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Why Your New Car's Technology Is Four Years Old

Posted by samzenpus on from the playing-catch-up dept.

Lucas123 writes "While you can buy a 1TB hard drive for your computer for less than $100, Ford today offers 10GB. Don't expect much more anytime soon. Apart from the obvious — a car's development process can be four years long — the automotive industry also tends to be behind the tech curve because of a lack of equipment standardization. And, while it's possible for the industry to build modular infotainment systems that could be upgraded over the life of the car, there are no plans to do so. Instead, car companies intend to offer software upgradable vehicles through 4G connectivity and data storage and entertainment streaming through the cloud, which means they have to worry less about onboard hardware reliability and standardization."

21 of 455 comments (clear)

  1. Not to mention... by Scoth · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They'd probably rather sell you a new car with fancy new technology than let you upgrade your existing technology.

    1. Re:Not to mention... by poetmatt · · Score: 3, Insightful

      hey it's not all bad. the security exploits come free of charge! You also have no guarantee they'll be patched, ever! enjoy!

    2. Re:Not to mention... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Sell us a new car rather than a 64GB card to allow for more storage? I'm shocked, I tell you. Shocked!

      With so many cars being leased, then returned in two or three years, most people wouldn't bother replacing or upgrading anything in the car. How they can't develop a car with "hooks" for a new (eg, less than 6 months old) piece of technology is beyond me. These are top shelf engineers and I bet they could work wonders without the corporate red tape.

      TFA mentions at least one challenge. Kit in automobiles have to be built for extreme conditions (temperature range, vibrations, chemicals, dust, etc). I can see consumers grabbing a cheap pc-grade harddrive and putting it into the vehicle then complaining when it gets fried. The car manufacturer would probably be blamed, much as Microsoft gets blamed anytime a program crashes on Windows.

    3. Re:Not to mention... by cjjjer · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And this is different than say cell phone providers or cell phone software vendors? Google, RIM and MS would rather you buy a new device with the latest software than have to support some older version of the software I am sure.

    4. Re:Not to mention... by gmarsh · · Score: 3, Insightful

      TFA mentions at least one challenge. Kit in automobiles have to be built for extreme conditions (temperature range, vibrations, chemicals, dust, etc).

      Hyperbole. The engine management and other systems vital to operation of the car have to meet such specifications, but infotainment systems can be mounted in the passenger compartment side of the firewall and so don't need to withstand such environmental conditions.

      Take a consumer hard drive, put it in a deep freeze and let it chill to -20C. Now take it out and plug it in your PC.

      Is it gonna work? No? Well I guess the same hard drive won't work in a car that's been parked overnight in the winter.

      And that's just the first test your hardware has to pass before it can be installed in a car. Next up, vibration testing...

    5. Re:Not to mention... by jbolden · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Laptops are not left out in the cold to experience -20 temperatures for weeks at a time.
      Laptops are not left out in the sun to experience 130 temperatures for weeks at a time.
      Laptops don't experience the degree of shaking a car component does.
      Laptops don't have a 6-10 year life expectancy.

    6. Re:Not to mention... by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 3, Insightful

      No, it is improper planning in the design phase of the car. If Engineers were required to have upgradable components and build a design around modular secondary systems, they could solve these problems quickly. However, modular designs using industry standards is an anathema to dealerships who want and need proprietary components that only they can fix, and charge $150 hour for, while paying their workers $20/hr.

      Tesla is right, why do we need expensive dealerships to sell cars? Why do we even allow protectionist laws on the books? I'm sure they had a great reason to require dealerships 80 years ago. All laws need sunset clauses. And new laws should require compelling evidence that the laws are doing what their purposes were.

      --
      Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
    7. Re:Not to mention... by iamgnat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Case in point, Audi's MMI is over 3K to upgrade from an already fancy screen to manage car and entertainment.

      Indeed, but if you want a real shock go look at what it will cost to replace it if you have to do so out of pocket. And since the systems are so integrated anymore you are almost forced to do so as you've lost a lot more than just your radio/maps (and if they pass the laws that they are talking about to require reverse sensors then you'll have to by law or fail your inspections (in states that have them) since it would then be "safety" equipment).

    8. Re:Not to mention... by Medievalist · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Take a consumer hard drive, put it in a deep freeze and let it chill to -20C. Now take it out and plug it in your PC.

      Is it gonna work?

      Yes.

    9. Re:Not to mention... by jbolden · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yes they are. The local warehouses are unheated and they stack laptops in them all winter, for weeks at a time.

      That isn't the worst thing It is using the laptop starting from that cold that matters. Though frankly even exposing the laptop to those changes is very bad.

    10. Re:Not to mention... by iamgnat · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The problem is that most MFGs are moving to systems where there is no traditional headunit to replace. Go look at the Volvos that seem to have started the trend that others are following. There is no custom kit because there is nothing to actually replace. Even for the cars that still have identifiable and removable headunits, other car functions are so integrated that you either can't replace it at all or you drop a lot of functionality in the process (go look at any hybrid for extreme examples). In my latest car (in which I despise the interface and functionality of the headunit) I would lose my park assist function (not a bad thing in my opinion), my trip meters (really important), fuel economy information (it lies, but since I know by how much it's still valuable), key based preferences (e.g. seat memory, etc..), steering wheel controls, and a 1/4 of my dash would go dark (which also means I'd drop a whole other list of functions). Sadly this is the path the MFGs are taking and it's going to continue to get worse.

      So instead the aftermarket market is moving towards tapping into the outputs to clean up the signal and route it off to better amplifiers and (where possible) tap into the inputs (usually bypassing the headunit altogether) to add additional functionality (HD radio, iPod, BT, etc..). Unfortunately those aren't really integrated (from the control aspect) so aren't appealing to those that want it all in one place.

  2. Keep the tech out of the car by ModernGeek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    There is no reason to have all of this junk in a new car. The only thing one needs is a USB charging port and an aux in for the smartphone to play audio through the cars audio system. Anything else the car does will be done poorly and until more standardization ensues, shouldn't be done. Where there is standardization, there is prosperity (USB, 3.5mm audio, Bluetooth, 12V power plugs)

    --
    Sig: I stole this sig.
  3. the gizmos = huge pr0fit$ by alen · · Score: 2, Insightful

    first it was car DVD players with LCD screens
    then navigation
    now infotainment systems

    these are normally $2000 upgrades on top of the most expensive models. these are huge profit upsell for what are essentially fairly cheap and old tech. MP3 players were around 15 years ago. it doesn't take a lot of CPU power to play an MP3 and fast forward the songs

  4. A $15 dollar SD car gives me more. by Picass0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Honestly, if they can't keep up they shouldn't even pretend. I'm sick of cars that have overworked electronics that are just waiting to fail. I don't want my car to be a computer.

    I'd like to see a car maker have the courage to go in the opposite direction - simpler engineering that's easier and more affordable to maintain over the life of a vehicle.

    Back in the 50's and 60's it was much easier for a kid to pop the hood and learn to tear down and rebuild an engine. Now it requires specialized tools. You don't see as many self taught gearheads.

    1. Re:A $15 dollar SD car gives me more. by alen · · Score: 2, Insightful

      that's because cars broke down a lot and doing the work yourself saved a lot of money

      modern cars will go a hundred thousand miles before a $350 service to replace some worn out parts. and even more before real components start to fail. no reason to learn to fix a car anymore except for the very basics. waste of time.

      as far as GUI, my Honda CR-V has a nice GUI to show me the speed, mileage, and other data. Google and some of the other data fiends are going into the wrong direction with apps that try to bombard you with useless data

    2. Re:A $15 dollar SD car gives me more. by H3lldr0p · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The problem here is that you will loose a lot of the things which make the engines smaller (better managing of head-gasket displacement, so smaller bore and stroke to get the same amount of power), more efficient (direct fuel injection and stroke cycles), less polluting (no need for a leaded fuel to get burn and temperatures necessary for combustion not to mention the catalytic converters), quieter (see the previous reasons), and generally more pleasant to be around as I am not choking on the smog created by the engine when it is started up.

      I, for one, like to have all of those things in my car and any future cars I wish to purchase. Of course those things will require special tools. Working on engines have always required special tools.

      There is a certain amount of missing the forest for the trees in your statement, I feel.

  5. Am I the only one? by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Am I the only one that doesn't want a car that needs software updates?

    --

    "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
  6. Standard DIN anyone? by bertomatic · · Score: 4, Insightful

    International standard ISO 7736. Cars have had "modular infotainment systems" for as long as I can remember. My old Z car had an am radio, that later upgraded to FM cassette, then added a 6-disc CD changer, then when the changer finally died, yanked it all, installed a flip out 7" LCD w/bluetooth, NAVi, Pandora, etc. Every car I ever owned eventually got some kind of upgrade to the "infotainment system." What I see happening is bluetooth taking the show, and your phone does everything else, the car would only have an amp, speakers, touchscreen, and bluetooth, that is all, it doesn't NEED a hd, no 4G, no disks, no computer, nothing. Want an upgrade? Get a new phone, or may only need an app for that.

  7. Re:Makes no sense by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Laptops don't have thousands of lawyers constantly watching them and salivating over the possibility of a class-action lawsuit.

    (they only have hundreds...)

    If I was the boss of a car manufacturing company, I'd be cautious about everything. Nerdy customers moaning over the size of the onboard storage would be a distant second.

    --
    No sig today...
  8. Re:Reliability needs by dpilot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There has been enough time for it to have a known reliability - time enough to measure it.

    It may well be that new tech is more reliable - but there hasn't been time to measure that. By the time there is, today's new tech will be tomorrow's old tech.

    Accelerated life testing is all well and good, but sometimes there are new mechanisms that aren't kicked out by the old testing. Nothing beats time in grade like time in grade. Twas ever thus when life and liability is on the line.

    --
    The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
  9. Re:Reliability needs by beelsebob · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Often confusing equipment they bought 20 years ago that cost thousands of dollars and comparing them against their modern counterpart that cost a few hundred bucks.

    Interesting, I always assumed that it had an element of confirmation bias to it. "I have a hard disk from 20 years ago that still works" gets conflated with "hard disks from 20 years ago last 20 years", as they ignore all the disks that had failed.