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Comment by jdhn | Hacker News Reader

One of the reasons that there's not really a "dumb" car anymore is that backup cameras are federally mandated. So you have a camera for backing up, and you need a way to display that. So auto manufacturers say "Hey, we have this screen, people are used to touchscreens due to their phone, and it makes manufacturing easier if we put everything on a screen as it means we can just put a flat piece of plastic where all the buttons used to be, so lets make it a touchscreen!"

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And once you have a computer with an operating system, UI, and (wireless) serial connections most of those features become almost "free". As a result, from the automaker's position adding all those features someone might pay for is "cheaper" for total income than not. You can always disable the features in software and keep the SKU# constant.

Some of the original backup camera models (in ford cars at least) were integrated into the rear view mirror. Worked fine for its purpose and didn’t involve a central dash monitor.

More than works fine - I prefer this spot so that I always look in the same place to see what's behind me whether I'm going forward or backward. Taking your eyes far away from any windows to focus on a tiny rearview camera view while reversing makes it hard to see other motion with peripheral vision.

Lots of after market mirrors support this, but admittedly I've only put them in cars that didn't have a camera to begin with.

My car has both options. I think the idea is you'd use the rearview mirror display primarily at night as an always-on display in place of the anti-glare polarization toggle that some rearview mirrors have, while using the center console for backing-up.

I prefer the center console. The rearview mirror is shaped and sized to display the small sliver that you can see out of the rear window which are tiny these days due to increased pillar width, and rounded back to improved crash safety and aerodynamics. The size and aspect ratio of the center console makes it much easier to see details, and doesn't have to compete with bright back-lighting from the sun. Increasing the size of the rearview mirror would be an option - don't know how big you can get before it starts impeding forward view (again, because the front roof slopes down more for aerodynamics than they did in the past).

You can get aftermarket camera kits for ~$150 that handle that for older model cars.

https://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Backup-Cameras/b?ie=UTF8&node...

The backup camera genuinely is a great feature, but the touchscreen is itself awful. I agree with Mazda on this (and the US Navy, which is also replacing touchscreens with knobs).

I'm hoping we start seeing a renaissance of car customization -- for example I know that kit cars, almost all of which are pretty dumb - are gaining in popularity. One of the nice things about electric vehicles is the greatly simplified powertrain is going to create a lot of opportunities for customization and DIY, and I hope our regulatory environment is reformed to support that more. In the czech republic, everyone works on their own car and we have a friend who built his own car from scratch, but in the U.S. we see a lot less of that type of autonomy.

"Then we can charge them for our optional (mandatory, if you want even basic modern functionality, such as remote start) monthly/yearly subscription services! We'll call it Car+!"

The easy solution here would be to eschew such features. Remote start seems like it provides no benefit except to waste slightly more gas, and also to occasionally suffocate the elderly or otherwise forgetful.

You obviously don't live in a place with harsh winters.

I live in the northern us. It was -3 F this morning

If you live in a place with cold winters, it's pretty handy to be able to start your car as you leave the office. By the time you've walked to your car, it's nice and warm and the engine is running optimally.[1]

1. I know modern engines claim not to need to be warmed up, but I think that's a load of crap. Oil and other lubricants at very cold temperatures need to warm up and there's no evidence that it hurts anything. And it only uses a little sip of gas.

If you live in a place with cold winters, a block heater is a lot better.

That requires an outlet near your car. My office (back when I had to go into the office) has parking lots that don't have any outlets.

A block heater won't get the interior warmer for you to get in and block heaters require plugging in which won't be an option at the office parking lot for most people.

If you think oil and lubricants need to be warmed to a certain point to not harm the engine, why would it be any different if you were idling cold or putting it under light load cold? It wouldn't really. Old cars needed to be warm for the carburetor to provide the correct air and fuel mixture. It didn't have anything to do with lubricants. Once cars became fuel injected it became a waste of gas to warm up the car idling. The engine actually warms up faster being driven.

You can add remote start to a basic vehicle as an aftermarket upgrade.

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