WHY all this complexity?

[Diamondpilot]

As my PM says....you will meet a lot fewer incompetent operators at 45,000 feet and 525 mph than you will at freeway speeds at ground level...:laughing:

True but you still have to go up and down. 10,000' and below is the Wild Wild West. 1/2 of them have no business riding in a airplane let alone flying it.

Chris

 

[Industrial Toys]

I've hd my Sierra since 08, ans still don't know how to use the heating/cooling system. I probably never will! Remember when you had those trianglular vent windows in the front corner? And each front kick panel had a knob you pulled out for the vent. How easy , and effective was that? You could change the heater motor bolted on the the outside of the firewall in minutes. My last three vehicles have been incapable of delivering the kind of hot air to the floor that the simple old vehicles could!

 

[Coyote machine]

It's all a bunch of crap intended to jack up the price. I don't want the sales person's tutorial, I don't want or need park assist, or auto braking, or lane changing radar, or blacktooth, bluetooth, or a bunch of TVs in any vehicle I drive. I don't want all plastic crappy bumpers that fall off if they come near a snowbank. I don't need to buy movie tickets, or have restaurant choices from some dweeb chip telling me where to eat, buy my underwear or where the latest whatever is for 29 cents less.
And the NSA can kiss my arse, track me, follow me, and do whatever, all at taxpayer expense. We're not the ones they ought to be watching, if anyone needs to be watched in the first place.:confused2:
With all the data collected on everyone, who is supposed to read it all, make decisions about it, etc?
We need more people actually driving and less stuff to distract all of us from that sole task of driving.
Drive more, nothing else. We were able to get places before phones, GPS, and other junk on a display in our cars, trucks, etc.
And the phone manufacturers should have taken responsibility to have made texting, sexting, and all communication unable to occur on any phone, tablet, pod or pad way before now; where drive mode and no text apps now takeover the hardware. Too many people have lost their lives or taken others by treating their car/truck as a living room couch.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Now you got ME going! Every dammm place you call tells you that you must listen because options have changed, call is being recorded for quality control purposes and due to UNUSUALLY (that appears to be ALWAYS) large call volumes, you can expect longer delays. But you can leave your information and when HECK freezes over they will call you back!


BUT, the real kicker and latest and common fad is that everyone now wants you to complete a survey at the end of your interaction with them. I am too incensed to even know what to say about that! They stole a good part of my life and now want more of my time to help them run THEIR business!

 

[JDgreen227]

Now you got ME going! Every dammm place you call tells you that you must listen because options have changed, call is being recorded for quality control purposes and due to UNUSUALLY (that appears to be ALWAYS) large call volumes, you can expect longer delays. But you can leave your information and when HECK freezes over they will call you back!


BUT, the real kicker and latest and common fad is that everyone now wants you to complete a survey at the end of your interaction with them. I am too incensed to even know what to say about that! They stole a good part of my life and now want more of my time to help them run THEIR business!

Do you think such places really give a flying flick what you have to say and what your opinion might be? Sorry, but it's 99% hype and hoopla and BS. If such places really cared about customer service and positive feedback they wouldn't even have to ask the customer an opinion.

With that said:

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Etc....:laughing:

 

[Sodo]

I worked at Hughes Aircraft in the mid 80s, and I remember a big muckety-muck style meeting where they were telling us the future of high technology and predicted that in the near future, half of the cost of an automobile would be in electrically controlled components. This was presented as the bright future of hi-tech. Auto-darkening windows was one thing they mentioned, that I am not aware of actually happening yet.

I'm more than a little tired of it. Especially when it won't let me do what i need to do. However, when I'm a passenger it's OK, even texting, emailing etc on my phone, is nice to be able to do.

Its funny to me, to think of a driver who's never driven a car WITHOUT ABS! How old are these drivers getting to be anyway?

 

[JDgreen227]

I worked at Hughes Aircraft in the mid 80s, and I remember a big muckety-muck style meeting where they were telling us the future of high technology and predicted that in the near future, half of the cost of an automobile would be in electrically controlled components. This was presented as the bright future of hi-tech. Auto-darkening windows was one thing they mentioned, that I am not aware of actually happening yet.

I'm more than a little tired of it. Especially when it won't let me do what i need to do. However, when I'm a passenger it's OK, even texting, emailing etc on my phone, is nice to be able to do.

Its funny to me, to think of a driver who's never driven a car WITHOUT ABS! How old are these drivers getting to be anyway?

So....let me inquire...before you could be texting or emailing with your phone as a passenger, what would you have been doing instead? Reading? Sleeping? Back seat driving? Eating a Whopper and fries? Do you consider instant 24/7/365 communication to be all that important?

 

[Garandman]

To me, all this complexity and the huge number of buttons, etc. in today's new vehicles is a STUPID, STUPID idea. What is so important about having GPS, a wifi hotspot, etc. in a vehicle anyway? All these features do is create distraction for the driver.

I'm 62 and LOVE the infotainment system in the Chevy Cruze Diesels we have at work.

Pairing a phone takes about 15 seconds. GPS routes us the most efficient route including changes from live traffic reports on the way. I can listen to a podcast, which will pause with an incoming call or gps instructions - without taking my hands off the wheel or looking down. If I lock my keys in the car, I can unlock it from my phone or beep the horn to find it in a parking lot. All the in car commands can be activated by voice and simply saying "Help" after hitting the button will lead you through the commands. Billions of people all over the world have figured it out.

There are always technology laggards. If they want to learn it, they will.

 

[JDgreen227]

Garnadman says: "There are always technology laggards" well tell us this: When you were in grade school, did they bypass students who were math challenged or unable to learn proper spelling, or struggle to learn proper grammar and syntax? BILLIONS OF PEOPLE (emphasis added intentionally) DON'T NEED TO FIGURE OUT TECHNOLOGY SO WHY CRAM IT DOWN THEIR THROATS???


GOT THAT????!!!

 

[drajj5]

I've hd my Sierra since 08, ans still don't know how to use the heating/cooling system. I probably never will! Remember when you had those trianglular vent windows in the front corner? And each front kick panel had a knob you pulled out for the vent. How easy , and effective was that? You could change the heater motor bolted on the the outside of the firewall in minutes. My last three vehicles have been incapable of delivering the kind of hot air to the floor that the simple old vehicles could!

I hear you..... I own one of those still...


I taught all of my kids to drive when they came of age, and complexity has become part of world which for them is as normal- as breathing. They each had their own game boys (hand held game console) to play with while in the car. As they got a little older, they got hand held boom box's(Ipods). Then phones became part of there wardrobe..... My kids were somewhat spoiled, each of their noses buried in some sort of electronic device since they were old enough to walk. I will give it to them - they are technological geniuses' compared to me.

So getting them behind the wheel to learn the basics of driving was an experience to say the least. They struggled with ALL the 'D.O.T.' signs, had no idea how to get to their own School from the house- Guess they never looked out the window while riding the bus to and from School!! They were entertaining themselves all those years with those handheld personal electronic devices. I would get frustrated over the situation that they were in, knowing that I was to blame by letting them play with all this technology.

None of them know how to read a map ( they all know how to use GPS ) - something that I struggle with. Somehow they all got their license, and with their new smart phones can access google maps to get wherever they need to go.

As a kid I could get to school on foot 15 miles and not need GPS, not that I ever walked it- but when I got my license I drove home without helpful advice from my parents. I knew where everything was in my town and could drive there and not get lost. I had no Cellular phone, and certainly no GPS.

I think that somehow over the years this "Complexity/technology" has taken something from our younger generation. I know I am out of the loop for the most part, but I am catching up. I just got Bluetooth!!!

 

[Industrial Toys]

I have been in the security business for twenty or so years. I don't own a smart phone, just a dumb one. The first I only got a couple of years ago, finally retiring my good old PAGER!

I go for lunch and leave my phone in the truck. I see young kids with their smart phones laying on the tables by their food. They check them every few minutes. I often wonder if they are Doctors, checking up on a patient status after a morning of risky surgery! Yet they are dressed like a carpenters apprentice. It leaves me puzzled!

I was looking for a carpenter to do some work at a customers. I approached a retired school teacher that a friend of mine used as a jack of all trades kind of guy. In the middle of explaining what I was looking for, his phone rang, and without saying a word he grabbed it and answered it. I walked away and never talked to the guy again!

 

[k0ua]

Oh and has anyone prices new TMC sensors. They are about as much or more than the tire itself.

Don't buy them from the dealer.. BIG ripoff. Buy them from Tirerack.com Much cheaper than OEM.


Well lets see now.. I love my power seat, I wish it was 8 way instead of just 6 way.. The recline function is manual.. I hate that. I love Sirius XM satelite radio. Remote keyless entry, and OnStar can be handy once in a while. The heating and air controls are OK, on my truck, but I do agree twist knobs are easier to operate on the go than the push buttons. Ironically on the 4wd controls they have switched back to a twist know when they used to be push buttons.:laughing:

The blutooth is nice to use the speakerphone function to talk on my cell phone. I love my park assist function. and while I don't have a backup camera on this vehicle I do on the Chrysler, and love it. Long story short, I guess I like most of this stuff. Then again I embraced computers back in the TI-99 days. And got an IBM back when it had an 8088 for a processor.

I programmed and installed phone systems and voicemails for decades.. Yes many of those voice mails I installed are still in use, some even with my voice on the menu's:laughing: YES it is true, you can blame me for some of it! What can I say, I am a techno-nerd, I play with radio's and computers, and heck I even like tractors. I do prefer the more deluxe ones though!

Here is a little something sitting in my "radio shack" it has some buttons and knobs and displays on it.:laughing:

 

[Industrial Toys]

73s from VE3 TFE

Nice Rig. Never seen anything like it. I used to be more involved with VHF/UHF repeaters. We used to pride ourselves on having mobile communications when that was strictly the domain of Police, Fire, military and so forth! Now a nine year old kid has communicators that we could have never dreamed of.

The Internet really killed Ham Radio in my opinion. Although, one day that could change in the blink of an eye!

 

[k0ua]

73s from VE3 TFE

Nice Rig. Never seen anything like it. I used to be more involved with VHF/UHF repeaters. We used to pride ourselves on having mobile communications when that was strictly the domain of Police, Fire, military and so forth! Now a nine year old kid has communicators that we could have never dreamed of.

The Internet really killed Ham Radio in my opinion. Although, one day that could change in the blink of an eye!

It is just an old Icom 756 ProIII. You would never know ham radio was dead by the crowded HF bands on a contest weekend!:laughing:

73 de K0UA

 

[Garandman]

I have a 2013 F150 and its my opinion that the Ford info/nav/radio units are pretty much garbage for anything other than playing the radio.-J

The early Ford Synch was hated by just about everyone.

They introduced a new version called Synch3 for 2015. We ordered a new Transit van with nav but haven't taken delivery yet. It is upgradable via Wifi.

I find the GM system pretty easy.

 

[Garandman]

Well...i'm in my mid-60's and have no issues with my F150's infosystem. Pairing both our phones was easy as can be. I suspect they didnt read the manual.

The term "RTFM" dates back to the first military electronics....B17 pilots assigned to fly B29's thought they were needlessly complex and "new fangled."

But Youtube has many instructional videos and new users might find them easier to grasp. The owner's manual for our Honda Odyssey is nearly 800 pages, and there is a separate one for the nav/radio/video system. The van has five fuseboxes.

 

[Garandman]

I've hd my Sierra since 08, ans still don't know how to use the heating/cooling system. I probably never will! Remember when you had those trianglular vent windows in the front corner? And each front kick panel had a knob you pulled out for the vent. How easy , and effective was that? You could change the heater motor bolted on the the outside of the firewall in minutes. My last three vehicles have been incapable of delivering the kind of hot air to the floor that the simple old vehicles could!

Have to ask what those three vehicles were?

Are you just trolling? We have a Chevy Express van that very likely has the same HVAC system as your truck. There are three knobs in the middle of the dash. The left one is fan speed. The middle one is temp: blue is cold, red is hot. The right hand knob sets the mode, and one of the modes is a pictograph showing an arrow towards the floor. What system did you have that was simpler than that?

 

[JDgreen227]

Have to ask what those three vehicles were?

Are you just trolling? We have a Chevy Express van that very likely has the same HVAC system as your truck. There are three knobs in the middle of the dash. The left one is fan speed. The middle one is temp: blue is cold, red is hot. The right hand knob sets the mode, and one of the modes is a pictograph showing an arrow towards the floor. What system did you have that was simpler than that?

The 2 lever and 1 fan switch system I mentioned in my original post on my '85 Crown Victoria was simpler than the one your Express has and I preferred the controls in my Ford over the 3 knob system my Y2K GMC has.

 

[Utopia Texas]

My 1919 Ford Model T and 1931 Ford Model A have the simplest AC/Heater systems. You sweat your balls off in the Summer and freeze your butt off on the Winter!

 

[Whatswrong]

But at least in Texas the winter will should be only moderately cold ,freeze could be just chill.