My Gripe about new vehicles... (and where society is headed)

[iBoston]

The world changes. Nobody in 10-20-30yrs will care. The people in their horse and buggy probably said the same things about the Model T a hundred years ago.

I love tech.. My home is FILLED with tech. That's not my issue.. My issue is that tech should make things easier to make customizable. But, they don't, they seem to give you less choice.. To be honest, if you don't see that happening, then your probably not a 'do it yourself person' .. Anyone that is truly a tinkerer and digs into things knows how choice is being taken away from us...

Heck, i have temperature sensors and weather stations and solar panels , and run virtual machines and linux and windows and VPN's and Asterix phone systems. But, i have control of them, i can use them the way i WANT to use them.

Don't want to use Edge in Windows 11? Tough! Microsoft is taking away the option to open links in other browsers

It’s no secret that Microsoft wants people to use its Edge browser. It advertises it in Windows 10 and 11 and of course it’s the default in both of those operating systems too.

betanews.com

 

[Jimbo]

Regarding the Automatic Cruise Control not working in the rain, Mrs. Foxbat’s car has that feature and we’ve used it in the rain & snow before. But sometimes its sensor gets too wet/snow-covered and then you have no cruise control. We drove a car in 2017 that actually had both ACC and conventional cruise control, so it might be a manufacturer decision on whether or not to offer that feature.

There seems to be some pushback on the soft controls in autos, some manufacturers have listened and put back knobs and switches for things like climate control and audio. My 2014 Ford has both manual buttons and knobs for heating/cooling and controls for the stereo that I can activate without looking away from the road. If it had a heated steering wheel, AWD, and ACC I would be inclined to keep on driving it for the foreseeable future.

I have ACC in my new vehicle, but haven't used the Cruise all that much yet (new, only have had for a few weeks) , I love the ACC, haven't looked or heard about not working in the Rain or Snow ... It's gonna be raining in a few hours, I'll have to look into it.

He mentioned Lane Assist, I have that too, use once in a while, mainly to see how accurate it actually is.
Theres a button to turn that on or off right on the Steering Wheel next to the ACC ... I originally thought, Why put it there, but now, when I want it Off, its easy to get too.

He mentioned the Bright Screen, and they are, however, theres an actual push button along with the buttoned Climate Control section that will turn the Display On and Off.

I actually just Upgraded , BECAUSE of the new tech on it, this Vehicle is way more SAFE than any other that I have driven.

I checked with my Insurance Company ahead of time (I always do) I went from a 2016 to a 2023 and my Insurance cost me $1 More ...

I asked about that too ... they said, All the Safety stuff brings Down the cost (thought it might go the Other way).

 

[navychop]

Sometimes, I MISS Alta Vista.

 

[TheKrell]

Sometimes, I MISS Alta Vista.

Huh?

 

[navychop]

The talk about Edge brought back memories. AV was FAST for it’s day.

 

[arlo]

....and astalavista. and @totse. and breaking * to give myself ext.137 at home. them were the day, huh!

 

[harshness]

Find a 12V PS or auto battery charger and connect it to a 12V socket plug.

The jury is still out on the safety of using cigar lighter charging gizmos and they can't realistically be used for a quick jump start.

If the battery is in the "trunk" AND a fold-down rear seat is NOT standard equipment, there needs to be an exterior manual lock. In-trunk releases have been a requirement for quite a while now but you have to be able to get there without risking cuts and bruises.

 

[navychop]

Or do what Tesla does and have an external charging point to get things done.

 

[osu1991]

Or do what Tesla does and have an external charging point to get things done.

The charging port doesn't help if the 12V battery that runs all the electronics is dead. There is a positive and negative terminal behind the front tow hitch cover to apply 12V to, so that the frunk can be opened to gain access to the 12V battery.

They all have hidden releases and other ways of opening the frunk to get to them or applying 12v to be able to open the doors from the exterior..

 

[harshness]

Or do what Tesla does and have an external charging point to get things done.

Teslas don't directly charge the house battery through the charging port. Charging of the house battery happens through a sufficiently charged car battery which obviously requires some sort of "charging station".

Getting the house battery charged quickly is a two-step process of first opening the frunk (can be done with a jump setup or a 9V battery) and then attaching an appropriate charger to the battery (depending on the battery composition).

Recent Tesla models (2022 and later) use >12VDC lithium batteries so things are more complicated if you have a late model Tesla.

 

[stecle]

The jury is still out on the safety of using cigar lighter charging gizmos and they can't realistically be used for a quick jump start.

If the battery is in the "trunk" AND a fold-down rear seat is NOT standard equipment, there needs to be an exterior manual lock. In-trunk releases have been a requirement for quite a while now but you have to be able to get there without risking cuts and bruises.

I also found it odd that the car didn't have an external manual lock.

 

[Jimbo]

I have ACC in my new vehicle, but haven't used the Cruise all that much yet (new, only have had for a few weeks) , I love the ACC, haven't looked or heard about not working in the Rain or Snow ... It's gonna be raining in a few hours, I'll have to look into it.

He mentioned Lane Assist, I have that too, use once in a while, mainly to see how accurate it actually is.
Theres a button to turn that on or off right on the Steering Wheel next to the ACC ... I originally thought, Why put it there, but now, when I want it Off, its easy to get too.

He mentioned the Bright Screen, and they are, however, theres an actual push button along with the buttoned Climate Control section that will turn the Display On and Off.

I actually just Upgraded , BECAUSE of the new tech on it, this Vehicle is way more SAFE than any other that I have driven.

I checked with my Insurance Company ahead of time (I always do) I went from a 2016 to a 2023 and my Insurance cost me $1 More ...

I asked about that too ... they said, All the Safety stuff brings Down the cost (thought it might go the Other way).

No problem with running the ACC in the rain ....

Haven't looked into the lowest speed the Cruise will work at, but I tried at 40 and 35 mph today and both worked.
If I remember, I'll continue with that to see where the Cruise starts working at ... (I'm gonna guess its like 20 mhp, but we'll see.)

 

[arlo]

I also found it odd that the car didn't have an external manual lock.

Every search like "how do I get in my <ford, chevy, whatever> with a dead battery" came up with use the emergency key in the fob and there is a hidden lock cylinder someplace. Like pulling the door handle to reveal the cylinder. Stuff like that.
It may be time to open the glove box and get that never used owners manual out.
It blew me away after never had seeing one when my garage owner buddy asked me if I could pull a car in to the lift.
The battery was dead and he tossed me a little booster pack. I was like yeah that's going to do it.
I've bought a box of Milk Duds that was bigger. Son of a gun. That sucker started up like it was hit with lightning.
And then dumb me. Left the headlights on. Click Click Click. A chickie dug out a jump pack from under her seat that she said she never used and was there for 2 years. My SUV started right up. Pretty cool. Even had USB ports on it to charge it up and use a phone. I bought a Genius. Good stuff.
Just because you have a trunk battery. There are posts under the hood for a boost start. Probably that's in the book too if I were to surmise.