The same overcomplex, proprietary computer surveillance systems infect all electric cars because they're all modern. They're all (for some reason?) connected to the internet, subject to OTA updates, and completely locked down to the end user. If a manufacturer would make an EV with open software and systems--no useless internet crap--for less than $100k I'd buy it tomorrow.
It's very true, though. There's something to be said about technology you can build without a huge capital investment. With maybe $50k worth of tools and materials you could probably build a vehicle from ~1980. You can't manufacture them at scale, and if you factor in your time it won't pay out, but you could in principle get it done with accurate drawings.
Proprietary software, though, is a huge moat. And the complexity that comes with it. There's no reason we shouldn't be able to build more modern cars as one-offs, except that the systems are so locked down
Mercedes dealers in particular are thieves. Mercedes-Benz of Boston tried to bait and switch me replacing an AC compressor on my 1999 E300D Turbo. Initial quote was $1750, after they had the car a couple days they made up some bullshit about the condenser being bad and said therefore it would be $5000. I told them to go fuck themselves, bought the necessary refrigerant handling equipment, and did it myself. This was 5 years ago. Still nothing wrong with the condenser.
IME it's 100% of the time better to buy whatever tools you need and do the necessary research to DIY than to take a car to a mechanic. And certainly never a dealership.
EDIT: Almost forgot. When I checked the pressure in the AC system after getting it home before working on it, it was super high. What I suspect they did (because I told them I wasn't going to pay their usurious rate) was just cram a bunch of refrigerant into the system from their recovery tank in the hopes it would blow seals and screw me over. So, yeah, avoid MB of Boston in particular.
If you don’t want to do your own maintenance, I’ve been told that you really need a good independent mechanic for German cars unless you want to spend a fortune.
At one point I did an event at BMW’s place in SC and was really tempted but came to my senses.
The problem is all those wonderfully tuned, reliable, and efficient mechanical parts require millions of lines of source code and some really intricate wiring to make them move. And you'll never have the documentation or the source code to keep it all going. So that means it'll probably be scrap long before it has reached EOL mechanically.
> We are supposed to be creating tools with longevity & utility that improve welfare. We are not here to create toys and infotainment for people.
The same can be said for b2b SaaS (which is where I work), and yet...
For some reason we've lost the core concept of what makes a tool good. I think there are a few components (not an exhaustive list):
1. When you are using a tool it disappears. You don't know you're using it.
2. It grows with you and doesn't infantilize you. As you get more skilled it gets more useful, not more limiting.
3. It never changes.
Giving the computer nerds the ability to change and tweak tools while they're in the customer's hand has yielded disastrous consequences. Now everything is a subscription and users are treated like idiots.
I really appreciate your thoughts on this. Tools are key engagement with the world. A good tool is empowering , and a poor tool is demoralizing. I'm glad there are others pondering this issue.
I was seriously considering buying an Ineos Grenadier because I wanted a nice, modern, safe solid axle 4x4 with decent towing capacity that'll last 50 years or so, but the complexity of that B57/58 and the ZF 8spd, let alone all the other electronic trash like parking sensors, lane sensors, etc scared me off. Theoretically I might be able to keep it running on that timescale with standalone controllers for the transmission and engine but the complexity is just too much. Also, plastic intake manifold? Lmao.
So I bought an 80 Series Toyota. It only gets 1mpg less than the Grenadier. 30 years, all that complexity, and we gained 1mpg.
I'm working on a 1HZ-T swap. So I'll have a 1 wire engine with a nice simple aftermarket transmission controller, and an exhaust brake. I should be getting around 20mpg hwy when that's done and 100k+mi from a set of brake pads. I'm confident I'll be able to keep this running for 50yr.
> 30 years, all that complexity, and we gained 1mpg.
We also got far lower tailpipe emissions, less expensive manufacturing processes, far better rust prevention, and far better passenger and pedestrian safety features. Not to mention a more comfortable ride, almost zero water intrusion, lower cabin noise and vibration, less wind and tire noise, and longer lasting consumables such as plugs, oil, tires, and filters.
Cars have stayed the same "real price" or gone down over long periods of time. It really is a testament to industrial manufacturing.
Homebuilding regulations have had somewhat of a similar success, but the costs haven't stayed level - no economies of scale in manufacturing to exploit.
Yeah it's true, it's a shame the consequences are so severe though. E.g. $1200 to replace a plastic bumper because it has some silly backup camera in it. I don't mind getting out of my car once or twice every time I need to hook up the trailer, and I learned to parallel park 22 years ago. I have no need for a backup camera and don't want to pay the penalty of owning one.
But is it worth the price? I concluded I'd rather build a vehicle that's simpler and better than the one I could buy. And it's costing me about 20% as much to do so. And it'll burn a hell of a lot less fuel.
Simpler? Sure. Better? I spent years in garages modifying and building street legal vehicles. On very few metrics were they better than what you could buy, then or now. If better means quicker, sure, you could do that. But it won't be safer, cheaper, more reliable, more efficient, lower polluting, or more comfortable than what you could buy from Ford or Toyota or Subaru or Tesla.
Modified vehicles can be completely reliable if you do it sensibly. More reliable, even, than factory. While the IDI 1HZ isn't the most optimal platform, I'm building my engine with 1HD-T rods aftermarket upgraded pistons which have proven successful in many other 1HZ-T builds. At the conservative no smoke 20psi tune I plan to run I'm confident it'll be fine, and I'll run a temp sensor in the head, EGT, and A/F meters to be sure. I'm using an efficient turbo (HX-30) with a massive FMIC. I'm building the A442F with upgraded valve body and torque converter, as well as a proven standalone controller. Running a large A/A transmission cooler as well. I'm not worried about reliability. I've also done a bunch of this stuff in other vehicles in the past and learned what works and what doesn't.
One thing I'm super excited to play with on this build is an exhaust brake. The transmission controller I plan to use will accept shift and TC lockup requests via CAN, so I'm planning on using a microcontroller to act as my "engine brake ECU" which will request downshifts, TC lockup, and increased line pressure when the brake is engaged. It'll also handle low speed shutoff. When the brake is disengaged it'll actuate the TV cable (using an extra cruise actuator and some power circuitry to run it) proportionately to boost. I'm not against computers in automotive projects in principle, I just don't much like ones I can't control.
>"So I bought an 80 Series Toyota. It only gets 1mpg less than the Grenadier. 30 years, all that complexity, and we gained 1mpg."
The Grenadier complies with many emissions, collision, and other regulatory requirements than the Toyota, and it probably costs less than the series 80 did new (compensated for inflation).
You could be right on all counts. But I'm 100% confident I can keep my 80 series running another 50 years with relatively minimal work (occasionally rebuilding things, maybe some rust repair if I get lazy about rust prevention, etc.)--I can at least predict and understand all the problems I'll encounter, and none of them includes trying to reverse engineer a CAN network.
I have very little confidence I'd actually be able to keep a Grenadier on the road forever. I suspect it's at most a 20yr car. We'll see maybe in 30 years I'll get a used one and prove myself wrong.
In what sense is the federal government "the boss" of private sector businesses? This isn't an oligarchy yet, right? They don't have to behave obsequiously, they are choosing to. They're doing it for themselves, not for their shareholders or their employees. It's an attempt to grab power and become oligarchs because they see in this government a gullible mark.
The richest man in the world has a government office down the street from the white house, which the taxpayers are funding. He's rumored to sleep there.
And they're all stupid enough to actually believe it? Why would a world leader listen to anyone in tech? They should ask an actual expert.
Edit: to be clear, what I mean is that to a first approximation technologists are charlatans and frauds. If you're looking for accurate information ask a scientist.
From a politician's perspective, scientists are like gold prospectors digging holes seemingly at random. $100 billion startups are what you get when the prospectors strike gold.
Why would you discuss gold with the wild-haired eccentric at the bottom of a hole, who has not yet found any gold, when you could talk to a gold mine owner who has - and who employs 1500 voters, and who like you wears a suit and tie?
I think Tim Sweeney's (CEO of Epic Games) comment was spot on:
> After years of pretending to be Democrats, Big Tech leaders are now pretending to be Republicans, in hopes of currying favor with the new administration. Beware of the scummy monopoly campaign to vilify competition law as they rip off consumers and crush competitors.
This is exactly what OpenAI is trying to do with these allegations.
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