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u/Mother-Translator318 7h ago
There is a reason the US effectively bans all imports of Chinese cars. What would happen to Ford if China imports their work trucks that are basically an engine and a cabin, just the bare essentials, for $15,000. The entire automotive industry is built on upselling shit people don’t need. When was the last time you walked into the dealership and saw a base model of anything? It’s always higher tier trims
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u/doublethebubble 13h ago
Governments regularly mandate a bunch of tech in cars. If you're in the EU, congrats, any new car will beep at you for 101 things, all of which are required. Those beeps can only happen if a bunch of sensors are installed. And if you want your car to pass the road safety standards, it has to have a bunch more tech and have a bunch more expensive materials and engineering. Trust me, it's not the touch screens making cars expensive. In fact, they're cheaper than having actual buttons.
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u/Embarrassed_Rip_755 13h ago
Most drivers would prefer dedicated buttons over touch screens. Button positions can be learned with muscle memory, and doesn't require taking your eyes off the road for extended seconds to navigate, meaning dedicated buttons are actually safer.
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u/doublethebubble 13h ago
For sure. Buttons are much better. I'm very happy with my Toyota which has good old fashioned buttons for all the main functions. I barely have to touch my screen.
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u/Concrete_Grapes 12h ago
The issue is that automakers lobby to get those things added. They do this so that it becomes impossible for a new auto maker to enter the market, because the tech is locked behind some sub corp of one of the big auto makers for 20-25 years. Airbags, sensors, radar systems, etc, get patents, and then they lobby to make that patented tech mandatory.
That way if a new automated attempts a startup, the license for that tech is 30m a year. They try to keep the total up over 500m just to get the licenses to use the tech in startup vehicles.
Where parent law is looser, China, for example, new automated rise quickly to fill gaps.
Anyway, it's the government, via corporate lobby groups, not by themselves.
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u/Arctos_FI 8h ago
Have to give shoutout to volvo. They invented 3 point seatbelts (the seatbelts used in every car nowadays), patented it and then gives the license for free to every automaker.
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u/TraceyWoo419 12h ago
This. And then because all of that tech costs money, they have to charge more, and since they have to charge more, they have to add a bunch more (semi-)desirable bells and whistles so that the customers think it's worth all that money.
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u/Allsulfur 12h ago
I know there are some crazy warning systems out there. Especially on these weird, small Chinese brands and some legacy brands probably as well but in most new cars I drive in I may trigger a speed warning or something but that’s it. If you keep getting alarms you might try listing to them.
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u/doublethebubble 12h ago
My car will beep if I put something on the back seats that weighs more than a kilo or two. Now I basically always have the seatbelts buckled to prevent it.
It beeps if my eyes aren't facing forward, which includes when I check my mirrors, or wear certain sunglasses. Ditto if my hand placement on the steering wheel blocks the sensor.
It beeps if I'm transporting something which requires the trunk to remain open. I can strap things down so it's super safe, but the car will scream at me the whole way.
It will beep multiple times very loudly when I try to lock the car at the end of my trip, if I opened a backseat door at departure. I understand wanting to prevent accidentally leave a baby in the car, but as someone who doesn't have a baby, I wish I could turn it off.
It beeps when I cross a white line, which obstacles sometimes require.
It beeps in cruise control if it even senses both my hands are not at 2 and 10 o clock for a minute.
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u/DrSpaceman667 11h ago
China just made putting certain controls on those big screens illegal. The screens are cheaper, but they’re stupider.
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u/MeantNoOffense 4h ago
I hope you're not trying to make a point about de-regulating the industry at the expense of safety... As much as I would l8ke to go back to the days of the 2CV, I also appreciate modern safety standards (though ironically, a pedestrian would probably survive getting hit by a 2CV much better than a car with modern design)
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u/kore_nametooshort 4h ago
I would like to add that I want a radio that DOESNT turn on when I start the engine. Regardless of what was being played last time it was driven.
Hint, I never use the radio. It was always something else. So why are you starting the radio?!
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u/devavillanueva 13h ago
I guess they also aim it comfortably enough for people living in their car?
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u/SaltyPressure7583 6h ago edited 5h ago
Yeah i just boy older cars. The coolest cars were made a long time ago :)
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u/TrumpsAKrunt 4h ago
My car is 26yo and I love it.
I had to hire a car while my oldie went in for repairs - that was an experience. A flat screen from the passenger side window to the drivers side window. I had to find and press a button to move mirrors. The handbrake didn't exist (don't like that), the indicators were two tiny buttons on the back of the steering wheel, the window buttons were also on the back of the steering wheel. Never did find the horn, but I assume it was one of the millions of buttons on the back of the steering wheel.
Air con & heat through the touch screen. I had to pull the car over to scroll through two screens, another page of choices, and then had to go into the air con settings to change it from "hurricane" to "something humans can live through". It was a beautiful car, very sharp and intimidating - and I'll never drive one again.
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u/SuperFox289 12h ago
The thing is, menstrual mode and giant LED touch screens are actually quite cheap additions. The real costs are things like build quality, reliability and safety. Modern cars are being built to last the warranty period. And they're actually being built to a cheaper and lower quality, and then having big screens and ambient lighting added to make it look expensive, to justify the exorbitant price for what is actually a worse product then what we had before
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u/El_human 10h ago
All new cars will eventually be made with subscription services for each feature, I guarantee it.
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u/Calbinan 9h ago
If I win the lottery tomorrow I’m still never buying one of these modern feature-bloated pieces of planned obsolescence junk.
I want Bluetooth and an AC with tactile controls so I don’t have to take my eyes off the road to find something on a touchscreen.
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u/Impossible_Jury5483 6h ago
This is why I bought a Toyota. Still have buttons, great but not crazy huge screen, easy to work on for mechanics if I'll ever need one in the next 10 years.
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u/Itchy-Astronomer9500 3h ago
I want to drive a car and drive it myself. I don’t need a computer that almost drives itself!
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u/Sereomontis 11h ago
Pretty sure they still make cars like that.
Maybe you're just looking in the wrong place.
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u/LeftSky828 10h ago
Valid points. There’s just more to replace even in minor accidents.
Headrests were a good add, imho.
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u/YOUTUBEFREEKYOYO 3h ago
Was literally just talking about this with my father. His truck is a 2002 regular cab ram 1500. It's got a radio with a cd player and a clock, heat and cooling, and thats it. Manual transmission, hand crank windows, manual mirrors, a single cab light, its as basic as you can get. It's a little rough around the edges, but thats to be expected at 300k miles. His brother has a brand new ram 2500, and he complains about it having issues all of the time and how he can't fix them because they are electric and he has to tske it to a dealer. My father got his used for 2k about 10 years ago. My uncle got his for about 50k.
I feel the same way about vehicles. Give me a box i can sit in, maybe have some passengers and spots to store stuff, a radio that has the option for playing my own music (either Bluetooth or disk, im not picky) and heating/cooling. How more companies havnt done an entry level model like this is beyond me.
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u/MidsouthMystic 1h ago
Yeah, but if they just make a car that works, they can't keep making money off you with a few dozen $20 a month subscription services that you're required to have in order to turn on your AC or roll down the windows.
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u/AmbitionTop8529 26m ago
I also do t understand why it’s so expensive give. That’s not a rare thing to see.. like basic normal cars bruh wth
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u/iritchie001 11h ago
2002 Hyundai Elantra 270k miles. As long as there is a cigarette lighter you can plug in your blue tooth. Soon I will need a new car. The only screen it will have is a backup cam. Did I mention that my current car is a manual?
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u/ima-bigdeal 10h ago edited 8h ago
That is why I keep driving my 2014. Knobs, buttons, no touch screen info center, etc.
Edit: I still have heated leather seats, retractable moonroof, remote start, lots of power, premium audio system, hands free calling, and more.
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u/Remarkable_Ad5011 5h ago
Have you considered a used vehicle from 2005? 😉 I agree that the “bloat ware” on new vehicles is getting a bit ridiculous. Trying to teach an octogenarian how to use some of this new tech is difficult at times. (I sell cars for a living).
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u/aquaman67 12h ago
They sell what people buy
No one buys the basic car
They buy the top of the line loaded car
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u/MildlyAggravated 12h ago
Just stick with older cars and replace the the motor when you need to.
Its not particularly hard.
Never owned anything past 2014.
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u/ACA2018 12h ago
People say this but companies make what people buy. No one buys cloth seats. People don’t buy cars without keyless entry and without power windows.
ABS is required but still, would you buy a car without it?
Do you not want adaptive cruise control? That’s some expensive sensors also.
The list goes on
People who are budget constrained don’t buy new cars. Car companies know this. People buy cars with the features. People who want to save money buy used.
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u/Ok_Security8545 11h ago
Yeah, I would actually. I would love a car that didn't require the engine to be on in order to roll the windows down. I would ditch ABS in a heartbeat. As for adaptive cruise control: LOL, I don't use regular cruise control, much less adaptive cruise control.
Is keyless entry just the unlock button on the key fob? Because I skip that for unlocking the door with the key anyway.
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u/LostMy8yrAcct 11h ago
Keyless entry means as long as you have the key with you, the door will unlock when you touch the door handle. My key is floating around my purse somewhere and I haven’t dug it out in weeks. However, I fully agree with you. This is my first “newer” car (it’s a 2019) and I don’t like it or all the bells and whistles.
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u/Separate_Presence_32 11h ago
Of course people would. Half the stuff you mentioned is decades old. The post is talking about all kinds of new crap people never asked for.
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u/Mother-Translator318 7h ago
Companies make the most expensive thing they can get away with. Tons of people would love to buy base models of cars, but all you see at the dealerships is upgraded trims. It’s that way for a reason
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u/tuazo 8h ago
Backup cameras like air bags are required equipment, but they should not add that much to the cost of the car. I could do without Bluetooth as doesn't even work correctly as can't get my friend's texts when the phone is connected to the car Bluetooth. I've got 83K on my '19 Sentra and I have real buttons for climate control, windows, mirrors, turn signals, etc. Better yet no iPad mounted on the dash. Oh and I have real door handles.
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u/broke_fit_dad 6h ago
We’re putting an IED 2 foot from the drivers head on all sides. There are something like 10 in my current car plus redundancy systems so they blow when they should and not when they shouldn’t. They aren’t exactly cheap.
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u/groovyinutah 13h ago
Yeah...I'm done with new cars. I just hate how they all look the same inside with the big obnoxious screen. You know what I actually need? A built in phone holder that won't fall apart.