras are useless when mud/rain get on them. Mirrors continue to work just fine.

Try living in Seattle.

Re: EV Stupidity Checklist

#37
I would add that there is no particularly good reason for an EV to have a push-to-start button. With Volvo, Polestar etc, you get in and shift straight into Drive or Reverse, and when you’re done, you put it into Park and climb out again. This is how it should be.

Re: EV Stupidity Checklist

#38
post #8
post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rear view cameras might be better than mirrors in terms of field of view. This doesn't make them objectively better. Disadvantages are well argumented in the article. They are an useful accessory but shouldn't replace real vision.

Real vision is fucked when you can’t actually see what’s behind your car. Cameras will prevent a lot of unnecessary property damage, and more importantly, fully mitigate risk of killing humans/animals that are behind the car and outside the field of view.

Lots of cars don't combine the rear-view mirror and backup camera into the same thing. (And shouldn't.)

Re: EV Stupidity Checklist

#39

Ok, I'll take the bait. I have a thermostat at home, I set a temperature, it keeps my house at that temperature. I have a thermostat in my car, I set the temperature, it keeps the temperature. Fiddling with with climate controls and vents is not something I've done for 8 years now. Why is everybody always touching these things?

Half the passengers sit in the sun half the time

My partner enjoys ambient temperatures about 3°C warmer than I do

Depending on which of us is currently in the sun, or which of us is alone, you need to vary it quite a lot in summer

In winter, you want the AC for defogging but not on otherwise, which is even more fiddly if you don't just leave it on permanently and use like 10% more fuel

And that's assuming climate control works. It doesn't in any car that I've ever been in. The car doesn't want to sound like an airplane at lift-off once the temperature goes 2° above the set point, while I may just have come from a long walk and am super warm and want this blast of AC air. And then after 5 minutes it gets chilly and maybe I want it to cool the car instead of blowing at me directly, or maybe I just turn the loudness down. There are so many permutations... I suspect we may be built differently if you are happy with a single set point!

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