7mo ago

Are there any EV cars without any "technology"?

Like the title says, are there any EVs that just have a Bluetooth radio and that's it? Like a normal car, not a smartphone on wheels? If not, do you all think that this will actually happen at some point? This is the main reason why I can't (and will never) buy an EV. I like to have actual buttons everywhere on my car. I think those massive tablets on these cars with all the touch buttons are very dangerous. I like an "entertainment system" that only connects to my phone with either a headphone jack of or Bluetooth. It's a car, not a PC.

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I think you're conflating a couple of different things here.
just have a Bluetooth radio and that’s it
and
I like to have actual buttons
These are two separate issues. The former, in my view, deals largely with what is seen as an extraneous or even potentially unwanted set of features. Especially in so much as cars are quite famously some of the worst devices people own in terms of keeping their data private and secure. Better to have a car that doesn't collect that data in the first place, and just sticks to being a car that goes vroom. Or whirrrrr, as the case may be with an EV. But there are advantages to the more advanced features too. Navigation, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, etc. Whether you want the features or not is an entirely personal decision.
But this is not the same as the question of how you interface with the car. Yes, more advanced features are probably going to require a more complicated UI, maybe including a touch screen, though centre console knobs can achieve the same.
But the core of this criticism, I think, is about whether you can keep your eyes on the road while driving. And that means that you should be able to do the core things related to driving: steer, accelerate, brake, indicate, turn on/off lights (including high beam), and adjust wiper settings all from the steering wheel. And secondary but important frequently-accessed settings like AC temperature, radio volume, radio channel/mode, and turning on/off cruise control should be doable using physical knobs and buttons, though these may be located in the centre console. The important thing here is that even if some more advanced features do exist to be interacted with via touch screen, they don't have to mean (and shouldn't mean) the important driving-critical features are only available via a dangerous touch screen.
- Further, in terms of safety, having a large display built into your dash showing you navigation is much better than a small device you jerryrig onto a vent or something. It's easier to see via your peripheral vision, and won't put you in a situation where you need to go find it off of the floor when it falls off.
  
  Same thing with things like messages and text via the infotainment. You can hit a button and have it read out to you. Saves any temptation from even glancing st your phone while you drive.
  Main reason i won't get a rivian is it doesn't support android auto nor any of the functions I mentioned above.
  
  Tasker.
  When my phone is connected to the audio system in my car, any texts that come in are automatically read aloud.
  In my experience, android auto has always been a flaky nightmare.
  
  automatically read aloud
  Oof. I've got some mates with word choices that would raise some questions from the toddler.
  
  Ah, yeah, I don't have that problem. If I have someone in the car, I just turn on the radio instead of the Bluetooth.
  But, I could pop up what tasker calls a "scene" when a text comes in, which would ask me if I wanted it read.
  
  I'd prefer a decent phone holder instead of a screen in the center console, or at least a solid place to mount a holder. A couple 1/4-20 threaded holes in the dash would be awesome.
  I've got a decent adhesive mount phone holder that I stuck to the top left corner of the infotainment system. Because fuck that screen with a rusty shovel.

155 comments