Smart People Won't Buy 'Smart' Cars
This morning we saw this Reuters report about "weak demand" for so-called 'smart' or 'modern' cars. We had also discussed "modern" cars a lot (in IRC) this past week, recalling all the problems associated with them. We wrote a lot about this 3 years ago. Writing about this again would likely result in a lot of repetition and overlaps.
But "not covered," noted an associate, is the simple fact that many "people simply don't want surveillance tools posing as vehicles".
If I remember correctly, I got my licence to drive 26+ years ago and began driving. I sometimes kept a laptop inside the car, it 'sat' on the seat next to mine. It was connected (via "AUX") to the jack and could play loud music rather well. I think I used Winamp. The car itself was "dumb"; the more sophisticated parts of it were electric windows (also known as power windows) and locking of doors via radio signals. Nothing too fancy or complicated. When electricians were required to fix something (not mechanics or heavy mechanical parts) it was usually something to do with lights, not windows or locks.
A lot has changed since the 1990s. Now we are being sold/pressured to buy cars that have a whole computer in them, typically Internet-connected, and it constantly needs updating (so a lot can go wrong). This computer is connected to many other computers. Pertinent parts are increasingly intricate, so purchasing and installing spares ranges between hard/experience and infeasible/you wish! After 5 years? Maybe. 10 years later? "Haha, good luck, sir!" 20 years later? "WTH is Tesla? Never heard of that thing!"
Imagine trying to sell someone a house (proper home) while insisting that it'll need to be demolished 5 or 10 years later, then rebuilt again from scratch on the same vacant lot. How many people would buy such a home? Heck, the average mortgage takes longer to pay off (several times longer).
Well, that's what we have with "modern" cars. This problem isn't limited to automobiles. █