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What Car Electronics Should Be Like

post #1 of 17
4/10/11 at 11:21am
Thread Starter 
I have an '07 BMW. The integrated radio/computer/nav/bluetooth system is the worst thing about the car. Awful, I think, barely describes it. My phone is 20 times more capable than my car, and so easily upgradeable -- when I want a new one, I spend another $400, max, and I'm good. My car should be like that -- I want to be able to dock my phone into the car, have it pair like a Bluetooth (but no need for it to be wireless), and I want my phone's screen duplicated on the car's nav screen, and be able to use the car's screen just like my phone -- touch sensitive, pannable, on screen QWERTY, voice command. Then I've got phone, nav, Web, music, et al all integrated and available under the same interface I use constantly with my phone. That way we can upgrade the stuff that is moving quickly while the major hardware for the radio, amps/tuners whatnot that changes at a snails pace can stay in the car. The phone industry just needs to come up with an industry-standard connector to get the video out of the phone and convey user input back to the phone. I guess it COULD be done wirelessly, but I'd prefer to clip my phone into a holder so it could charge as well. If they wanted to inhibit the web-browser while the car is moving, so be it -- a flock of 18yo kids checking out FB while driving with their permit is hardly a good idea. ~ H
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post #2 of 17
4/10/11 at 11:57am
BMW actually did something along those lines; I can't see any phone or GPS functionality yet, and it's using Apple's proprietary connector, interface and "iPod Out", but I can clearly see a market for this. The one thing holding this back is that car makers earn a lot of money on expensive equipment like sat nav, so by introducing this they would say goodbye to a significant amount of easy money.
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post #3 of 17
4/10/11 at 12:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntsman View Post
I have an '07 BMW. The integrated radio/computer/nav/bluetooth system is the worst thing about the car. Awful, I think, barely describes it. My phone is 20 times more capable than my car, and so easily upgradeable -- when I want a new one, I spend another $400, max, and I'm good.

My car should be like that -- I want to be able to dock my phone into the car, have it pair like a Bluetooth (but no need for it to be wireless), and I want my phone's screen duplicated on the car's nav screen, and be able to use the car's screen just like my phone -- touch sensitive, pannable, on screen QWERTY, voice command. Then I've got phone, nav, Web, music, et al all integrated and available under the same interface I use constantly with my phone. That way we can upgrade the stuff that is moving quickly while the major hardware for the radio, amps/tuners whatnot that changes at a snails pace can stay in the car.

The phone industry just needs to come up with an industry-standard connector to get the video out of the phone and convey user input back to the phone. I guess it COULD be done wirelessly, but I'd prefer to clip my phone into a holder so it could charge as well. If they wanted to inhibit the web-browser while the car is moving, so be it -- a flock of 18yo kids checking out FB while driving with their permit is hardly a good idea.

~ H

While my preference would be for Apple to license iOS for automotive applications (which will probably never happen), I don't see why somebody couldn't offer an Android-based touchscreen headunit. I think I'd prefer to have it connect to the phone via bluetooth, just because that's a cleaner install and gives more flexibility.
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post #4 of 17
4/10/11 at 1:45pm
I'm sure there are regulations preventing it. I wouldn't be even a tiny bit surprised to see government initiatives stating that all functions must be within 4 button presses and letters have to be of minimum height for drivers to read. There may also be a strategic reason for it; a car's lifespan is about 10 to 12 years. That means any technology has to (a) last 12 years without breaking and (b) not go out of date and become useless in less than 5 years. Thats the only way they will convince people to buy an extra. Personally I would love my car to be fitted with something akin to a mini-iPad, but the only way I can think of doing it is via an OEM head unit.
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post #5 of 17
4/10/11 at 1:54pm
Cars will be moving away from propietary in-dash anything most likely... BMW has talked about replacing the vid screens in the headrests with iPads for example... and the new Bulli concept from VW uses a removable iPad for the in-dash nav and everything else.

We're that much closer to hackers gaining control of cars.
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post #6 of 17
4/10/11 at 11:50pm
Car electronics is a battery, alternator, starting motor, coil, condenser, contact points, distributor, 4 spark plugs. lights, horn and windscreen wipers. Does one really need any more car electronics than this?
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post #7 of 17
4/10/11 at 11:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeDT View Post
Car electronics is a battery, alternator, starting motor, coil, condenser, contact points, distributor, 4 spark plugs. lights, horn and windscreen wipers. Does one really need any more car electronics than this?

FOUR spark plugs? Why are you driving a Geo metro?
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post #8 of 17
4/11/11 at 12:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by harvey_birdman View Post
FOUR spark plugs? Why are you driving a Geo metro?

Actually it was a 1968 Morris Minor.
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post #9 of 17
4/11/11 at 12:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cary Grant View Post
Cars will be moving away from propietary in-dash anything most likely... BMW has talked about replacing the vid screens in the headrests with iPads for example... and the new Bulli concept from VW uses a removable iPad for the in-dash nav and everything else.
So they're replacing built-in 'proprietary' with removable 'proprietary'?
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post #10 of 17
4/11/11 at 2:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeDT View Post
Car electronics is a battery, alternator, starting motor, coil, condenser, contact points, distributor, 4 spark plugs. lights, horn and windscreen wipers. Does one really need any more car electronics than this?

Yes, because this thread is about German cars.
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post #11 of 17
4/11/11 at 2:20am
Ford's "My touch ford" system is moving towards what you want. I really like that system, and was think of getting the Edge to have the my touch interface, but this was the first generation of this technology, and I was scared of being the test dummy, so I decided to go with an Acura and the traditional dash system.
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post #12 of 17
4/11/11 at 2:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by amstokesdb9 View Post
Yes, because this thread is about German cars.
What like the Beetle, Wartburg and Trabant? BTW I used to ride an MZ ETZ250, didn't need much electronics here either. I like the sort of vehicles I can easily service myself with readily available tools. and not have to pay some garage £50-£100 GBP and hour for the same work, just because the expensive ECU or whatever is borked.
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post #13 of 17
4/11/11 at 3:33am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by henrikc View Post
BMW actually did something along those lines; I can't see any phone or GPS functionality yet, and it's using Apple's proprietary connector, interface and "iPod Out", but I can clearly see a market for this. The one thing holding this back is that car makers earn a lot of money on expensive equipment like sat nav, so by introducing this they would say goodbye to a significant amount of easy money.Cool.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blackhood View Post
I'm sure there are regulations preventing it. I wouldn't be even a tiny bit surprised to see government initiatives stating that all functions must be within 4 button presses and letters have to be of minimum height for drivers to read. There may also be a strategic reason for it; a car's lifespan is about 10 to 12 years. That means any technology has to (a) last 12 years without breaking and (b) not go out of date and become useless in less than 5 years. Thats the only way they will convince people to buy an extra. Personally I would love my car to be fitted with something akin to a mini-iPad, but the only way I can think of doing it is via an OEM head unit.
Yeah, but there are already QWERTY interfaces that use a dial to access -- so cumbersome. As for the tech lifespan -- if all the screen in the car did was act as an alternate I/O method for the phone, obsolescence wouldn't be an issue because you'd just replace your phone to upgrade your car's system. Eventually the connection standard would be updated, but that would be a phased-in chang, just like how the USB 2.0 standard came in -- older devices just had to work at the slower speed, they weren't incompatible.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cary Grant View Post
Cars will be moving away from propietary in-dash anything most likely... BMW has talked about replacing the vid screens in the headrests with iPads for example... and the new Bulli concept from VW uses a removable iPad for the in-dash nav and everything else. We're that much closer to hackers gaining control of cars.
Yes, this is much more like what I'm talking about.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeDT View Post
Car electronics is a battery, alternator, starting motor, coil, condenser, contact points, distributor, 4 spark plugs. lights, horn and windscreen wipers. Does one really need any more car electronics than this?
Yes. I really like the 12 plugs in my old Jag, as well as the gauges in the dash and the water temp, oil temp, and oil pressure gauges. I also like heaters, A/C and a radio.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeDT View Post
So they're replacing built-in 'proprietary' with removable 'proprietary'?
Yah, because removable proprietary allows you more options and it's cheaper to upgrade your phone than rip your car apart.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeDT View Post
What like the Beetle, Wartburg and Trabant? BTW I used to ride an MZ ETZ250, didn't need much electronics here either. I like the sort of vehicles I can easily service myself with readily available tools. and not have to pay some garage £50-£100 GBP and hour for the same work, just because the expensive ECU or whatever is borked.
But really, all of that is moot for what I am talking about. I mainly mean the radio/nav system, which for all I care doesn't have to be integrated with the engine electrical at all. These are literally, accessories -- just give me a fused line out of the alt and the engine can be managed however you want. I'd happily put what I'm talking about in a '69 Opel GT.
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post #14 of 17
4/11/11 at 7:50pm
As much as I love driving BMWs, they have always sucked on interfacing with consumer electronics. I remember when the only BMW factory option for a cell phone interface was one that worked only with the Motorola Startac.
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post #15 of 17
5/25/11 at 10:47pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycggn...eature=related
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