Why is everyone hellbent on infotainment specs?

[TimmH]

As my newer cars had new features, that initially I didn't care for, there are some that I will not buy another vehicle without.

I had a Ford Escape with 4" screen and backup camera. I drove trucks I know how to use my mirrors, I thought. Then a few months in, it's something I couldn't live without. It also did not have Sirius Radio which I was already a subscriber. I spent a pretty penny changing out that oddly shaped console to get Sirius.

After a transmission warranty issue I traded it in on an Edge with a larger 7"? screen, push button screen, proximity locks, AND sirius.

I then traded the Edge in on a Wrangle in 2018 because I wanted something more rugged, but not a truck, and the Bronco while being talked about on forums, was not officially announced yet. I have a larger 8" screen, android auto, push button, but dammit, I don't have proximity locks and it annoys the heck out of me now.

It helps that I am in IT and like gadgets, but there are some things I will not do without anymore if at all possible. But on the other side of that there are some thing I just don't think I want or at least I want to be able to turn off. like Blind Spot monitoring, adaptive Cruise, etc., but I'm sure once I have them, I will adapt to them and just accept/want them.

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[KAQ]

Honestly for me it's a safety thing, with carplay and a goof screen I can take calls and texts and reply to both without taking my hands off the wheels or eyes off the road.

 

[OX1]

Rotary telephones

Find me a rotary phone that still doesn't work, LOL!! And they will still work, 20 years after these new broncos bricked themselves (someday).

 

[calgecko]

I'm probably on the older end of the scale here (51 yrs old).. here's my perspective:
I bought a brand new ZR2 Bison about 3.5 months ago and have used it plenty for off road fun already... trail drives, mud runs, snow-wheeling, sand dunes, beach, off-road park, etc... but in the end, all of that only makes up probably less than 5% of my total time behind the wheel so far (4500 miles total). I came from a 2016 Mustang, and there were some conveniences that I had to give up going from the Mustang to the truck (even though the truck is 5 years newer), and things I do miss - cooled seats, dual climate control, premium sound system (even though the truck has the Bose system, it's not as good as the Mustang), and a few other little things. I do wish the truck had blind spot assist, a front camera for some of the trails I've been on, or steep hills when climbing things, and I now totally see the value in those features. However, I understand that a lot of the bells/whistles were given up in favor of more functional features such as front and rear lockers, skid plates, winch capable bumper, heavy duty rear bumper, DSSV shocks, etc.
All that being said - the majority of the 'behind the wheel' time, will NOT be off-road.. so I do want those creature comforts and conveniences in my vehicle to make road trips and work commutes more enjoyable and comfortable for my wife and I (and our dogs). I have started using tools like Gaia GPS for trails in areas where there's no service, so having something like that integrated into the vehicle would be fantastic too.

Cliffs notes: give me all the gadgets.

*edit - also, as a 51 yr old.. I am LOVING the ride of the Bison with the soft, off-road suspension.. I'm glad the Bronco is geared more towards off road capability/comfort than towing capacity.. if people want something to tow a trailer, go buy an F250 ... I'd be happy if they made the suspension even softer on the Bronco and reduced the towing capacity to 1000 lbs!

 

[JimmyDean]

Yeah! How are Blind people supposed to drive?!!

you joke, but this is mainly about keeping your eyes on the road and off all the flashy controls in the center dash.

 

[Brongo]

Not trying to be rude to those that really care about this, just trying to understand why there is such emphasis on vehicle infotainment recently

I frequently hear things like "Brand X is really dropping that ball since they haven't included Apple Car Play", "The screen on model Y is too small", " I really like Ford's Sync Z", etc. I'm one of the younger guys here and my two vehicles are from 1988 and 1994. Why all the focus on infotainment? Do you really a screen to stare at during every stage of your day?

Please enlighten me.

I'm not staring at the screen. I want a voice-controlled, fully connected experience that I can ask for directions or play my Spotify playlists without the need to touch the screen.

 

[Bronc-O]

I'm not staring at the screen. I want a voice-controlled, fully connected experience that I can ask for directions or play my Spotify playlists without the need to touch the screen.

Some apparently don't understand how to fully use technology and refuse to learn.

 

[RedHotFuzz]

Remember 20 years ago when you used to be able to pick half settings between blend combos in the heating/AC?? (say the setting between feet and feet/vents, sent more air to feet than vent, not equal amounts of air). Not sure why this feature died with electronic pushbutton/screen, heating/AC controls.

Just wait until our automotive controls are voice-only.

Me: "Hey Siri, turn up the heat."

Siri: "OK. Now playing Heat of the Summer by Young the Giant."

Me: "Eff!"

 

[Lilj4425]

Because I wanna feel like Elon Musk.

 

[WadeWolf76]

It just seems odd that a new vehicle in 2021 wouldn't have both fruit and robot compatibility.

 

[Nellman]

Find me a rotary phone that still doesn't work, LOL!! And they will still work, 20 years after these new broncos bricked themselves (someday).

You would have to first find a working landline. A lot of landlines are digital now and your rotary phone would not work unless you find an actual landline. Hell same goes for fax machines not adapted for the digital landlines.

 

[OX1]

You would have to first find a working landline. A lot of landlines are digital now and your rotary phone would not work unless you find an actual landline. Hell same goes for fax machines not adapted for the digital landlines.

NJ still has copper land lines through Verizon, but AT & T will disconnect all their copper lines in May this year. But I was talking about the actual phones, which I don't think in 25ish odd years of using them growing up, I ever saw one fail.

Comparing that to this new car tech stuff, which can (and sometimes does), all by itself, literally "total" your rig to the point of having the manufacturer buy it back, to phones that ALL worked for 50 odd years, was a really bad example on your part.

 

[BroncoAZ]

My 2021 Silverado 1500 ecodiesel has wireless Apple CarPlay, it’s the shit. I like that Waze comes up automatically to help me find the cops, Spotify automatically connects and starts playing, etc. My wife’s Tacoma has plug in Apple CarPlay, I’m just not a fan of having to plug in my phone every time I get in the truck.

My Bronco order is for a Badlands with high package. I had to get all the tech to get heated seats with a manual, then figured the extra $1300 for the high over mid would be worth it. I liked the 360 camera and front parking sensors in my Raptor.

 

[GoesOverAnyTerrain]

CarPlay and Android Auto has been the best thing that happened to infotainment. Removes the terrible vehicle manufactures UI that we all had to suffer through for way too long. Also, I'm glad the Bronco takes the ability to the max with wireless support.

 

[Nellman]

NJ still has copper land lines through Verizon, but AT & T will disconnect all their copper lines in May this year. But I was talking about the actual phones, which I don't think in 25ish odd years of using them growing up, I ever saw one fail.

Comparing that to this new car tech stuff, which can (and sometimes does), all by itself, literally "total" your rig to the point of having the manufacturer buy it back, to phones that ALL worked for 50 odd years, was a really bad example on your part.

I was just using it as an example of technology that has died. Not weather or not it still would technically work. You can still drill holes in wood with a manual hand crank drill but it is old technology hardly used by anyone. Does it still work yes. Landline is actually a great example of this because in 10 years you will probably have to be outside of the US to even try to use one. I also said DVDs and those will probably work for a much longer time then a rotary phone would have worked. DVDs can be stored for decades and still be used, so long as you have the device to use them. They are however a dead technology. The Bronco is also starting the end to another dead item, the printed vehicle manual. Or just about anything printed.

Everything breaks, the better care of it that you take the longer it should last. I would be interested to see if technology actual has caused more warranty issues or if they are just reported more because it affects the item more. If you bought a new car without the spare fuses in the cover would you start a warranty claim? Probably not it is easy to fix yourself. Technology wise most people are scared to touch it so it is an automatic take it to someone to fix. If more people had adopted it when it started to come out this wouldn't be the case.

Look at fuel injection when it first came out. How many people said this will end the ability to work on cars, or they won't last as long now.

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