New technology in a new car does not prevent old technology in an old car from functioning. The quest for “new and improved” is mostly folly.
I am really glad that whatever OnStar technology that might be built into my 2004 Chevrolet Venture minivan can’t talk to anything anymore. I am also glad that whatever 2G chatter that my wife’s 2018 Toyota Avalon my attempt will go nowhere.
This stuff will age quickly and will look very tacky to the people who want their cars to look elegant and tasteful.
Pink bathrooms, shag carpeting, black toilets.
I have a 2004 Tundra. 300,000 miles. Older is better.
Appliances too.
Stop the built in obsolescence crap.
The real problem is that when the chips for these electronics goes, its very expensive to diagnose and repair.
I got near 30 years from my last car. My 30 year old Honda, now, still drives like a champ. I don’t imagine anything new ages like the old Japanese or Korean cars.
While I don’t agree with the article, it is interesting. Basically he’s saying dashboard will become the new fins. Car fins changed so much year to year it made it easy to figure out what year a car was from. And depending on one’s view of product aging could make 3 year old models seem “bad” (”wide fins, oh that’s so 1954!”).
Luckily I’ve never been much of a “keeping up” person. Anybody that gets in my car and looks at my console and thinks the car is too old for them is free to walk.
I appreciate modern safety features, but also like physical knobs, switches, and controls. The new supercar interiors in the article do absolutely nothing for me - the aesthetic is unappealing and it does not look comfortable.
My two Dodge Trucks (1997 and 2001) still run perfectly. Even the AC on the 1997 runs well and has never been charged!
Unfortunately the plastic dash board, Grill and glove box have shattered into dozens of pieces and are held together with epoxy glue.
can you imagine 40+ years from now anybody tricking out a Prius?
Find something OBDI or earlier, with historically above-average reliability, with a rust-free body & chassis, have it resto-modded, keep it well-maintained, then plan on having it restored again as needed in perpetuity.
Build a good, reliable, basic, economical, comfortable car without a bunch of crap on it. A 2006 Buick Lucerne is further than they need to go for me. I never used Onstar or anything like it. I don’t need navigation or an infotainment center or a manual for the bells and whistles thicker than the one that used to tell you how to change the oil and filters and a flat tire. I don’t need all functions to operate the lights, horn, locks, windows, steering, anti-lock brakes and such to route through a central computer and I don’t need digital control of anything; just a switch and wires will do. I also don’t need a battery or relays for anything.
If my wife’s Buick were in production today at an inflation adjusted price I would buy one Monday. As it is we will keep what we have for as long as I can stand it.
So last year, I put in a new head unit, with a backup camera, CarPlay, etc. now I have Bluetooth for phone and streaming, voice texting, navigation etc. and the car should be good to go for another 20 years. The new unit uses the car's old Bose amplifiers and I can use the original steering wheel controls as well.
Cost about $2000 Canadian, looks like it was original equipment and works great. A good investment as far as I'm concerned.
OMG! Our 1997 Silverado’s electronics are outdated? What will we do?
I love that old truck simply because it’s so simple, so easy to use and very comfortable.
New more efficient electronics simply means the methods to track peoples whereabouts, what they are doing, what they are saying, who they are seeing, etc will be greatly improved.
Newer is not always better.
Special headlight bulb on my Durango... $150.00. For ONE!
How about just having starting, spark plugs, lighting, and radio be electric and that’s it?
I don’t give a rat’s behind about the console technology. Long as the engine goes vroom and the AC works I’m good with it.