CarPlay, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, automatic lights (brights, on/off, turning), cameras, remote start from my phone, and lots of other things are awesome modern additions to cars that I wouldn't want to go without anymore.
We are simply speaking different languages because we value different things based on what we want from a vehicle.
My perspective is one from someone that does their own car maintenance/repair and has only owned used cars. When I look at a new car or truck today, I'm looking at components that are most affected by entropy. Of the features you listed, how many are likely to still work in 2033? 2043? Will any of them create a no-start condition or poor running condition if they fail? Is there a way to bypass the automatic lights with a manual switch if some part of the automatic light system becomes unobtainable at any price? Having any part of the engine ignition process connected to a DRM'ed internet connected remote start system seems insane to me, considering how many cars have problems with non-internet connected remote start systems.
I fully admit that my perspective is the minority, and it's rare to have someone agree with me on HN. However, I do find many comrades at the junkyards.
I'm in the vintage camp at the moment. I just replaced the Chrysler ignition system that was in my old 80s Volvo for a Bosch one that came in a later model. That and replacing the timing belt took all of one weekend and $500 (I splurged on some new parts that I didn't technically need to). The next week I drove it cross country and had a blast, somehow having the time of my life despite not having the last 35 years of features that many people can't live without.
Toyotas, Hondas and Volvos of that era lasted a long time, and it would have been simple to predict had you bothered to look. Simplicity + Robustness = Longevity. Because of that equation, the domestic long running vehicles are all pickup trucks.
The last era where we had any semblance of simplicity and reliability was probably the 2000s right up to the recession. Those cars and trucks were just the perfected versions of their 90s version. (Except Chrysler, it's best to avoid all era of Chrysler and I say this as former K-Car and Ram owner.)
Post recession we added turbos to everything. Then came CVTs and variable timing and a slew of new engines. And then came the slow and steady computerization and electric motor actuators for everything. The length of wiring harnesses exploded. Why does my car seat now weigh 300 pounds and have 1200 position settings and climate control, etc. etc.
Simplicity + Robustness = Longevity is true for any era.
Jeeps are hilariously bad. Like "far and away statistically the worst" reliability wise.
This! I have difficulty understanding why more people don't view products from this angle, as this is the thinking that dominates my thoughts when considering any purchase.
Everything is going to break, that's physical reality. So how easy (cost & availability) will it be to fix? What are the consequences of things breaking? Is it just that one feature that becomes disabled until fixed, or does it take down other systems or the entire product?
Edit: 8 years ( https://www.germaincars.com/average-length-of-car-ownership/ )
But these are stats from new car buyers. But of course they are selling to someone else, and so on. The always-new car buyer won't experience these problems, but these are the people rich enough to be buying new cars every handful of years. The car will live on for many decades in the second-hand market and still needs to be repaired.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/738667/us-vehicles-proje...
So that's only 4 more years on average. And modern cars are quite reliable.
> The car will live on for many decades in the second-hand market and still needs to be repaired.
Cars that live 20+ years are probably a minority.
That seems vastly unlikely? But I don't have stats one way or the other.
My newest car is 19 years old and it's like new for all purposes. My other cars currently are 30 and 35 years old and aside from paint faiding they are as good as new. With reasonable maintenance, cars will last for many many decades.
Poor people have cars that old, usually, there's a reason they're called "beaters".
People in general try not to have cars older than around 7 years if they can, that's the "public wisdom" regarding when cars start having bigger maintenance problems.
Edit:
There you go, data: https://hedgescompany.com/blog/2022/02/how-old-are-cars/
Only 24% older than 18 years. 30 years old puts you at 5% and 35 years old at 1%.
And GM (and ...) probably see that as a "revenue opportunity".
Any advanced features that are rushed or poorly thought out - can turn into liabilities instead of assets.
That said, I still enjoy most of the modern computer conveniences that cars have. Remote start is great, cameras are great, so I'm sure more and more good/safe designs will come with time.
TSS is actually pretty good once you get comfortable using it. But this is the Toyota philosophy on ADAS systems in general. They are not going all in on FSD like the other manufacturers because it simply isn't ready yet. And so their lane assist is designed to be a safety catch for innattentive drivers, not an automated system.
And let's talk about the car's adaptive cruise control. It is wonderful. When it works. My drive to work starts with a long featureless country gravel road that is straight as an arrow north / south. Every now and then, I'll be driving along and after 10 km the car will figure "Not much going on here. The radar must have failed. As a safety precaution, I'm just going to beep at the driver and turn off ACC with no error message of any kind that would trouble the driver". Well no problem, I'll just press the button to turn it on again. But how presumptuous of me: the car is smarter than I am because it just beeps and turns it immediately off again. The only way to get ACC back on again is come to a full stop, turn the ignition off and back on again. My dealer was mystified so they phoned the factory. Also mystified. I've taken the car to get it looked at more times than I care to think of and just gave up.
I shudder at a future filled with autonomous vehicles filled with strange bugs like these.
I've been in nice cars with these features, and I'm happy I don't have most of these. Adaptive cruise control brakes are too late and hard for me to trust, lane assist is nice on straights but is annoying when it bounces between the sides of the lane, and automatic high-beams are infuriating with the constant on & off.
Unless the 2013 vehicle is a Subaru Outback with factory navigation. Then it might be possible with some fabrication skills and equipment, but it's definitely not going to be easy.
I say this as someone who used to be a “stick-driving don’t put a computer if it’s not required” card carrying member. Maybe I’m just getting soft.