Your thoughts on car tech? (infotainment, EPAS, etc.)

[Nevermore]

I don't like a lot of tech in the car. It just seems like a lot of stuff I won't use. I hate steering wheel buttons. I had a Chrystler 300 rental car a while back and it had them, I kept reaching for the actual radio controls though. I also didn't realize it had a backup camera until I'd been driving it for a couple of days. Looking forward when backing up disorients me, don't need a camera. A properly cautious person doesn't really need all the warning systems. I guess the auto brakes are good though.

I like bluetooth and that's about it. I do like being able to see everything on the touchscreen, so that's not a bad addition either. But the ones that have menu after menu with dozens of buttons and controls, and the little toggle switches? Keep those away from me. All this stuff will make buying a new car in the future difficult for me.

[Braces]

I personally like the spartan interior of the 86. Blue tooth is necessary, but a touch screen is not necessary. I like the simplicity of the steering wheel without any buttons. Some additional analog gauges such as oil pressure, transmission oil temp would be nice. Anything else is just fluff and not necessary in this car.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by kevman_101

I`m not big on in-car tech. That`s why I like the FRS. Just the right balance.

I agree with this. The only modern feature that's a must-have for me is bluetooth. I love how the FR-S is barebones and driving-focused, but also happens to have BT, which is perfect.

The rest of modern car tech (heated seats, vented seats, nav, lane guidance, backup camera, adaptive cruise, infrared, surround sound, etc.) I can do without.

Originally Posted by kevman_101

It`s also easy to switch from sport to hoon mode . Would of liked an oil pressure gauge, but not many cars have them anymore. I think, for a sports car, I would of liked a small screen with a few digital gauges, with critical info, like oil pressure, oil temp, water temp, etc.

Also agree with this. Oil pressure, oil temp, and water temp would have made for a great gauge cluster. My old 350z had a trio of gauges mounted above the center console.

[zinzan]

I would like steering wheel audio controls, mostly because I'd prefer not to have to touch the touchscreen while driving.

I installed a backup camera, and it is a worthwhile upgrade. I don't use it to backup (I still use the mirror and look over my shoulder), I use it to assist with my final parking position.

Bluetooth connections are great.

Hard drive in Head Unit? for... pausing/rewinding?

-Z

[zinzan]

Originally Posted by RoadKillGrill

The pushstart needs to be able to have a way to turn off the engine but keep accessories on... or roll up the windows without starting the car again.

If you turn off the car while not in Park, the accessories remain on, then you can put it in Park.

-Z

[RoadKillGrill]

Originally Posted by zinzan

If you turn off the car while not in Park, the accessories remain on, then you can put it in Park.

-Z

How I do that in Manual?

[EastBayCanuck]

Originally Posted by RoadKillGrill

I'm pretty sure if there is anything that is going to kill me in this car its that stupid touchscreen!!!

I wouldn't even need to touch it if the random function on the stereo worked!!!!

I Have 1500+ songs and one album of Megadeth, it shouldn't come up every 10 songs and then play 3 songs from that album.

I've had this same issue, and the only way around it is to click the random play option 3 times so it resets back to folders every time I start the car and play mp3s. Otherwise after the first song 90% of the time it will go through the same group of songs in a row.

[zinzan]

Originally Posted by RoadKillGrill

How I do that in Manual?

[LXXXV1]

Love the push to start/REAL keyless entry, and hate the navigation. Now that I have one, I can't help but input far destinations, which is annoying and time consuming...

[Karl07]

Originally Posted by RoadKillGrill

The pushstart needs to be able to have a way to turn off the engine but keep accessories on... or roll up the windows without starting the car again.

You just have to hit the button once to activate the switches again, without having the start the car. Unless that's what you meant, then sorry.
But I agree it's annoying

Originally Posted by RoadKillGrill

How I do that in Manual?

As far as I heard you can't...




My personal feeling on the tech, is I understand why it's there, but I would prefer a car without 99% of it.
People become too reliant on the car doing the thinking for us, causing laziness and a distinct lack of skill.

Traction control, assisted steering, self parking, auto braking, blind spot indicators, lane warnings (ie you are drifting out of your lane), etc. these things are becoming not only standard, but in a lot of cases mandatory in new cars. I grew up with old cars that had maybe the power steering, nothing else.
I learned to drive properly, and because of that, I can reverse into spots way quicker and more accurately than 99.9% of the drivers I see. I move my head for my blind spots. And I drive to the conditions.
Because I learned without them, I have a lot more respect for that I'm driving heavy missile, and won't rely on cool tech to get me out of it.

Even those entertainment things that people like, such as touch screen, DVD players, huds, multiple-screen read outs, etc...I was fine before them. I concentrate too much on the road and surroundings to use most of the features. And why would you watch DVD while driving...I know you have to modify the system for that ability, but most people installing DVD players do.
And I don't care about Bluetooth really.

And while tech in the engines and gearboxes make for more power, economy, etc...it also means that I'm lost when It comes to something going wrong. I am really only allowed to change oil, filters, and coolant, under the warranty. Everything else Toyota have to do. This is really frustrating to someone who always fixed their own car.

My last car exemplified what I'm saying really well. I loved it for its lack of tech.
It was an old Hilux Surf and I had power steering (which is almost necessary in a heavy 4wd) and a CD player with a couple buttons and 2 speakers.
I had removed all other electronics such as power antenna, windows, we'll that was all that was there.
I even removed the small ecu it had that was used to control emissions and control vacuum. Ran fine without it. But if it was in and something went wrong, the car would have had issues.
If something went wrong, I always had a few spares and bits, and a basic toolkit with me. I could pull off the road/track and either fix it, or dodgy it until I could get home.

With my 86, if something goes wrong...stop and call a towing service.

[SirBrass]

Originally Posted by trogdor007

With cars getting more and more like smartphones with apps, nav, and the like, I wanted to get your opinion on car technology. I'm talking in-cabin stuff like touch screen and voice activated head units and performance and convenience options like rear parking aids and blind spot indicators. A lot of the guys I've talked to aren't very techy per se, but they said they'd love some of the new radio/sync technology but only if it's standard. On the other hand, my mom for example loves all the latest and greatest and bought an Ford Escape Titanium for all of the extras like the liftgate thing and MyFordTouch. I'm somewhere in between. While I love consumer tech and all, I feel that it can overwhelm the driving experience. I know the FR-S/BRZ interiors can be a bit sparse on comfort features, but they have more than enough tech for a lot of you. What do you guys think? Has car tech made cars better or drivers worse?

Tech in cars has indeed made them better, but lazy operators (they only operate the vehicle, not drive it) have abused the tech to distract themselves and be even more unsafe than they already were.

I like advanced tech which allows me to have good quality radio/music in the car without requiring me to interact with it much. For example, Pandora service through the smartphone, bt in-car handsfree, built-in navi (either in unit, or through phone gps and phone map service like gmaps), etc. But the less that it requires me direct interaction, the better.

That's the advances I like. The advances I dislike are all the "look at me look at me!" distraction stuff. Having adjustable backlighting and wallpaper is great for interior accent and theming and I will pay for those features, but I don't need the unit to play all the latest video formats and have advanced disc playback features, etc. That's more appropriate to a minivan, and relegated to the control of she who is XO and otherwise running the minivan while you drive it. It does NOT belong in a sports coupe.

[Quentin]

Originally Posted by RoadKillGrill

How I do that in Manual?

Doesn't the 2nd push turn accessories on if you don't have your feet on the brake and clutch? That is how my push to start cars cycle through off, partial accessory, full accessory. I don't remember my GTI's key setup, but our MINI is effectively 3 position (off, on, crank).

[SirBrass]

You only need to have the clutch in to start the manual. Brake for automatic.

On phone I am. Therefore, if mistakes I make, Frank Oz blame you should.

[kevman_101]

I think all the tech that is making it into cars now are making drivers lazier and lazier. That is what I think. auto-park, blind zone detection and things like that can make a driver more dangerous. The blind-zone detection I don`t trust. How far back and how much of the closing rate is taken into account. If some one is going 100mph faster then you, when will it bip and show a sign that something is coming? Sure it`s his fault for causing an accident and injuries and death. But changing lanes because the warning didn`t come on is also your fault and not looking in the mirror to see a car speeding in the next lane and causing a crash that could of been avoided.

If it works, fine, but It`s all fine until a defect or faulty sensor causes someone who got too used to it and not being aware of his surroundings and causing an avoidable accident.