QOTD: Latest and Greatest Tech
Yesterday, I was part of a panel discussion about the automotive industry, and one of the topics was tech.
Our moderator asked about the latest and greatest tech that I and another automotive journalist have experienced recently.
Those of us who drive test cars are always sampling something new, whether it's Blue Cruise or haptic touch or an updated infotainment system.
It's easy, though, for those of us who test cars to lose focus. We're in a new car every week, while most people buy a new car every few years. Most people are only exposed to newer tech, at least in between purchases, when renting a car or browsing new metal at the dealer or an auto show.
So, I ask you, what tech have you come across recently that you'd like to have in your next car? Or, conversely, would like to avoid?
Sound off below.
[Image: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.com]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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A car with soul that's fun to drive. 🚧
Tech has not made idiot drivers safer nor has it improved the experience in the vehicle. All it has done is to pad the coffers of automakers who now think they can charge you a subscription for the technology already in the vehicle. And idiots who were bound to run into a parked tractor trailer without tech will still do so with tech.
Like: the Flux Capacitor feature that was tested on Deloreans in the mid 80s so I could go back to 1998 or so.
Nice to have: integrated bluetooth, so I can listen to the music I want. But not entirely necessary...currently the 2 cars we drive most have a bluetooth/FM transmitter. Also nice is a small screen for complex settings...the infotainment system in my 08 and 13 Porsches are perfect; they don't even let you get very deep in the menus when the car is moving. The 13 has a rudimentary touch feature, but both function like a complicated 3din stereo head unit rather than like a modern touchscreen.
I suppose that in theory I'm not opposed to emergency stop features, and so long as the system functions as intended, I would leave it turned on, just in case the car saw something I didn't and could use the potency of a computer slowing the car as fast as theoretically possible, rather than only as fast as the driver can hit the brakes.
The best feature I ever experienced with a screen in any car was when I rented an 08 BMW 135. The screen. Folded. DOWN. I was so happy being able to fold the screen into the dash that I set the softkey on the steering wheel to do just that. BOOM, at night when I just want to drive, cruise, and embrace the night, there is no better place than a German car with amber dash and instrument lighting, and NO SCREEN VISIBLE. At least in my Porsches the screen is amber on black, except when using nav. Unless the screen is smallish and/or integrated fully into the console/dash, ALL screens SHOULD HAVE THE OPTION TO FOLD DOWN/AWAY. Which means that ALL necessary controls MUST be available WITH NO SCREEN.
A car should disappear around you and plug useful data into you when driving. Should be the opposite of using a phone or screen; when in the real world, situational awareness is primary...when on a screen, we are blocking out our surroundings and trying to see the world thru a very small window that is immersive and demands all our faculties to interpret, operate, or reference. I do hope that most people settle into their Teslas and let the car do it's thing while looking out the windows, but I know for a fact that all the assistance features are giving a general sense that one can do other things besides "driving" while behind the wheel of a 2 ton 70mph lump of steel. I think that cars should be fully autonomous or fully driven but anything in between seems to have increased traffic danger and reduced peoples' sense of obligation to take personal responsibility for their decision to engage in "driving."