I really REALLY hope someone at some point starts a gasoline to electric car conversion company at some point.
I love my car because it has just the right amount of technology: Bluetooth connectivity for calls and music. That’s it. That’s all I need.
Yup. Unfortunately, since most people seem to prefer the dystopian futuretech, all auto manufacturers are going to employ it. Just like with cell phones. The last phone I know of with 16:9 aspect ratio and no blighted hole punch or notch was in 2018. There’s a market full of us luddites who prefer the old ways, but we’re invisible to manufacturers because it’s more profitable to make something that more people want to buy, and we’re forced to buy that garbage as well anyway.
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I hope so
It’s already started rich rebuild v8 swap a module s and is currently diseal swapping a module 3
There are some positives and negatives to the desire for old form factors. Secondhand phones from 2018 cost much less than new ones but lack some of the new features like… I can’t think of any.
New features, like the absolute gutting of Tasker’s capabilities
5g and nfc was rarer then.
I believe you on 5g, but hasn’t nfc become rarer rather than more common over time? Has there been a resurgence of nfc in recent years??
All contactless payments use it. All your cards have it. All phones that you. Can pay from (which I don’t know any new brand that doesn’t offer this feature) uses it.
I guess that covid was the resurgence, with all the banks and businesses setting up nfc cards and payment machines for zero touch payments.
You forgot about the programmed obsolescence.
Yeah, it goes further than just designing the hardware to only last a few years, all of these electronics ensure that the car is fucked as soon as the necessary online services go down. Meanwhile a well-maintained '93 Geo Metro, driven in the south where they don’t salt the roads every year, can last decades.
I’ve had my 2010 Mazda 3 for 13 years now and I’m taking every precaution to keep it as long as I can.
forced to buy
the real mildlyinfuriating is always in the comments
There was some discussion on a post about gas to electric cars https://lemmy.world/post/5901284
There are likely a lot of complexities here.
Battery tech will need to improve greatly and be minimalized. EV batteries are currently massive, heavy, and generally engineered as long, wide, flat modules to be installed beneath the floor so they keep the center of gravity low and the vehicle balanced. That’s not really possible in an ICE vehicle with all the frame molding around existing exhaust and drivetrain components, and you most likely can’t just have some sort of modular battery and motor unit that you just drop into the engine bay, as that would put a ton (literally) of additional weight on one end and mess with the balance.
The draintrain components may need to be replaced or the motor outputs modulated to prevent the torque from ripping it apart.
Power steering and brakes will need to converted to electric assist. AC and heat would need to converted to electric.
Older cars (early 00’s and older) with cable throttles will need to be retrofitted with drive-by-wire, or use some sort of adapter module that connects the cable and converts it to digital inputs. Same with brakes.
All of the electronics (lights, wipers, windows, locks, radio, etc.) will need to be rewired since there’s no longer an alternator.
Probably will need upgraded suspension and brakes to handle the extra weight.
There’s probably a lot more I’m not thinking about or not even aware of. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to happen outside of rich enthusiast circles, which is terribly sad, because I completely agree with you. Basically everything made after around 2010 is total dogshit.
Aaawwww Man. I hate to admit it but you’re absolutely right. It’s so much work it might not even be worth it.
Spaßbremse!
/s
Reality is often disappointing
It is, depending on the expectation
the only tech i need in my car is an aux port. i will forever buy used cars from before 2010 but after around 2004ish?
At some point, I’m sure they will, at some point.
Nah. It’s less profitable.
I don’t even use BT in mine and don’t use the music system either. I stick to my phone. I just hope by the time I need to switch cars, I’ll be able to jailbreak it without bricking.
Depends on what kind of car you have. I know for a fact there is a company doing this with classic mini coopers.
That was a very scary and dystopian read, but thank you!
Honestly, I figured that they collected data. But I didn’t think the extent of it would be stuff like my sex life and genetic data. How the hell do those work?
They track you and then different kind of tools are trying to profile you based on your data. Similarly how ads work on the internet. Saying your car collect data of your sex life more like means they collect absolutely everything about you and then they run it through different software to profile you then sell all this data for extra profit. If you daily drive to a school they will assume you have a family and kids. If you go to a random apartment complex once a week after your kids went sleep they will assume you have a mistress. Its all based on location data and the stuff you enetered during registration.
They can also track who your devices are near. If your phone sits next to someone else’s in an office building for nearly 8 hours a day and they know that persons job they can infer yours, especially since departments tend to sit together. Ad companies often assume recurring groups of people share overlapping interests (hence why their together multiple times) and will push out ads based on what other people around you are interested in to see if you are too.
Interesting. Makes a lot of sense, though it sucks that it’s all based on assumptions because it sounds like it can easily be mistaken for a lot of things.
That’s how most of them work. I got baby toys for a friend’s baby and the Internet started trying to sell me all kinds of baby things. You listen to a lot of podcasts about craft beer? They assume you’re a 40 year old white dude who needs beard oil.
I’m guessing if you talk about that stuff in your car, it send that data home.
Oh that makes more sense.
My mind went to a completely different approach, collecting your data when you fuck someone in the car. Length of sex, moaning volume and pumps per minutes is what I was thinking of.
Hahaha I like that idea better.
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Holy cow.
And nobody can jailbreak and disable these “features”?
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I LOVE HAVING CAR DEPENDENCY. I LOVE PAYING FOR LESS EFFICIENT TRANSPORT AND ALL OF MY OWN MAINTENANCE AND FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING MY DATA SOLD. I SPEND EVERY MOMENT NOT DRIVING WISHING I COULD BE BEHIND THE WHEEL AND DOING NOTHING ELSE BUT FOCUSING ON DRIVING WHILE ON MY WAY TO [CONSUME] AND MAKE DATA FOR [BRAND]. PLEASE, NO PUBLIC TRANSIT, I LIKE MY FREEDOM THANKS.
Personally, as a non-car owning person, I love how I have to stick to the narrow patch of walkway next to roads where I get to inhale exhaust fumes whether I like it or not, have to stop and yield to oncoming traffic when looking to cross the road, and leave my life and personal safety in the hands of people I don’t know and pray they pay attention and don’t hit me.
I hate it as a driver. I would love to walk or bike more, but I’m far enough from anywhere I want to go that it doesn’t make any practical sense to. I strongly dislike driving everywhere, and I wish our pedestrian and bike infrastructure (and public transit) didn’t suck so bad. I wouldn’t mind using the bicycle gutter, if I had one, but I’d be very nervous to let my kids use it because I don’t trust the magic paint strip.
I drive a hybrid in rural areas, and I try to always flip the car into electric only mode when I see a cyclist coming up so they don’t have to inhale my tailpipe. I’m sure it isn’t much in the grand scheme, but I hope they at least breathe a little better.
That’s a problem of where you live
Imagine being so braindead that “going for a drive” is a legitimate form of entertainment that you get excited about.
Other people don’t enjoy the same things I do! Harrumph!
I get the sentiment but have you ever driven a fun car on a beautiful night? Driving a topless Jeep through the twisty highway in the redwoods of Northern California or a Camaro through the wide open Nevada desert? High schoolers driving their bro dozer around town in circles, yeah, I get that.
This but motorcycles for me. Cars with the windows down are a limp substitute for hitting the bottom of a hill in a fall or spring morning on a motorbike.
Obviously you’ve never went for a good ole drive before
Or driven a fun car.
Not every car is a 1.5 liter Chevy Equinox.
I (maybe naively) believe a healthy society could find a way to build a robust public transport network and still accommodate the minority of enthusiasts who drive and work on cars for fun.
Engineers aren’t just dry husks of people, robotically creating solutions to meet needs. The drive to create cars, planes, and motorbikes, which have significant technical overlap with trains, buses, and mobility aids, is at least partially borne from the thrill of piloting machines that extend human capabilities.
You can’t download a car, but you sure can brick it.
I’m kind of surprised that car technology is so awful. How the fuck am I paying $35k for a car and they’re still like “lets run the UI off a potato via the least responsive touch screen possible”? At some point I’d rather they just gave up on providing a UX themselves and just ran everything through Android Auto.
I don’t mind having a UI for things like navigation or android auto. What gets me is why do things like climate control need to be buried in a UI? If my windscreen starts to steam up mid-jourmey, the last thing I need is to take my attention off the road to change the climate settings in the UI where dials and buttons will do the job much faster without needing to take my attention off the road.
Yes! I hate having everything in the UI. I’d much prefer a physical control set for A/C and even basic volume control at least.
You can’t sense a flat touch screen, but we are really good at sensing knobs and switches. It’s much safer for the driver to feel for a control rather than look at it.
My 09 VW CC has knobs for bass, treble, and mid, in addition to volume. Seat heaters, AC, everything is tactile and I can operate anything without looking.
I know it’s manufacturers wanting to save money, but it’s so annoying that we’re going backwards. Touchscreen is a form of input. Just because it’s higher tech doesn’t mean it should replace tactile inputs in all applications ffs.
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“Please do not turn off the engine during installation”
Tell that to my empty gas tank.
Haha now reinstall FordOS
I absolutely cannot stand Subaru’s infotainment system. It’s actually the primary reason I’ll never get another one.
Looking for a new car and have been looking at Subaru. So I’m genuinely interested in what specific thing bother you about the infotainment system.
Got a 2023 Outback in February. The processing power is nowhere near what it needs to run smoothly. Once the car is started it is best to just not touch any buttons for the first several seconds to let it catch up. It is like dropping back two phone generators and watching it struggle to keep up with a newer OS. The transmission must run off a processor two generations further back because the time difference between my big ape foot stomping on the loud pedal and anything meaningful happening is measured in countable seconds.
My Buick had the same delay with the transmission. It took a lot of getting used to, and was one reason I went with a high performance car afterwards. I’m super happy with her Kia K5 now.
The transmission must run off a processor two generations further back because the time difference between my big ape foot stomping on the loud pedal and anything meaningful happening is measured in countable seconds.
Does your Subaru have a CVT? It’s a belt drive transmission and when I had an (older) Subaru it was one of the first CVT units, and felt a bit laggy when you asked it to do anything with alacrity.
Yep, my first. I was expecting the lag of the CVT and can feel it engage. There is a noticeable lag between the pedal being moved to one spot and the CVT beginning to work. So it is GoFaster = (TransmissioncComputeTime + CVTEngage) when each is about one full second. Two seconds sounds and feels unsafe when coming from a 2004 WRX.
Oh, and if you change your mind and move your foot during the two seconds, the timer resets.
They are notoriously bad. And they don’t get fixed. Got my Subaru and
- The radio defaults to SiriusXM every time I turn on the car, even though I do not pay for it and do not want to.
- Android Auto and Apple Car Play would cut out regularly
- Eventually the entire system would just randomly crash and reboot frequently throughout a trip.
- Found out there was a TSB out on the radio for frequent issues, and had to get it warrantied.
- Even with the new radio, I have occasional issues with Apple Car Play freezing
- I can’t have both an android and iPhone connected at the same time, because I won’t be able to use Android Auto, I’m forced into Car Play
And on the new cars Subaru made the screen narrow and tall. This effectively reduced the amount of screen space for Android Auto/car play in comparison with prior years.
Add to that the entire display is now needed for HVAC, heated seats, etc and do you really want to depend on a glitchy computer that frequently crashes?
- I can’t have both an android and iPhone connected at the same time, because I won’t be able to use Android Auto, I’m forced into Car Play
Just got a new work truck, a Ford, with android auto and car play. This morning was the first time I plugged an iPhone and android in at the same time. I had plugged in the android first and a quick look I wasn’t able to switch to the iPhone without unplugging the android. I never plugged the android back in so idk if it prefers one over the other or just whatever is plugged in first. Could that be the same issue?
My mom’s Highlander does the same thing so I think this is just a thing.
Others have already responded to you with many of the same complaints I was going to bring up so I’ll just highlight a few things:
- First off, I have a 2019 Subaru Impreza so not the latest generation
- There used to be this issue where, upon turning the car on, you couldn’t interact with the infotainment system for a good 10 seconds which includes volume adjustments. Let’s say you had the volume set to 20 (max 35) when you last drove, well it’s going to be blaring as soon as you start up the car again, but you won’t be able to do anything about it for a good 10 seconds. Luckily this issue has gotten better (I believe with a firmware update from the dealership after I complained), but it’s still not fixed completely.
- Recently I took my car in for work and they needed to keep it overnight, so they let me borrow a brand new 2024 Outback Touring. This was great cause I got to test a brand new car “for free,” and what I learned is that they now put all HVAC stuff (seat warming, climate control, etc.) on this screen that has poor touch sensitivity. It’s obnoxious. Also the system itself is only marginally better than my 5 year old car, which is to say it’s still incredibly clunky and slow. They’ve made improvements, no doubt, but it’s built from the same trash.
Where the FOSS cars at?
Exactly. Just slap a few electric motors on those wheels and maybe an inflatable horse for the lulz and you’re good to go.
These electric motors, you are winding the coils yourself from a FOSS design? And the batteries to drive them, we going with voltaic piles, or a lithium refinery?
Brother is building from source
Yep. Have to travel a bit for the lithium, but it’s worth it to be free from the enshittification of daily life. Mining and smelting the copper myself too.
Well only until 12 pm
Well only until 12 pm
People keep saying new cars are shit but nobody wants to trade me their new car for my 2004 Toyota 😄
That depends on what Toyota you’re talking about lol.
Wanna trade with my 1989 Toyota? 😄
Well yeah… they love buying new stuff every few years and that Toyota will probably bury you and your offspring before it needs an oil change.
They gotta get better collection systems of that sweet sweet sex you’re having in your car
I love my Subaru. But the infotainment system is awful. It’s slow and unresponsive, it frequently takes a few minutes to warm up to even be usable, which means usually when you can use it you’re already moving. It’s absolutely impossible to do anything outside of the touch screen.
The car is great, but that computer is a piece of crap
My Subaru made me drop Android and buy an iPhone. I hate the phone, but the infotainment system works drastically better. Android Auto was hot garbage.
Just out of curiosity, what android phone did you have before switching? I haven’t hadany issues with Android Auto the few times I’ve used it in a rental car. My car is too old for it but it’s going to be a variable in my next vehicle purchase which admittedly is very far away.
Android auto in isolation is generally fine. I’ve owned an aftermarket head unit that offered android auto and it worked flawlessly with my pixel phone.
When I bought a Subaru crosstrek, android auto using the same phone was terrible. It constantly disconnects and has strange audio issues all the time. Apple carplay works fine with my partners phone.
There is something about Subaru and their implementation that is total shit for android auto specifically. I wouldn’t recommend them for a good android infotainment experience.
Exactly. This is on a Legacy. I liked my Android phone way better but I was constantly messing with it while I was driving because of it.
I’ve had the exact opposite experience. My legacy (2021) has a much better experience on my phone with Android auto than on my wife’s iphone.
I’ve also never had an issue with Android Auto, my issues with the console are all exclusively within the computer itself
Hooking your car up to a phone regardless, is for the weak.
My mom has a ‘16 Subaru and the infotainment has been such a hassle. I had to constantly keep repairing her Bluetooth. It was so bad that my daughter, who has wanted a Subaru for years decided against one simply because of the infotainment.
It has sadly only gotten worse. Still not as bad as the Nissan I had, but it’s pushing it
She ended up getting a 2016 Nissan Rogue, but it did not have an infotainment system. It is a fairly simple system with Bluetooth connectivity for audio. I wish more companies would give us the ability to modify the systems, especially after they abandon them (my 2015 Toyota Tacoma’s last map update is from about 6 months before my truck was built.)
My ‘15 Mitzu (love her so much) also has a full shit infotainment system. It’s super slow, Bluetooth has a 1.5 second delay (try watching anything on your phone while waiting for someone with that delay!) and also constantly drops connection and re-pairs.
I’ve got a BT-to-3.5mm jack BT adapter that connects INSTANTLY, sounds fantastic, and has NO DELAY.
…the got dang car doesn’t have A 3.5MM JACK WHY THE FUCK
Yeah these infotainment systems are trash. I think the Subaru one is made by Denso. Like, Denso makes spark plugs and shit, stay in your line Denso! Thank fuck for Carplay/Android Auto.
Yeah spark plug divisions and companies should be making spark plugs and M3 submachine gun aka the Grease gun.
I cam confirm that the Subarus my inlaws have had over the last 5 years have the worst infotainment systems I have ever interacted with. Their current one keeps killing the battery. Not just draining, but actually damaging it. They have had a loaner from the dealer for the last 3 months.
Love how it drives, but the electronics are annoying to use, slow, and way too distracting.
I’m waiting for the day we have linux cars
It’s not Linux, but there’s an open source project available where you can build your own engine ECU with an Arduino https://hackaday.io/project/4413-speeduino
I get it, but I don’t feel comfortable putting my car in the hands of an Arduino.
Nothing against the open source software at all. It’s the fact that the Arduino is a consumer experimentation board, not an automotive rated component. I’m concerned for the reliability of the Arduino under the operating conditions of an automobile.
Pretty much every car is running Linux at this point.
That doesn’t mean it’s open and non shitty.
Tesla cars run on Linux, and have been doing for years https://cars.usnews.com/cars-trucks/features/what-os-does-tesla-use
I’d love to be able to swap the engine. Or better - build it myself 👀
Or better - build it myself
That’s called a kit car.
Sometimes you can just tell something sucks without even using it… All you need to know comes from looking at the fonts and button designs. What car is this?
2023 Subaru Legacy
Know what I’m not getting for my next car 😂
Vermont’s got you covered.
Yeah. Thing that sucks is that it’s a good car though. The “infotainment” system is really the only thing I don’t like about it.
And this is why the end user should be able to jaikbreak cars. Has anyone made an open source software for cars anyways?
Yes, absolutely. I do not, however, like the idea of “Pay us $1M or we disable your brakes on the highway” kind of ransomware attacks.
Is your point that you’re more likely to experience security vulnerabilities when using FOSS? Cause past a certain point of development that’s not generally the case.
Perhaps they simply mean they don’t want it internet connected at all. If it needs updates, have it be a device, USB or OBD or something, that would be the only vector for updates/direct OS control. Sure, allow internet for some features maybe, but isolate updates and the anything serious from remote tampering.
speeduino is an open source ecm
I’m from an era where jailbreaking and installing whatever you’d like on a device was the wild west, and have seen nasty stuff accidentally sideloaded. Giving people the option to infect their cars with ransomware could get people killed, so not opening that can of worms isn’t the worst idea necessarily. That said, FOSS stuff is usually fine, but I highly doubt it would be a fully encompassed ecosystem that you’d be installing. It’ll have add-ons, other smaller projects. Tweaks. That’s where you’ll get into trouble.
Newcars aregreata cancer on societyThere, FTFY
While the need for cars is cancerous I wouldnt blame it on the tech, cars are fun. The problem is lots of companies realized they could make lots of money and fucked us over starting about a hundred years ago, atleast here in the US.