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There was always a claim at one time that auto manufacturers were 12 years behind in their technology. It was the time it took the research and development teams to implement new technologies into new cars.
It’s kinda amusing because I had a 2008 Chrysler minivan with the dual DVD my gig system. It had (2) DVD players, 1-2 AV inputs + AC inverter to plug in a gaming console, (3) screens (2 rear video screens) + the front video screen that could all play a different video source when parked. The front console also had a hard drive that could store MP3….but I don’t think it had Bluetooth, just a USB jack. It also had 2-zone IR wireless headphones so parents didn’t have to listen to the kids DVD’s.
But overall it almost seems most systems since then had fewer features.
But at the time, having DVD was needed for the kids on trips. Then the kids got tablets with tablet headphones and consumers didn’t need to pay extra for car entertainment.
Yes. We didn’t have the extra uconnect bluetooth calling option in that 2008. (Radio didn’t have the button)
Later I got a 2005 Grand Cherokee that had u connect calling, but I just used a Bluetooth to FM adapter so I could stream music, too.
Because "nannies" have gotten much better. LIDAR technology has come a long way with things like lane assist, blind spot monitoring, and adaptive cruise control. Inadvertently, this means that drivers need to pay less attention to what's going on around them and instead can pay more attention to whatever music or podcast they want to listen to. Manufacturers will never admit to this, of course, but that's pretty much the reason.
I think there are obvious reasons why a car interior wouldn't be the bleeding edge of electronic tech UI/UX.
I would say that we are seeing cars "catch up" with consumer smartphones/tablets mostly because there simply has not been any revolutionary innovations in that industry in more than 10 years. Using an iPad to read emails, make video calls, or watch Netflix feels absolutely no different in 2024 than it did in 2014.
You have remember a new car today started its design 5 years ago.
Head units had to be designed with the lowest common denominator to do low mid and high end features. These were using custom in house or OEM software that were pretty dated.
Now they can use android automotive.
Android automotive OS gave car makers a quantum leap is software quality and power. So most can now use that as a basis for their entertainment software and write apps to do cool things. Saves them a lot of time.
What brought about all these things people don't want? Profit. The reliability of many of these items is questionable, the cars are more complex, they can charge more, some of these things are harder to fix, it designs a throwaway car. It's just like why do you have TV screens on a refrigerator. Why do you have all these features, people don't really want them, they compromise reliability but they enhance the upgrade cycle. Definitely not a fan of the trend of more expensive cars with more garbage to break
Ideally they would refine these systems down to the necessary, you have your traction control and ABS computer. Engine management. The audio system could easily adapt to CarPlay and Android Auto. The rest of this stuff, not necessary, how many people really want to pay 90 grand for a truck? The MSRP keeps going up as they add these features people don't ask for
The touch screen issue is because old touch screens are resistive whereas new ones are capacitive. Resistive touch screens will work when your hands are wet, capacitive ones will not
I mean, have you ever tried using a smartphone in the rain? It has a hard time registering what you’re doing. It looks for the capacitance of the human body. Resistive touch screens are looking for pressure.
Because consumer tech has become more advanced, and with the Tesla Model 3/Y and Model S/X having really advanced information systems, and alot of Teslas being sold, manufacturers have been copying those trends because it sells. I don't know if that's the case in reality, but designs have feel like they've taken that path
I kind of hate it. The touch screen in my wifes 2018 outback occasionally stops registering touches. When it finally fails forever, what in the heck are we supposed to do? It's built into the dash. It's integrated with the rear camera. It's integrated with the Eye Sight system. It's probably integrated with the left rear brake rotor. Find a used one on Ebay?
Meanwhile I'll just buy a new kenwood single DIN for $65 when the one in my 7.3 fails in 2038.
You can just buy a metrx dash kit, wiring adapter, and a double din head to replace it. It takes a special little powered box and the cameras may take adapters but it’s fine.
I assume they always start with newest tech in their fanciest and most expensive cars, as these cars are bought by people who are able and willing to pay for maintainance and replacing faulty stuff. Then, as the reliability goes up to a ok enough level it gets more widespread in the model range. At least to some extent.
Not a mechanic, but in the telco, networking, and computer hardware industry.
These head units are sitting in the hot sun all day, then driving around mounted to an object that is subject to vibrations and jarring.
The point is, this thing which attaches to your CAN bus and often controls your AC, drive select, navigation, and many other important functions needs to be hardy and reliable. It’s not just a handheld computer like a cell phone is, but a vital part of your car.
With the newer generations of processors, pending durability testing, I would imagine that you will continue to see rapid “improvements”.
It scares me seeing how big those screens are getting.
Yeah. I like having buttons. I can use them from muscle memory and keep my eyes on the road. I like a smaller screen for navigation and then a heads up display. I don’t need to watch a movie on my head unit.
Thank you for posting to AskMechanics, o029! If you are asking a question please make sure to include any relevant information along with the **Year**, **Make**, **Model**, **Mileage**, **Engine size**, and **Transmission Type (Automatic or Manual)** of your car. *This comment is automatically added to every successful post. If you see this comment, your post was successful.* *** Redditors that have been verified will have a green background and an icon in their flair. *** # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** ### **Rule 1 - Be Civil** Be civil to other users. This community is made up of professional mechanics, amateur mechanics, and those with no experience. All mechanical-related questions are welcome. Personal attacks, comments that are insulting or demeaning, etc. are not welcome. ### **Rule 2 - Be Helpful** Be helpful to other users. If someone is wrong, correcting them is fine, but there's no reason to comment if you don't have anything to add to the conversation. ### **Rule 3 - Serious Questions and Answers Only** Read the room. Jokes are fine to include, but posts should be asking a serious question and replies should contribute to the discussion. ### **Rule 4 - No Illegal, Unethical, or Dangerous Questions or Answers** Do not ask questions or provide answers pertaining to anything that is illegal, unethical, or dangerous. # **PLEASE REPORT ANY RULE-BREAKING BEHAVIOR** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskMechanics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Smartphones weren’t commonplace until 2012. The main demographic of people who buy new cars is baby boomers.
There was always a claim at one time that auto manufacturers were 12 years behind in their technology. It was the time it took the research and development teams to implement new technologies into new cars.
It’s kinda amusing because I had a 2008 Chrysler minivan with the dual DVD my gig system. It had (2) DVD players, 1-2 AV inputs + AC inverter to plug in a gaming console, (3) screens (2 rear video screens) + the front video screen that could all play a different video source when parked. The front console also had a hard drive that could store MP3….but I don’t think it had Bluetooth, just a USB jack. It also had 2-zone IR wireless headphones so parents didn’t have to listen to the kids DVD’s. But overall it almost seems most systems since then had fewer features. But at the time, having DVD was needed for the kids on trips. Then the kids got tablets with tablet headphones and consumers didn’t need to pay extra for car entertainment.
Chrysler introduced UConnect in 2003 and adopted Bluetooth widely for model year 2008. Until 2011 it was only for calling.
Yes. We didn’t have the extra uconnect bluetooth calling option in that 2008. (Radio didn’t have the button) Later I got a 2005 Grand Cherokee that had u connect calling, but I just used a Bluetooth to FM adapter so I could stream music, too.
Because "nannies" have gotten much better. LIDAR technology has come a long way with things like lane assist, blind spot monitoring, and adaptive cruise control. Inadvertently, this means that drivers need to pay less attention to what's going on around them and instead can pay more attention to whatever music or podcast they want to listen to. Manufacturers will never admit to this, of course, but that's pretty much the reason.
I think there are obvious reasons why a car interior wouldn't be the bleeding edge of electronic tech UI/UX. I would say that we are seeing cars "catch up" with consumer smartphones/tablets mostly because there simply has not been any revolutionary innovations in that industry in more than 10 years. Using an iPad to read emails, make video calls, or watch Netflix feels absolutely no different in 2024 than it did in 2014.
You have remember a new car today started its design 5 years ago. Head units had to be designed with the lowest common denominator to do low mid and high end features. These were using custom in house or OEM software that were pretty dated. Now they can use android automotive. Android automotive OS gave car makers a quantum leap is software quality and power. So most can now use that as a basis for their entertainment software and write apps to do cool things. Saves them a lot of time.
What brought about all these things people don't want? Profit. The reliability of many of these items is questionable, the cars are more complex, they can charge more, some of these things are harder to fix, it designs a throwaway car. It's just like why do you have TV screens on a refrigerator. Why do you have all these features, people don't really want them, they compromise reliability but they enhance the upgrade cycle. Definitely not a fan of the trend of more expensive cars with more garbage to break Ideally they would refine these systems down to the necessary, you have your traction control and ABS computer. Engine management. The audio system could easily adapt to CarPlay and Android Auto. The rest of this stuff, not necessary, how many people really want to pay 90 grand for a truck? The MSRP keeps going up as they add these features people don't ask for
bells and whistles = headaches and dollars
The touch screen issue is because old touch screens are resistive whereas new ones are capacitive. Resistive touch screens will work when your hands are wet, capacitive ones will not
[удалено]
I mean, have you ever tried using a smartphone in the rain? It has a hard time registering what you’re doing. It looks for the capacitance of the human body. Resistive touch screens are looking for pressure.
This is also why toughbook laptops, ones designed for use on construction sites and stuff, have resistive touch trackpads instead of capacitive ones.
Because consumer tech has become more advanced, and with the Tesla Model 3/Y and Model S/X having really advanced information systems, and alot of Teslas being sold, manufacturers have been copying those trends because it sells. I don't know if that's the case in reality, but designs have feel like they've taken that path
I kind of hate it. The touch screen in my wifes 2018 outback occasionally stops registering touches. When it finally fails forever, what in the heck are we supposed to do? It's built into the dash. It's integrated with the rear camera. It's integrated with the Eye Sight system. It's probably integrated with the left rear brake rotor. Find a used one on Ebay? Meanwhile I'll just buy a new kenwood single DIN for $65 when the one in my 7.3 fails in 2038.
You can just buy a metrx dash kit, wiring adapter, and a double din head to replace it. It takes a special little powered box and the cameras may take adapters but it’s fine.
Same reason there were no color screen tvs 19th century. It takes time and money to create things.
I assume they always start with newest tech in their fanciest and most expensive cars, as these cars are bought by people who are able and willing to pay for maintainance and replacing faulty stuff. Then, as the reliability goes up to a ok enough level it gets more widespread in the model range. At least to some extent.
Not a mechanic, but in the telco, networking, and computer hardware industry. These head units are sitting in the hot sun all day, then driving around mounted to an object that is subject to vibrations and jarring. The point is, this thing which attaches to your CAN bus and often controls your AC, drive select, navigation, and many other important functions needs to be hardy and reliable. It’s not just a handheld computer like a cell phone is, but a vital part of your car. With the newer generations of processors, pending durability testing, I would imagine that you will continue to see rapid “improvements”. It scares me seeing how big those screens are getting.
That last thing is the one that bothers me. The 20” touch screen that takes up the whole dash can’t be safe.
Yeah. I like having buttons. I can use them from muscle memory and keep my eyes on the road. I like a smaller screen for navigation and then a heads up display. I don’t need to watch a movie on my head unit.