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

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Sherman Bird

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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

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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. :cool:
 

wgreggking

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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

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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

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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

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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.
 
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Docwagon1776

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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.
 

Atcer2018

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Exactly! How counter intuitive is this?!!!
Personally I appreciate the hands free CarPlay and android auto in most modern vehicles. Not so much for myself but the wife and two kids. The kids grew up on texting and cell phones so CarPlay is valuable to me as a parent cuz they don’t have to take their eyes off the road. Yeah I know they aren’t supposed to be texting and driving but they are grown 20 somethings and even though they know the law the temptation is there. CarPlay offers a good compromise into modern technology in a vehicle environment. The misses needs navigation everywhere she goes even though we’ve lived here for 20 years. Poor woman gets lost in the mall bathroom. Having the ability to press a steering wheel button and ask for directions is a godsend for her without having to panic or pull over. No she doesn’t know how to read a map. Lol
 

REDinAZ

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As a younger guy and a computer nerd (Literally in college for Computer Science and work in IT) I hate what they're doing to cars. After looking at all the identical "minimalist TV-screen" dashboard design that every single new car has nowadays, I don't think I'll be owning anything much newer than what I have now unless something changes

It's made me real appreciative of my '06. No screens, a nice mostly-non-electronic* column shifter, an actual key you have to turn, etc. The last thing I want to do after I've worked on computer problems for 10 hours a day is to get in my truck and deal with MORE electronic problems
or really Fish, just think of it, what is the NEED for any of that "TV-screen" crap in a machine that's only sole purpose to get you from point A to point B alive! give us the modern "assisted safety" features that have been spoken of here, sure, IMO bring them on. but WTF are we doing providing any other "tech/info/entertainment" features that can cause all kinds of distractions to the driver? or even how to turn the damn heat & A/C on?? they're simply called "control knobs"!!!
 

REDinAZ

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Personally I appreciate the hands free CarPlay and android auto in most modern vehicles. Not so much for myself but the wife and two kids. The kids grew up on texting and cell phones so CarPlay is valuable to me as a parent cuz they don’t have to take their eyes off the road. Yeah I know they aren’t supposed to be texting and driving but they are grown 20 somethings and even though they know the law the temptation is there. CarPlay offers a good compromise into modern technology in a vehicle environment. The misses needs navigation everywhere she goes even though we’ve lived here for 20 years. Poor woman gets lost in the mall bathroom. Having the ability to press a steering wheel button and ask for directions is a godsend for her without having to panic or pull over. No she doesn’t know how to read a map. Lol
...ask even your kids how to use/or what is a Thomas Guide they wouldn't have a clue. it's startling.
 

Atcer2018

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...ask even your kids how to use/or what is a Thomas Guide they wouldn't have a clue. it's startling.
Didn’t know what that was myself and yes I know how to read a map. I’ve used them before decades ago but no use for them now. One daughter is a civil engineer and she knows how to read a map, is very good with directions and composed behind the wheel. The other daughter not so much, more like her mom. Some of the modern technology on today’s vehicles is valuable, having my climate controls on the radio is not. Thankfully my Big Horn has buttons as well as electronic inputs.
 

Tulecreeper

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...ask even your kids how to use/or what is a Thomas Guide they wouldn't have a clue. it's startling.
I still have a Rand-McNally atlas I used on a hunting trip to Saskatchewan in 1988. Been the same route several times since then and nothing has really changed.
 

REDinAZ

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I still have a Rand-McNally atlas I used on a hunting trip to Saskatchewan in 1988. Been the same route several times since then and nothing has really changed.

I still have a Rand-McNally atlas I used on a hunting trip to Saskatchewan in 1988. Been the same route several times since then and nothing has really changed.
I don't know, I just think it's a skill people should acquire. identifying that you're headed either N*S*E*W is important. and being able to read a map (and believe me, LOVE the "Google maps" software and what it will allow you to see, now I already know what my target looks like before I even get there!!!) and chart your own course is a legit thing.
 

chri5k

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Anybody in this thread who wants to part with their "too high tech" 12" screen let me know. I have a pushbutton radio out of an old Chrysler Newport. You know the kind you tune with a manual dial, pull the button out and push it back in to set the station. If that is "too high tech" I have a Galena crystal and Cat's whisker. Still a few good spots on the crystal. :D
 

tron67j

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I am also in the KISS camp, don't want everything controlled by my radio because when that craps out I won't be able to do much. I got in my sister's Tesla rental and was going to give it a try. After the fourth time I asked "How do I...?) and it involved touching that damn screen, I got out and said I'll walk. No one will ever convince me that cars with such integrated centers aren't contributing to more distracted driving. I need knobs (except to shift gears) that I can handle with work gloves.
 

Atcer2018

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Anybody in this thread who wants to part with their "too high tech" 12" screen let me know. I have a pushbutton radio out of an old Chrysler Newport. You know the kind you tune with a manual dial, pull the button out and push it back in to set the station. If that is "too high tech" I have a Galena crystal and Cat's whisker. Still a few good spots on the crystal. :D
If you had an AM/FM 8 track out of a Cordoba with genuine Corinthian leather and a padded landau roof I might think about it. Lol
 

Docwagon1776

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Some young canukian daily driving a '72 Corolla.

http://rustfreeclassics.com/ These guys get some cool stuff in, though much of the '70s trucks seem to have dried up and they are getting more '80s and '90s stuff in. I wish I'd bought a Highboy before prices went through the flipping roof. My wife still wants a Bronco, but I doubt I can talk her in to that '95. The OJ broncos have went value nuts as well, but compared to a new Bronco...a true bargain.

If you *really mean it*, there's an escape from all those pesky electronics. :D
 

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