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Comment by torgian | Hacker News Reader

I honestly don't even see the need for screens in a car. I'm perfectly happy with having physical buttons/dials to control my music and AC. I don't need to know anything else other than what's on the dashboard. (speed, rpm, fuel, etc for those who are wondering)

It just seems like a huge waste of time, effort, and money for something that a smartphone can do, all while introducing a mandatory version of a potentially fatal distraction. And it looks shitty and operates pretty terribly.

Maybe this will make more sense if/when cars become fully automated, but it should have no place in a vehicle today, when your attention should be on the road.

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This so much for me. My truck has all knobs and buttons, it's extremely easy to adjust anything. No screen but a simple one in the middle (the 8 Matrix screens or whatever they're called)

Meanwhile my wife's car has a full infotainment system and I have to stare at it to figure out what buttons to hit next and it drives me nuts.

That said I'm also partial to removing all screens outside of some kind of GPS. People already don't respect driving their 2-3 ton machine at 100+ feet per second, stop giving them even more reasons to not pay attention to the road.

> 2-3 ton machine at 100+ feet per second

Most dump trucks don't have infotainment modules. Some are lucky to even have seats.

Show me a dump truck without seats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LywkIfAA1M

Dump trucks weigh like 20 tons. A "2-3 ton machine" is a typical modern car.

Maybe you don't, but I'm never buying a car without a 360 camera ever again. It's available in even the cheapest cars, and makes anything parking related both easier and safer.

So this might be an exception to the rule, AFAIK. I know in the US, it's required by law that all new cars require some sort of backup camera.

I think this is acceptable if it's kept to a small screen, or integrated into the rear-view mirror. But, I dont think this should give manufacturers an excuse to add an entire, shitty infotainment system.

My opinion of course, but I have to wonder how many accidents are caused by people staring at their integrated screen of potential death.

I'm going to caution drawing the wrong conclusion there: I would not be surprised if those same people would be involved in accidents if they didn't have large screens, because they'd simply be looking at the phones instead (mounted or in hand, makes no real difference).

Just because your center console _can_ play a film, or show that sportsball game you want to watch, doesn't mean a responsible driver will use it for that. Blaming the screens for irresponsible drivers is probably blaming the wrong thing entirely.

I don't like spending money on cars at all and always buy those for about 3000$ and use them for a few years. I treat them like crap, wouldn't be worth it in my case.

I often use company cars and they are always nice and comfortable, but I didn't encounter any software system I like yet.

I my car I rig my smartphone to the audio and have all features with slightly worse ergonomics.

Maybe interesting for families that often drive on trips but I don't really see the added value yet.

But, it would actually be interesting to get more technical information about the car. But these are hidden by the shitty proprietary software in cases I encountered. And of course you don't get access to maintenance information without manufacturer specific devices...

It was expected that manufacturers try to roll their own systems and try to hide actually useful info in favor of some fucking internet music store. Disappointing.

I just bought a 2000 4runner yesterday. I already can make any adjustments I need without taking my eyes off the road.

I wonder how many collisions/deaths are caused directly by drivers needing to look down at their “infotainment” to do anything at all.

On my 2012 BMW I disabled the iDrive screen. I was even thinking of removing it completely to lower the chances of theft but I was afraid it would mess up some systems.

Interesting, the same argument could be made about said smartphones.

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