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What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

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Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#401

Post by ninalanyon »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #304
codingdave wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, you need to do that engineering yourself. And ICE engines are heavy, so it typically is reasonable to work out as the lighter engine compensates for the battery weight. It is a design task, not a project killer.

If modern EVs are anything to go by, the battery weight will be substantially more than the weight of an ICE engine plus gearbox etc. But yes, it'd be for the hobbyist to figure out the details and whether it is safe enough to drive.

The EV version of the Hyundai Ioniq is only about 60 kg heavier than the hybrid version and at about 1 500 kg is not much over the average for cars of its class.

EVs really are not a great deal heavier than the ICE versions of the same or similar vehicles.

The Jaguar I-Pace EV is lighter than some variants of the F-Pace ICE.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#402

Post by dsign »

brailsafe wrote: post #104
6SixTy wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Problem with gathering data off cars is that it's really not that effective vs your phone. A car realistically just sits around doing nothing 80% of the time, while a phone is with you 24/7, likely powered 24/7, and already has telemetry mechanisms built in. An old car with someone using a phone probably still collects the same data as you assert. And an EV without smarts is legitimately just a golf cart.

> A car realistically just sits around doing nothing 80% of the time A bit besides the point, but isn't it wild how inherently wasteful personal cars are? Every time the thought crosses my mind to get another one, if I don't stop at the cost, I stop at the fact that I'll have this giant chunk of metal sitting idle on the street or somewhere else nearly all the time. It'd be useful in an extreme minority of cases (for…

I've been of a similar opinion for many years. I have public transport and my office commute is about two hours and half in each direction, but I only need to go to the office once per week, so it's somehow acceptable.

But I'm getting old. I've decided I want to use my remaining years of any strength to do more hiking, kayaking and camping, and for that I need a car every weekend. Rentals would be slightly more expensive than owning a second hand one. But I do wish car ownership were cheaper and more painless.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#403

Post by DennisP »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #294
BurningFrog wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Selfdriving taxis solves much of the 98% unused car problem.

They also create problems in terms of extra journeys as a private car will go from A to B, whereas a taxi goes from C to A to B to C. It's quite amusing as people try to come up with more efficient use of cars and typically end up reinventing public transport (e.g. buses, trains etc).

Those extra journeys can be minimized with decent routing software. Even if it's as simple as ending up at B, then going directly to the nearest customer waiting for a ride.

And fwiw, if Tesla gets their robotaxi stuff working, their 22-passenger "robovan" is basically a bus anyway, just without a driver.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#404

Post by dzhiurgis »

dmichulke wrote: post #251
valval wrote: post #249

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know your comment is just the traditional HN karma grab, but rejecting technological advancement in vehicles based on privacy concerns means missing out on significant improvements in safety, efficiency, and comfort. Would you also reject modern healthcare because hospitals use connected devices?

One is likely an emergency of a necessary system (body) and the other is not an emergency of a much less necessary system (car). Not sure your analogy fits.

More Americans live without healthcare than without cars

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#405

Post by RobRivera »

Forgeties79 wrote: post #344
dghlsakjg wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was Nissan actually collecting this data? All I can find is that the privacy policy retained the right to it (some lawyer probably though about what happens if they accidentally record you getting frisky, and put it in there preemptively), but no evidence if it actually happened.

Does it matter? We can split hairs over whether or not they are actually doing the thing they give themselves the rights to do, but that feels unproductive and disingenuous.

YES!!!!!

there's plenty of REAL privacy matters to address than to invent demons and then undermine genuine issues with 'boy who cried wolf'!!!

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#406

Post by pvaldes »

djaychela wrote: post #290
akira2501 wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your engine is part of your crumple zone. You do not want your battery to be. Same reason the fuel tank is usually in the back of the vehicle.

Engines do not crumple, and a proper electric conversion will retain appropriate space. Fuel tanks are not "in the back" for good (see: ford pinto) reasons.

Fuel tanks are in the back for solid reasons. But they are placed before the second wheel axis. In case of crash that area will protect the tank. Pinto had it after the rear tires, so totally unprotected.

A big battery in the place of the motor will turn you into a BBQ in case of collision because fire will fall directly towards the driver. Lithium batteries start burning when hit with some force, and can't be stopped once they start burning.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#407

Post by DoneWithAllThat »

prirun wrote: post #380
afh1 wrote: post #25

The scary part is not the GPS installed by the fleet company that previously owned the car, which in all likelihood was just forgotten there, but the GPS and eSIM that comes with most (all?) new cars and that in most (all?) new cars cannot be disabled. Apart from privacy concerns of your data being used or sold by the car vendor, government outreach is also a concern. There was a bill announced in the US for all new…

> Anyway, I'm staying with my old gas Honda until it dies which is probably never with proper maintenance and eventually restoration. I would have stuck with my 2003 Honda Accord too, except that some woman, probably talking or texting on her cell, slammed into me while I was stopped at a light, totaling my car and damaging 3 others. I got $8K for my car after arguing with the insurance company, and paid $28K for a 3…

What is the relevance of your anecdote? I’m genuinely confused.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#408

Post by samatman »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #289
dzhiurgis wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And luddites been criticising cara for being too modern for hundreds of years too.

The Luddites haven't been criticizing cars for anything, given how they came and went 50 years before a first proper car was built. And, if anything, the Luddites were not anti-technology, they were anti-being fucked over by capitalists . The problem they rose up against wasn't the automatic looms, it was the way they were deployed - to replace skilled workers instead of augmenting them, depressing salaries and elimi…

Calling someone a Luddite doesn't mean you're saying they're a textile worker organized by Ned Ludd.

So it doesn't matter what the historic Luddites were or were not, because it's not a statement about them at all.

You know this perfectly well, and are merely pretending to misunderstand what's meant.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#409

Post by ronsor »

DoneWithAllThat wrote: post #407
prirun wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Anyway, I'm staying with my old gas Honda until it dies which is probably never with proper maintenance and eventually restoration. I would have stuck with my 2003 Honda Accord too, except that some woman, probably talking or texting on her cell, slammed into me while I was stopped at a light, totaling my car and damaging 3 others. I got $8K for my car after arguing with the insurance company, and paid $28K for a 3…

What is the relevance of your anecdote? I’m genuinely confused.

That other drivers determine whether or not you get a new car just as much (if not more than) you do.

Re: What does this button do? – My new car has a mysterious and undocumented switch

#410

Post by samatman »

rglullis wrote: post #314
brewtide wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Internet dependency is something we've learned, not the natural state of things. So, try to go about your existence without Internet of any sort and please report back at any difficulties it may cause for you.

This is not about usage . I am not saying we should live without cars. I am saying that there is a very bad systemic issue if people simply can not live without owning a car . If you want to make a comparison with utilities: The fact that people in Flint are getting bottled water delivered from distant cities (and the fact that some people prefer to drink bottled water anyway) does not mean that this is not a serious…

The Flint water crisis has been over for a very long time.
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