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Comment by MisterTea | Hacker News Reader

Mo' tech mo' problems. Just give me a car that goes forward, backwards, left and right with a roof, windows, seats with few luxuries: air conditioning, power locks/windows, remote start (winter savior). For safety I will take ABS, maybe ESP. Leave me an industry standard DIN or double DIN opening for a radio and speaker locations; factory options always suck. Transmission can be manual or automatic. The rest is fluff that easily breaks.

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This why the late 90's to early 2000s was objectively the greatest era for reliable good cars. You had everything that makes a modern car great; standard ABS, disc brakes, cruise control, power locks/windows, reliable traditional automatic transmissions, ECU/fuel injection, airbags, etc. without all of the unnecessary nonsense that has made cars insanely expensive over the last 20 years

Then again, I remember when your list of "great" features was exactly what was perceived as making "cars insanely expensive" and unreliable at the time. And a generation or two earlier, it was seatbelts, headrests, fuel injectors replacing carburetors, power windows, digital clocks instead of mechanical(!), digital radio tuning instead of mechanical(!!), etc., all of which many folks complained were just being added to drive up the MSRP.

On the flip side, having experienced post-2000 adaptive cruise control, rear-view camera, blind-spot indicators in side-view mirrors, auto-release emergency brake, integration with phone for Waze and such, etc., I would not want to go back. Indeed, I find myself noticeably annoyed when a car rental is missing any of these features.

I'd like to have camera, ESP and AEB.

Not the most imperative metrics, but CarMax says that the majority of car buyers have different priorities in their purchase: https://www.carmax.com/articles/stick-shift-index

Anecdotally, I don't know anyone - outside of car enthusiasts - who drive a manual. Not only would they not consider it, a manual would be a non-starter.

Note: I used to drive a manual, and I am in the first half of my lifespan.

I am looking for a new car big enough for a family and capable of pulling a loaded utility trailer, but without the extras. Basically exactly what's on your list, but I don't need power windows and locks or remote start. Does it exist?

How big is your family? The Toyota Sienna is available with a tow package (larger radiator, alternator, and transmission oil cooler) and can tow up to 3500 lbs.

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