Australian Atheists Forum

stylofone wrote: ↑Fri Dec 13, 2024 2:18 pmThe desire for larger vehicles, SUVs, big utes etc., is part of the heritage of the auto industry and its environment-killing marketing practices, and it caries over to EVs. The Hyundai Inster is the only one he details here which sticks out as breaking that pattern.

Good news everyone, a Suzuki Jimny sized EV 4WD! Ok it looks interesting, but I am a bit sus over the level of computer control and hand holding, where are the simple 4WD with minimal and only essential electronic control.

stevebrooks wrote: ↑Mon Dec 23, 2024 11:09 pm I am a bit sus over the level of computer control and hand holding, where are the simple 4WD with minimal and only essential electronic control

My Corolla has so-called lane-keeping technology. It hardly does anything, it's only active when cruise control is on, and even then you can turn off the lane guidance and just use the other cruise controls.

Presumably the excessive hand-holding on these gimmicky new cars can be disabled. I've seen reviews of other cars about excessive beeps and warnings which have to be turned off manually every time you start the car, and the options are buried under multiple layers of menus. So it's still bad.

I also read about Teslas which want you to use the reversing camera so badly that they fold the wing mirrors when the car goes into reverse, effectively disabling them to force you to look at the video screen. It's like authoritarianism in car design.

They are not gimmicks. They do save lives. Some may be poorly implemented to the point that drivers turn them off rendering them useless. I for one keep mine on when driving long highway stretches.

Some may be poorly implemented to the point that drivers turn them off rendering them useless they are fucking dangerous.

Fixt.

It's the well implemented ones that are merely irritating and likely to be left operating.

Even when disabling is possible it is usually buried at the bottom of eleventy unintuitive menus and called something evocative like "coffee reindeer driveline". We only spend the hours if it's really bad. Depressingly often.

Had a newish vehicle recently that only dinged 3 times in 4 days.

We were stunned.

nibble wrote: ↑Tue Dec 24, 2024 10:41 am They are not gimmicks. They do save lives. Some may be poorly implemented to the point that drivers turn them off rendering them useless. I for one keep mine on when driving long highway stretches.

When I said "gimmicky new cars" I was thinking about the Chinese models that have karaoke software, or aquarium videos on the screen, or the VW (edit - actually I think it might be the Mini, I forget exactly) that makes the car sound like the millennium falcon. I humbly acknowledge that I shouldn't conflate this with technology which is well-designed and a proven safety enhancement.

stylofone wrote: ↑Tue Dec 24, 2024 4:52 pm

nibble wrote: ↑Tue Dec 24, 2024 10:41 am They are not gimmicks. They do save lives. Some may be poorly implemented to the point that drivers turn them off rendering them useless. I for one keep mine on when driving long highway stretches.

When I said "gimmicky new cars" I was thinking about the Chinese models that have karaoke software, or aquarium videos on the screen, or the VW (edit - actually I think it might be the Mini, I forget exactly) that makes the car sound like the millennium falcon. I humbly acknowledge that I shouldn't conflate this with technology which is well-designed and a proven safety enhancement.

Same here, complaints about safety equipment and warnings fit into the "seat belt hysteria" category, in a few years it will be, why didn't we do this sooner? There are useful safety features in cars new cars, everything else should be optional, but when you see these new chinese cars with the big screens most of the real estate is taken up by icons for netflix, youtube, various chinese social media sites and etc.

Arguably Not much use for lane changing software in the town where I live, no lanes and no center lines for the most part, but I can imagine a reduction in the number of deaths and accidents on the open road, truck drivers falling asleep, cars drifting across the center lane, some nice big warnings needed there. Get rid of anything that's not a safety feature, make people pay extra for anything else.

In other news IM motors, a subsidiary of MG I believe, is currently testing and claims they will be shipping cars with 130kwh semi-solid state battery packs in 2025 with a range of 1,000km's, and yes only semi-solid state, full solid state will be better yet.

https://newatlas.com/automotive/im-ls-l ... lid-state/

stevebrooks wrote: ↑Tue Dec 24, 2024 11:48 pm
Same here, complaints about safety equipment and warnings fit into the "seat belt hysteria" category, in a few years it will be, why didn't we do this sooner? There are useful safety features in cars new cars, everything else should be optional, but when you see these new chinese cars with the big screens most of the real estate is taken up by icons for netflix, youtube, various chinese social media sites and etc.

Arguably Not much use for lane changing software in the town where I live, no lanes and no center lines for the most part, but I can imagine a reduction in the number of deaths and accidents on the open road, truck drivers falling asleep, cars drifting across the center lane, some nice big warnings needed there. Get rid of anything that's not a safety feature, make people pay extra for anything else.

In other news IM motors, a subsidiary of MG I believe, is currently testing and claims they will be shipping cars with 130kwh semi-solid state battery packs in 2025 with a range of 1,000km's, and yes only semi-solid state, full solid state will be better yet.

My current car is the first one I've owned with automatic transmission. Before that I liked the feeling of changing gears. I'm now reminiscing about driving 3, 4 and 5 speed column-shift vehicles. I still have the muscle memory, decades later. But those cars/trucks are antiques now.

I switched to an auto because I wanted a hybrid, and EVs are adding more layers of technology. It will culminate in self-driving, which has the potential to reduce the number of people developing the skill of driving any car, let alone a manual. This in itself is not so bad. The thing that bothers me is the surrender of control to online data collection machines. Through the smartphone and other connected devices we've yielded our communications to mass surveillance and control. Transport is next, it's why Musk is so keen on his self-driving dream. You can hop into an autonomous car and tell it where you want to go, but will it take you there, and by what route? What else will the car and its designers build into the vehicle for their own benefit?

I love the technological promise of things like solid state batteries, but the future of cars looks to me like it will be more nightmare than dream. A continuing nightmare, given the destructive history of the car industry and its climate-killing legacy. The best car is no car, and it will be even more the case as big auto goes the same way as big tech.

stylofone wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2024 7:28 amI love the technological promise of things like solid state batteries, but the future of cars looks to me like it will be more nightmare than dream. A continuing nightmare, given the destructive history of the car industry and its climate-killing legacy. The best car is no car, and it will be even more the case as big auto goes the same way as big tech.

Yeah, the continued increase in surveillance software in cars is there to benefit the big companies and no-one else, one of the reasons I am a sort of fan of converting old cars to battery, you get the benefit of the new technology, the price savings etc, without the intrusion into your life of the surveillance software, but unfortunately it costs big money to do conversions.

A world without cars you say? Sounds idyllic, I can imagine it working well in walking cities and towns, there are plenty of people who haven't traveled far from their home for years, good public transport, electric scooters and bikes for rent on every corner, politicians backing the idea to the hilt....oh wait lol, this is Australia, we're still walking around with onions strapped to our belts because that was the style in the old days!

In other news, manufacturing commences on Oxford University record breaking solar panels!

More cars coming out with higher driving range claims, the Zeekr 007 claims to have 800km range. It's always been my thinking that 800km is the key target for Australian EV's, why do I say that? Well it's not because it's needed, it's a perception thing, I could easily drive an EV with under 600km range from Perth to where I live, a couple of stops on the way to charge at the available charging stations, and extra hour or two on the trip, not a big problem, I usually take two days anyway, but 800km's puts EV's in the same sort of driving range as your average ICE car, and there is a perception in Australia by a lot of people that anything less than what your average ICE car gets isn't enough. It's a feeling only of course, but I think once average driving range of EV's become 800km plus, a lot of people who are at the moment hesitant in buying EV's would purchase one.

Anyway, the Zeekr;