Might not be that bad of a development. I mean, the flashy features are certainly nice, but really aren't necessary. A car is at its heart supposed to be safe, reliable and comfortable transportation, which goal can be met without the big screen on the dash.
Automakers like Nissan are leaving navigation systems out of "thousands of vehicles" that would typically have them due to the shortage, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Dodge's Ram no longer offers its 1500 pickups with an "intelligent" rearview mirror.
Similarly, Renault has stopped offering an oversized digital screen behind the steering wheel of its Arkana SUV.
Peugeot is reverting back to analog speedometers for its 308 hatchbacks and General Motors said it was building Silverado pickups without a fuel-economy module that would necessitate chips.
Intel's CEO, speaking on 60 Minutes last Sunday night, said: “We have a couple of years until we catch up to this surging demand across every aspect of the business.” Days prior, we wrote that Morgan Stanley had also suggested the shortage could continue "well into 2022".
Two weeks ago, Ford was the latest auto manufacturer to slash its expectations for full year production as a result of the shortage.
One of the reasons I still cling to my '95 Saturn is precisely it's lack of gizmos. That and I think my SC2 is one of the last designs (certainly by the Saturn Corp.) that is really distinct. For example, you look at most modern sedans and they are all the same in general body styling - sometimes you can only tell a Toyota from a Honda from a Ford etc. by looking at the logo or emblem. OTOH I can spot an old model Saturn from a mile+ away. My impression is that this has to do with a combination of CAFE and various safety standards that have been phased in over the years, forcing the imposition of a narrow range of overall design shape to satisfy the conflicting requirements for fuel savings and to reduce the lethality of vehicle - pedestrian collisions. Regardless, it imposes the cookie cutter sameness so beloved of totalitarians everywhere.
ReplyDeleteJellybean cars, tatted up people, square concrete buildings - sameness is everywhere now. I stay out here in the trees where each of them looks diff.
DeleteAll the electronics in those modern cars, internet too! I wonder what type of information the cars send back to the manufacturers?
ReplyDeleteIf you have to ask you don't want to know... Technically, even my aforementioned '95 SC2 has a very limited "tattletale" capability - in the event of a crash with airbag deployment, IIRC the last few seconds of "telemetry" are recorded (speed, etc.) but nothing else. No GPS, etc., so nothing is broadcast otherwise. Does make me wish I could've gotten a '92 SC2, before airbags and the interim "automatic" seatbelts that annoyed me with my earlier '93 SL that I had.
DeleteOf course...this WILL NOT lower the price of the vehicle one penny!
ReplyDeleteOf course not, because they’re still paying all of the union employees to sit on their rear ends at home while not making any cars. You think the manufacturer is gonna eat that???
ReplyDeleteI'm still looking for a 2021 model car with manual (elbow-grease) roll-down windows.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that!!!
DeleteI was looking for a 1-ton pickup to do some hauling. Right now I have to go half way across the country to find what I am looking for. Local dealers are not taking any special orders as they are waiting on trucks ordered back in February. Plenty to choose from in the 3/4 ton models but the heavy haulers are rare.
ReplyDeleteRemoving those gizmos will improve Ford.
ReplyDeleteRoll down window guy:- Wait until you see one of those 'low-price-come-on- deals' that the auto dealers run every so often. If you go for the cheapest deal and you stall when they'll want to show you a better model..... because those 'SPCL' cars are SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE COUNTRY.....tell 'em you'll wait for delivery and that car will probably have roll-down windows. Got my '08 Patriot that way!
ReplyDeletei had to look a bit to find a used truck I liked . I finally found a 3/4 ton 2004 that has almost no options it has air and a decent radio and thats about it. no cruse control no touch screens even has rubber floor mats ! If she was any more of a stripper she would have come with a brass pole !
ReplyDeleteBefore I retired I did a lot of CAD work,using a wide variety of systems. I imagine my co-workers grew a little tired of hearing me scream at the 'puter, "Stop helping me, stop helping me . . . STOP HELPING ME!!!" (Because the software companies would force feed "improvements" that completely disrupted our accustomed methods, and required the learning to start all over again.)
ReplyDeleteI want simple and reliable. I liked and drove a '93 Saturn SL2 for more than 300,000 miles. From the driver's standpoint it was a very simple car. (Less simple for the mechanic.)
"Jelly bean cars": Yep, that's right. Indistinguishable.
I now drive a 2002 Sable; I am the 4th owner. Safe, heavy, ponderous. I have not been impressed with Ford/Lincoln/Mercury products, chiefly because of very poor human factors design. The controls and indicators in this car are simply a monument to some electrical designer's ego. Unreliable complexity, and unwelcome features. The entire center console (audio and environmental controls) offers you a complex array of push-buttons and cannot be used - at all - without taking your eyes off the road. You cannot find any control by using muscle memory and you cannot make an adjustment by flicking a 4-position rotary switch, or sliding a lever to a "feels about right" position. You cannot simply select "outside air" and turn on the fan. The system requires you to select a discreet temperature, and then the onboard system will control the heater and/or the A/C to achieve and maintain that temperature. Give me a break!
I don't need or want an electronic compass. I don't want automatic headlights or wipers. (STOP HELPING ME!) A significant downside to this crap is that the driver comes to depend on them and consequently loses situational awareness and the state of his vehicle. Do you see what's happening with autonomous vehicles?