Does anyone else but me think there are way too many electronics in today's vehicles?

[1979PowerWagon360]

So why don't you?

He wrote "If I could". IF

 

[1979PowerWagon360]

I would go back to the "electronics" of my 73 Power Wagon in a heartbeat..

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Beautiful truck! I love the tin grille Dodges! I have had two, both '79's standard cab swb.

 

[Docwagon1776]

He wrote "If I could". IF

So I'm asking why he doesn't. What's the "if" that's stopping him from buying one and driving it?

 

[Sherman Bird]

Most electronics are the result of government mandates...Back up cams, emission controls, air pressure monitors, etc....If you don't think the government is controlling yourlife too much, look again.

Yup! Our gummint is saving us from ourselves. Maybe, just maybe, if people would put down the damned cell phones, a lot of mayhem would be prevented!

 

[Tulecreeper]

I bought my truck with the absolute minimum of anything electronic - no power windows or door locks, vinyl seats and floor mats, no power seats, etc. - and it still came with 10x more electronic crap than I will ever use. Heck, when I first got in it at the dealership I sat for about a minute looking for the keyhole to put the key in to start it, then it dawned on me it was push-button. So now I'm thinking, "If it's push-button start, why do I even have a key?" Then I thought, "To open the door, stupid."

My original intention was to remove the Uconnect infotainment system and just replace it with an AM/FM/CD player, which I found out I can actually do if I want. The problem is that everything in the damn truck is programmed through it so I would have to make sure all the settings for everything - wipers, DRL's, everything - are where I wanted them because once I pull that system an replace it there will never be a way to change the settings again.

The truck that I just sold was a 2000 Silverado with 190,000 miles that I bought new in Oct 1999. The most advanced electronics on it was the cruise control.

 

[wgreggking]

Pulled this off the web:​

Automakers Are Bringing Back Buttons and Knobs as Touch Screens Become Scourge for Drivers​

Volkswagen and their subsidiary Porsche, along with Hyundai and Nissan, have all taken public stances about instrumenting the return of buttons and dials for a safer, more distraction-free cabin.

 

[Scottly]

They're actually called government regulations, not mandates.

No, I'm speaking to mandates. A regulation is an act of a law being passed...A mandate is that which is carried out by a group empowered by those laws. The creation of the Environmental Protection Agency was an act of Congress signed into law by the President. The rules that they force down our throats are mandates. All that DPF crap for Diesels? Those are mandates.

 

[mikeru]

No, I'm speaking to mandates. A regulation is an act of a law being passed...A mandate is that which is carried out by a group empowered by those laws. The creation of the Environmental Protection Agency was an act of Congress signed into law by the President. The rules that they force down our throats are mandates. All that DPF crap for Diesels? Those are mandates.

Meh...Mandates or regulations, does it really matter in the end? You're right that the back up camera is a mandate, while emissions laws are not as cut and dry. Regardless, it's splitting hairs in the end because whether it's a mandate or regulation, car companies still have to follow them. But much of the electronics in vehicles is there because of consumer demand.

 

[GTyankee]

Any new gadgets are going to go the way of Sirius radio
They are going to charge a monthly fee for them.
I read somewhere, that the Navigation is going to be the same way, before long.

I use a Magellan GPS with Dash Cam, so i hardly ever use the Rams Navigation while enroute

I run a business, that is 100% Mobile
My Ram is my office, so i do need Hands Free Cell Phone
Who ever is calling, will give me an address, after i accept the job.

I can quickly enter the address into the Radio using the VR on the steering wheel. or enter it manually.
around 80% of the time, the address is in a field, where there is no actual address, so i have to be guided to that point by cell phone.

After i meet up with the truck driver & he gives me an approximate destination address, like the name of a town.

As we begin driving, we use a Mandated CB Radio.
Both the Federal & State Departments of Transportation Depts. Mandate CB Radio or other Two Way Communication, in all vehicles involved in the Movement.

Highway Patrol in California, do not always have a CB Radio,
I carry several CBs for that reason, the Trucking company pays for the rental.

 

[Docwagon1776]

Any new gadgets are going to go the way of Sirius radio
They are going to charge a monthly fee for them.
I read somewhere, that the Navigation is going to be the same way, before long.

Sort of. The Nav will work but you won't get updates or real time traffic data. Google maps is better than the built in nav, though, IMO.