Automobiles Bells And Whistles - do they make better drivers?

[sd455dan]

New aids for the operator:

Think about flying a tiger moth through dense fog without instruments (visual line of sight) and being in a 747 in fog. Which would you prefer. Letç—´ leave the 737 Max out of this question.

It should take maybe three minutes in the tiger moth before the pilot becomes disoriented.

Radar is the ticket,

Sounds like Tesla may be looking at adding radar to their vision based system to deal with fog, rain , sleet.

 

[MossRoad]

Radar is the ticket,

Sounds like Tesla may be looking at adding radar to their vision based system to deal with fog, rain , sleet.

Ya! Radar AND lidar combination should do it. Neither one will work best alone.

 

[mikester]

Oh, my word, bite your tongue. This may be the God's honest truth but shall never come to pass.

That person who just bought the $85K "super slusher" being told they can not drive - it will never happen.

Driving is a privilege not a right. At least in Canada it is.

In my observations driver skill level is inversely proportional to the amount spent on a car/suv. I think BMW gives free lobotomies with every SUV purchased, necessary to ensure a complete separation between rational thought and arrogance+self entitlement+bad behaviour.

 

[sd455dan]

Driving is a privilege not a right. At least in Canada it is.

In my observations driver skill level is inversely proportional to the amount spent on a car/suv. I think BMW gives free lobotomies with every SUV purchased, necessary to ensure a complete separation between rational thought and arrogance+self entitlement+bad behaviour.

I would say that about some of our "local" Subaru drivers...
"Never been in an accident but caused a 1000" as dad used to say.
Who needs to stop at stop signs, use signals, pass on the right of a single lane road, Pull out in front of fully loaded semi's and then putt along...

 

[sandman2234]

I drive...
2016 Kenworth had most of the features you guys are talking about(manual 13 speed tranny). At 625,000 miles, they gave me a 2019 International with a 12 speed AUTOMATIC. It has even more of the features. I find myself having to watch the speedometer more often than I used to because it gradually slows down as it comes up on a slow car. While I agree that most of the features help the drivers, but it definitely doesn't make the driver better. It is taking away the need for a driver to pay attention to everything going on around them, which makes for a less attentive driver.
Some of you guys talking about your long trips make me laugh! I was on a dedicated route years ago where I did a department store delivery every day. It was 940 miles round trip if I didn't have a back-haul to pick up. I have stacks of paycheck stubs in excess of 6000 miles a week. Nowadays, I tend to take it easy and only do 2500 to 3000 miles a week.
David from jax

 

[Oaktree]

I think BMW gives free lobotomies with every SUV purchased, necessary to ensure a complete separation between rational thought and arrogance+self entitlement+bad behaviour.

Lots of contenders for that "honor"...20somethings with their riced out Civics, rednecks in huge (often diesel) pickups, etc.

I would say that about some of our "local" Subaru drivers...

I can't say I've seen any arrogant Suburu drivers...overly cautious, yeah but not arrogant. Around here it seems if you buy a toyota they make you sign a paper promising to never drive any faster than 10 mph under the limit before allowing you to drive off the lot.

 

[Jstpssng]

Lots of contenders for that "honor"...20somethings with their riced out Civics, rednecks in huge (often diesel) pickups, etc.



I can't say I've seen any arrogant Suburu drivers...overly cautious, yeah but not arrogant. Around here it seems if you buy a toyota they make you sign a paper promising to never drive any faster than 10 mph under the limit before allowing you to drive off the lot.

If it says "Prius" they aren't allowed to drive more than 20 under the speed limit.

 

[Dftodd]

For those old enough remember the same discussion when cruise control came out?

Also anyone remember the Urban Legend of the driver that just got a new car with cruise control? The story goes he went on the highway, engaged the cruise control and proceeded to crawl into the back seat for a nap.:laughing:

Saw an episode of Ice Road Truckers where a driver locked the steering wheel to keep the truck going straight, set the cruise control. Then went into the sleeper and took a dump.

 

[Dftodd]

Wife just got a new car. Has the lane and blind spot monitoring. Will probably take a few months to figure out all the bells and whistles.

Heated seats are nice. As well as the remote start and keyless entry. Heck, you don't even have to dig the remote out of your pocket. Just walk up to the car, touch a button on the door handle and it will unlock. Repeat the process when you get out of the car to lock the doors and set the alarm.

The Apple auto, and Android auto feature is nice. The car plugs to your phone. Press the Android button. Google maps populates on the display. You can acces the phones apps. Wanna listen to a book? Press the audible app. Press the Iheartradio app to listen to your podcasts. Press a button on the steering wheel to switch to the next podcast on the series.

Car also has a wireless phone charger in the cubby.

Hands full? swipe your foot under the car to pop the trunk.

Like I was saying. It will be a few months before we figure out all the features.

 

[oosik]

Ha, ha - I know the exact feeling, Dftodd. You are poking around with all the on-screen features and - WHOA - what is this? How did I get there - what will it do - how do I exit this??? Hopefully, you're not trying to drive at the same time. This is NOT the way I want to experience off-roading with the Taco Wagon.

 

[Dftodd]

Ha, ha - I know the exact feeling, Dftodd. You are poking around with all the on-screen features and - WHOA - what is this? How did I get there - what will it do - how do I exit this??? Hopefully, you're not trying to drive at the same time. This is NOT the way I want to experience off-roading with the Taco Wagon.

Yeah, we've had that happen a few times now. Each time the display pops up for the radio it's been set up different. This last time it was a split screen with the xm station on the left side. And my wifes call log for her phone on the other half.

I pointed out that at least her call log didn't show anything incriminating

 

[turnkey4099]

Not just the cost but the (lack of) driveability if any of these sensors are damaged. There was some discussion on another thread about someone who'd broken one of the side mirrors on a Suburu, and the car wouldn't move due to the damaged sensor. No excuse for that.
I've also read that with all the windshield sensors, it's become a dealer-only replacement due to the alignment necessary to get all that "safety" crap working properly again. Take out the aftermarket option and guess what happens to the cost... unch: I wonder if all dealers are able to make these alignments, or if only the larger-volume ones can afford the equipment to do so.

I'm not looking forward to the day when my next vehicle has all this crap in it. Maybe where Diggin It lives older vehicles are an option, but here in New England not so much.

Yes,there is that problem. Old days one could drivea vehicle a long time with stuff not working. One of my major complaints with new vehicles is the electric door operation. Disonnect the battery in an accident and you just sit there locked in.

 

[bunyip]

Battery died in my hyundai and just before it drew it's last breath it locked itself, had stuff in the car I needed and it is keyless entry, had to wait for roadside assist who put in a new battery.

 

[MossRoad]

Battery died in my hyundai and just before it drew it's last breath it locked itself, had stuff in the car I needed and it is keyless entry, had to wait for roadside assist who put in a new battery.

Didn't it have the little switchblade key built into the fob?

 

[Dftodd]

Yes,there is that problem. Old days one could drivea vehicle a long time with stuff not working. One of my major complaints with new vehicles is the electric door operation. Disonnect the battery in an accident and you just sit there locked in.

Our car has the power locks. But has the manual push down locks as well. The push down portion has enough meat to pull them up in a pinch.

 

[Oaktree]

Yes,there is that problem. Old days one could drivea vehicle a long time with stuff not working. One of my major complaints with new vehicles is the electric door operation. Disonnect the battery in an accident and you just sit there locked in.

Do cars no longer have mechanical door lock buttons? Guess I never noticed. I thought you could disable the automatic door lock "feature". Never figured out why you'd want the doors locked while you were moving unless you lived where carjacking was common.

Battery died in my hyundai and just before it drew it's last breath it locked itself, had stuff in the car I needed and it is keyless entry, had to wait for roadside assist who put in a new battery.

How'd they get the hood open to replace the battery? Isn't the release inside the car?

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm a bit perplexed right now because a mouse decided to set up housekeeping in my new-to-me Colorado, and now all sorts of funky things are happening. When the parking brake is set it states the power steering isn't working... that's a pretty stupid thing to have tied into the electronics. Two things that I want to work at all times; brakes and steering.

 

[MossRoad]

I think it would be almost criminal to make a car that you couldn't get out of if the battery died. Something's not right there.

 

[MossRoad]

Do cars no longer have mechanical door lock buttons? Guess I never noticed. I thought you could disable the automatic door lock "feature". Never figured out why you'd want the doors locked while you were moving unless you lived where carjacking was common.



How'd they get the hood open to replace the battery? Isn't the release inside the car?

We have a new Ford work van at my employer and it doesn't have any visible lock buttons on the inside. However, if you grab the inside handle and pull it, the doors open regardless of if they are locked or not.

 

[MossRoad]

Battery died in my hyundai and just before it drew it's last breath it locked itself, had stuff in the car I needed and it is keyless entry, had to wait for roadside assist who put in a new battery.

Your smart key should have a mechanical key inside of it.