P & M session

[zeno]

OK its time to piss & moan..........
Got an '18 Silverado a month ago. Today while doing errands the
touch screen gave me a message. WARNING !
I tried to read it but couldnt so I fumbled around for reading glasses
& tried again while weaving around at 65 MPH on an uncontrolled
road. I still cant quite read it so I pulled into an ice cream joint.
Message was ( dont remember exact wording ).

WARNING !
Reading & using the touch screen while driving is dangerous !............

WTF ????, Anyone else see the pure stupidity in this ?

BTW I had to call the dealer just to play a CD & still havnt figured out
how to get into AM radio without doing it by accident in 5 mn of poking.
I bet if they sold cars without this CRAP many would pay extra NOT to
have it. At least I would have spent another kilobuck to have normal controls.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

[madlabs]

Priceless!

An 84 year old friend of mine asked me to come and pick up a new car he had bought. It took us 15 minutes in the parking lot of the dealer to make the damn SHUT UP! It was insisting on giving us a "tour". Awful. And as you said, using the radio involves a lot of screen pressing and cussing. I'd pay extra to get rid of that crap for sure.

[Electronic M]

These are the stories that make me glad my vehicles are 16 and 40 years old.... with some of the crap I've heard about driver assist it makes me think that if I ever get a new car I'm going to have some fuse pulling to do to make it acceptable... Maybe I should add aftermarket stereo to the list.

About 2 years ago at the place I worked then I was at a training course and the youngest guy in the room and the person speaking goes you all have smartphones right show of hands...(I'm the only one without one) you all have seen how cars integrate with smartphones and have computers built in to the dash... nope newest car I'd ridden in was a 2011 Honda... y'all R talking about sci-fi majicks.

[mr_rye89]

Infotainment systems is one of the many reasons I hate new cars. Not to mention chop-top windows, massive a, b and c pillars for """"""""safety"""""""", generally terrible styling (subjective), enormous rims and low pro tires on EVERYTHING, Pickup trucks that you have to lift the cab off the frame to change the spark plugs (I'm looking at you Ford), lasers for headlights, drive by wire...........

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by mr_rye89

lasers for headlights,.....

OMG don't get me started on that... there's nothing worse than flashing a passing car that you think has very bright high beams on only to find out that those were the LOW beams by getting flashed back with total blindness inducing High beams....those damn over bright head lamps should be illeagal.... it has gotten so bad that part of me feels like getting a .22 and aiming for the light.

[maxhifi]

Originally Posted by Electronic M

OMG don't get me started on that... there's nothing worse than flashing a passing car that you think has very bright high beams on only to find out that those were the LOW beams by getting flashed back with total blindness inducing High beams....those damn over bright head lamps should be illeagal.... it has gotten so bad that part of me feels like getting a .22 and aiming for the light.

I see I'm not the only one bothered by this. It's almost ruined night driving for me. Only solution is if you can't beat them, join them... Big tall SUV with auto dimming mirrors. I can't speak for you but for me that's not ever happening, so P&M is where it's at.

[mr_rye89]

Yeah night time driving is awful because the headlights, I dd a miata so I'm low to the ground, but even in my big 4x4 Dodge truck I still find the headlights annoying.

that's one of the things I miss about my prizm is it had (illegal) window tint all around.

I might grab me some of those Hunter S. Thompson night time driving shades next time I'm at Wally world, before I do limo tint in all my cars

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by maxhifi

I see I'm not the only one bothered by this. It's almost ruined night driving for me. Only solution is if you can't beat them, join them... Big tall SUV with auto dimming mirrors. I can't speak for you but for me that's not ever happening, so P&M is where it's at.

My winter car/fuel saver/ Tv getter is a 02 suburban with auto dimming mirror, and I still occasionally get bothered by drivers behind me (thought about installing a rear firing spot lamp for that)... at least you can ignore your mirrors and or haull ass away from folks behind you.... but oncoming traffic especially on the winding roads here is harder to deal with unless you like stairing out the passenger window and steering by feeling for the gravel shoulder or the front of the car blinding you...

[old_tv_nut]

The entertainment/nav on my 2013 Mustang is nicely intutive; don't know what the current ones are like; but I've had some rental cars (other makes) that drove me crazy just trying to tune the radio.

[MadMan]

I mean... you could just learn how to operate the radio.

[zeno]

In front of me is a Yeasu FT1000D transeiver.
https://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/hamhf/0275.html
It has 56 buttons & 22 knobs. There are more on the back, mic, SPKR,
& through a door on top I didnt count.
It is easy to learn run. A car radio should be too. Why not a AM-FM-CD
switch ?

Originally Posted by MadMan

I mean... you could just learn how to operate the radio.

[Jon A.]

I saw a video fairly recently on the pitfalls of new cars, the "infotainment" system being one of them. One may as well be learning a whole new operating system when dealing with those things, I don't think anything about them is standardized.

I recall riding in someone's late-model piece of crap and wondering "where's the bloody ignition key?" The owner uses a USB stick with the stereo and brags about how many songs it can hold. Mom seemed impressed by it but I was thinking something like "Yeah, so?"

I just modded an AM-FM-8 track car stereo for use as my computer's sound system, sounds pretty good too. I didn't want to permanently modify the stereo's case so I gutted and cut down a bad VHF tuner; I thought it ideal as it already had RCA jacks and the hole in the back fit perfectly over the volume control shaft. A micro-mini DPDT switch fit nicely between the stereo's case and the attachment. As for power I just tapped the 12V rail in my computer.

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Jon A.

I saw a video fairly recently on the pitfalls of new cars, the "infotainment" system being one of them. One may as well be learning a whole new operating system when dealing with those things, I don't think anything about them is standardized.

I recall riding in someone's late-model piece of crap and wondering "where's the bloody ignition key?" The owner uses a USB stick with the stereo and brags about how many songs it can hold. Mom seemed impressed by it but I was thinking something like "Yeah, so?"

I just modded an AM-FM-8 track car stereo for use as my computer's sound system, sounds pretty good too. I didn't want to permanently modify the stereo's case so I gutted and cut down a bad VHF tuner; I thought it ideal as it already had RCA jacks and the hole in the back fit perfectly over the volume control shaft. A micro-mini DPDT switch fit nicely between the stereo's case and the attachment. As for power I just tapped the 12V rail in my computer.

I'm really spoiled with the keyless entry and the keyless ignition. My old Prius and the newer one has it.
All you have to do is keep the fob in your pocket, touch the driver's door handle and it unlocks. Push button on dash, put it in drive or reverse and go. The engine starts itself. The engine shuts down when waiting for one of the painfully long traffic lights.

[zeno]

I agree with night driving. I wont anymore unless I HAVE to. Bring back
the round sealed beams ! No $500 plastic lens to fog up & I could
see at nite ! Require 4 per car & you will always know if you are getting
hi-beamed.

Radio stuck on ? Happend to me. I sold a wood lot & bought my Squaw
a 16 Caravan. Drove me nuts. Silverado the same. Just F'n turn off PLS !

I got a few more bitches I may start a thread on. Dont take this as a slam
to GM, its across the board. I looked at the big 3 trucks & there arnt many
differences. Good points & bad for all.

73 Zeno
LFOD !

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by dieseljeep

I'm really spoiled with the keyless entry and the keyless ignition. My old Prius and the newer one has it.
All you have to do is keep the fob in your pocket, touch the driver's door handle and it unlocks. Push button on dash, put it in drive or reverse and go. The engine starts itself. The engine shuts down when waiting for one of the painfully long traffic lights.

I assume the engine shutdown feature is exclusive to hybrids. I like things mechanically, electronically and even aesthetically simple so stuff like that doesn't appeal to me, and may even make me feel rather uneasy. I'm the type who would not only insist on a manual transmission, I would probably back it with a four-speed auxiliary given the opportunity. I reckon double low gear would make traffic jams a lot easier to handle.

The only newer technology I've been spoiled by is DVD players and LCD monitors. When I got a laptop in '05 and saw how clear the display was compared to my 17" ViewSonic CRT I was like, whoa. I was reluctant to give up my first-gen Mac G3 but it barely ran and Win XP grew on me anyway. I still used CRTs on desktops for some time after that but gradually gave that up.