Submitted 12 hours ago by Changelin@discuss.tchncs.de to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.carsandhorsepower.com/featured/are-cars-just-becoming-giant-smartphones-on-wheels
For over a century, the automobile has represented freedom, power, and the thrill of mechanical mastery. The connection between driver, machine, and road defined what it meant to own and love a car. But in today’s digital era, a different trend is unfolding. Cars are no longer just machines designed to take us from point A to point B. Increasingly, they resemble something else entirely: smartphones on wheels.
Just?
It’s nothing less than a war against property rights.
They are pushing software into cars because they see copyright, and more specifically the DMCA anti-circumvention clause, as an excuse to retain their control over your property after they sell it to you. Rentiership is 100% of their goal, and providing useful functionality is nothing but an afterthought at best.
“Subscriptions” to hardware you already own is entirely FRAUD and executives of companies that engage in it deserve long prison sentences.
John Deere cough cough
Yes, and car manufacturers are becoming SaaS vendors
Some of these comments are the most elitist, contrarian bullshit I’ve ever heard.
This article is about how cars connect to phones, not how cool you are because you choose to ride a bike. You’re so cool because instead of choosing to not connect your phone to your car, you bought a rusty 07 Camry?
You’re so cool because instead of choosing to not connect your phone to your car, you bought a rusty 07 Camry?
Yes.
Personally I think it is cool to not give money to anti-consumer companies, which I assume all car companies have become by now if they all have computers. Certainly they cannot forever resist the temptation to use the power they have over users when they control the software running on our hardware.
I don’t disagree with either of your points. However, I’m not edgy because I refuse to shop at Target. I’m saying these comments are a bit smug.
Hello, I’m here for my check-in so that you can tell me whether or not I’m allowed to like something. Let me know when you’re ready to start.
Neither I nor anyone else cares what you like, but don’t act like what you like makes you better than anyone else.
Yeah, I completely agree.
I drive old cars because they don’t spy on me and they’re inexpensive to own. I have an 07 hybrid and an 06 minivan. They’re only an expression of my personality to the extent that I don’t care about my car and need something to get from A-B. I don’t flaunt it, and I’ll probably replace it with an older EV because refilling gas is annoying for my dedicated commuter (the hybrid).
I’d rather ride my bike, but my work is too far away (2 hours on transit, ~1.5 hybrid w/ bike, maybe 1 with a riced ebik, each way), and my reasons for sticking with my employer and not moving are more important than my preference for cycling.
My mode of transportation is about utility, not expression of personality. I’d drive a truck if it made sense, I just haven’t found one that makes more sense than renting one the 2-3 times per year I need to haul something that doesn’t fit in my minivan.
When I need to upgrade my car, I’ll find something sensible and maybe remove the parts I don’t like. It’s not a big deal.
Agreed. Minivans are legit.
The sad thing is ‘smartphone on wheels’ is a slur.
Smartphones don’t have to be soulless and uniform and enshittified, but here we are.
The simplicity of the Slate interior is fantastic. They developed a screenless touch screen that you can rotate without even looking at them. I wish I were in the market for this type of vehicle.
Yeah, that is so perfect.
Imagine a sedan or hatchback. It would be light as a feather and still feel spacious being so ‘clean’ inside.
the automobile has represented freedom
That’s a part I never understood.
Cara are fucking expensive, they’re literally money drains. Unless you have that much money, you ainns having a car.
In Europe, bot having a car generally nis perfectly fine, you still can go everywhere easily as that place hasn’t been turned into a cars-only paradise
In the US, and countries that modelled themselves after it, you’re not going anywhere without a car. Public transit it shit at best and in many places completely absent. Want to try a bicycle? Good luck, you gotta mix in with the murder cars.
Cars do not represent freedom, they’re the opposite
Compared to walking or riding a horse they are freedom. They cost a lot, but also enable a lot.
i wish we had transit here, but that doesn't mean cars are not freedom. Even in europe most people drive.
In Europe, not having a car generally is perfectly fine
In cities.
For those living in the countryside, not really, as distances are huge and public transport is rare (think a single bus that stops at a bus station a km or two away and passes maybe once every 2h) or non-existent.
That said, over 70% of people in Europe live in urban areas.
Combining two of the things I most hate. Makes sense.
Imagine a car without cellular connectivity
You mean, like the car that I drive currently? It’s pretty tough to picture, honestly.
Tough to picture? Maybe improve your arts skills.
Archive link to an FAQ for the Slate electric trucklette that claims no sim cards and minimum digital bits. No clue if it will be a good vehicle so don’t take this as an endorsement. archive.ph/PMKpC
Anyone know other options?
Fucking sim cards in cars. I hate everything.
Buy a car that fits your needs and then pull the fuse powering the sim card before it leaves the lot. If it breaks, put the fuse back and don't buy it.
My 2019 corolla lost the right speaker and mic access when I did that. I fixed the right speaker by crossing some wires, and the mic hasn't really been needed enough for me to dig deeper to fix it.
Suzuki Jimny, still comes in a very basic electrical system
Have they ever made an electric car that didn’t have that fucking SHIT ?
Yes, plenty. The pre-faclift Ioniq for example
My 2015 Nissan Leaf asks every few weeks if I want to allow the telematics to phone home. When you say no, it obeys. (I also removed the SIM card anyways.)
You can convert an older car to electric. As basic as it gets but with a new mode of power
If the state of open source phones are anything to judge by, we will have open source cars at some point, except the foot brake isn’t working yet, so you’ll have to use the hand brake for now. Cars and phones both take a lot of resources to develop, and maybe you’ll be able to “de-Stellantis” your car at some point instead of going fully open source, but judging by the recent steps Google has taken to weaken de-Googling, I’m not sure how long that would last either.
My car is basically an accessory that turns my phone into a car, yes.
Sadly yes and they’re mainly taking the worst aspects. Normal built in features like heated seats as subscriptions, dropping smartphone integration for their own far inferior dogshit UI and features, and so on.
No need for data grabbing AA/Carplay shit in my car, stock ui works superior. But give people the option
Volkswagen is so bad at this! They have phone connectivity but they bog down the infotainment with they’re own crap software. The GPS is so bad it slowes down the whole system. I will never use vw maps. Ever. Just stop!
And Chevy just doesn’t have android auto on or apple play on their lower trim levels. But they do compensate by integrating Google maps at least.
Kia is the best though. Minimal proprietary software. Plug your phone in and android auto automatically comes up.
aand this is why I won’t buy a car made after 2010.
IMO cars peaked around 2015
Interiors looked really nice and you had analog dials etc. Wish some small screens, just enough.
Today it's just big plastic dashboard with cheap tablets stuck in them
The analog dials were an illusion. That information has been processed digitally for at least the last 25 years.
2016 is still a good year as most of the connected tech isn’t supported anymore as it’s on the 3g network.
good to know!!
This is why I ordered a Slate.
I hope you get your money back when they fold.
Eh, my early g9 civic is nice, though I think they ruined it only like coupla years later with cell radios.
My 2014 Crosstrek is fine. Doesn’t even have eyesight.
My 2020 Crosstrek with a manual is pretty good. The only things on the little touchscreen is the radio, backup camera, and android or apple for navigation. Also it isn’t integrated into the whole car so it can be replaced with an aftermarket unit. It has none of the blind spot monitoring, lane assist etc. It’s a lot of fun to drive on back roads, although it could use just a little more power.
Ads between gear changes in 3…2…1…
We’re not too far detached from that being reality already. There are several car brands that straight up block your entire infotainment system to show their own ads
It looks like you’re trying to brake. You’ve used up this months braking quota. Breaking will be enabled again in two weeks. Please enter credit card details to upgrade your subscription to allow unlimited breaking*.
*Fair use policy, limitations apply. Braking is not available on all roads. If you’re using the brake to often, an additional braking fee might be applied to your credit card for each use. Braking fee and subscriptions do not include mechanical wear, new parts or checks by a mechanic.
I don’t current drive since I love in a city with great public transit but if was forced to get a car i wouldn’t be made after 2006. I like buttons and don’t want to spend $400 replacing my rear view mirror because its linked to my touch screen for no damn reason
Don’t forget the transformation from a 5 buck bulb to a 1000 buck complete LED-system. Yay!
But you will spend 1500 bucks replacing everything else on the car.
Also cars have plenty of buttons.
$1500 put into a 2003 Honda Accord is COMPLETELY different than putting that into a 2016.
And I want ALL buttons. No touch screen AT All
Bill Burr calls it “driving an iPad”
What becoming?
I’m in a BYD, and I actually feel better connected due to the regenerative braking
I’m normally on a motorbike, so I use my gears to control speed almost entirely
With a manual car, I can actually drive it properly, but most of the vehicles I have to drive are automatics, which I have always disliked
With my little car, I feel much more “part of” it. It’s very responsive and I’m able to do so much without touching the brakes
I pretty much ignore the “tech” apart from occasionally telling it to change the temperature or do something with a window
or do something with a window
Window, do a barrel roll
That’s be pretty sweet!
They go up and down, but I’m hoping that with some patience and treats, I can train it to do more
I’m much the same in my auto with dsg. Having a gearbox vs slushbox lets me shift down a gear where I only need to gradually slow down or sit in say 2nd on a downhill and not gain any speed.
My car is from 2011 and it had the right amount of modern features while lacking all the touchscreen climate controls and connected nonsonce.
If they are, would that make old cars giant feature phones on wheels.
My 97 Wrangler folds in half and takes 1mp pictures.
Shit headline. “No” is the answer. Let’smoved on.
Giant Printer on wheels.
Yeah, don’t buy an HP. Love my Brother laser printer though.
It has wheels so the computer doesn’t touch the ground you know.
Yeah, 25 years ago. Where the fuck have you been? Cars were smart funds before smart funds were small enough to be smart phones.
EFI and a radio with a digital tuner does not a “smartphone on wheels” make. This shit didn’t actually start until the mid-2010s.
You must be one of those GenZ people. I assure you, back in the day, that counted as a smartphone.
You’re so young, that you take for granted the fact that the technology available to you today didn’t exist 10 years ago, let alone 30
My car is from 2014, no “smart” crap in it… So I guess it’s to varying degrees. I have the feeling OP isn’t talking about the first ever smart car, but that it’s become ubiquitous.
Part of my aggression from the previous comment
I didn’t mean “every car” I just was referring to the fact that cars started to do what OP is referring to a long time ago. Certainly not every car. It was a luxury option along time ago. Nowadays, it’s just becoming standard.
Both fit in the same category of unfortunately necessary and terrible goods…so the merger makes sense to me.
the thrill of mechanical mastery
I remember people in the 80s/90s complaining that those pieces of shit were broken all the time. Not anymore IMHO. There was only thrill for a few car enthusiasts.
I drive a Kia EV6, and love it. Kia pushes like 2 OTAs per year for updates and small bug fixes, but hasn’t rolled out any new features. They have a premium connectivity package, but nothing but remote bells and whistles are behind it.
I use my phone for the infotainment via CarPlay.
My phone acts like a phone, and my car acts like a car.
Now, the reason I have an EV6? I was a happy Chevy Bolt owner looking for a newer vehicle and was eyeing the Equinox EV. I noped out as soon as they announced the Google partnership and decided to remove CarPlay and BYOD as a feature.
The two things that will turn me off from a future purchase is lack of CarPlay, or paywalled “hardware” upgrades, like performance tweaks or locking out something installed like heated seats. Nope.
It’ll be interesting to see how Slate does, if it makes it to production.
Their headquarters is down the road from me. I will let you know when the sign no longer lights up. Should be a few days.
It’s DoA. At 20, they kinda make sense. At 27 without the EV credit you could be buying a maverick.
Or the fully electric small truck Ford is working on.
As proof of concept, Slate is cool. Up against a vehicle from an actual truck manufacturer, it’s probably a hard sell.
Except the Maverick isn’t an EV. It’s a hybrid, at best.
My car is a 2023 and I pretty much by-pass all the integrated tech and use apple Car Play.
Watching people whine about tech in cars has always been comical to me. The first time I heard it was in the 80s and how cruise control was going to make cars unusable eventually.
ArsonButCute@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 minutes ago
My radio doesn’t even have a screen 😅
The only computer in my car is the radio, and that stays off most of the time. I’m honestly thrilled to not have so much tech in the car. Its nice to be able to fix nearly anything with some pliers, a multi-meter, and an adjustable spanner.