Are whiz-bang features in cars/trucks to blame for high new vehicle prices?

[vdeane]

You better not be driving with a headset on. That's idiotic.

And also illegal in a lot of states. But you can always use an aux cord to play music from your phone or talk on speaker without a full Bluetooth integration.

At that point, you may as well use Bluetooth, which connects automatically every time you enter your car (read: easier). Fumbling around with wires just isn't necessary; technology has [mostly] superseded the need for them.

I decided I wanted nothing to do with something more sophisticated than an iTrip or an aux jack on my family vacation to DC back in 2010.  Whenever I drove to/from college, I'd prepare an on the go playlist on my iPod for the trip, plug in the iTrip, set it to a radio station that wouldn't have much interference, and push play (I hadn't yet gotten into setting radio presets across frequently traveled corridors, and my car's entertainment system consisted of AM, FM1/2, and a cassette tape player).  Instead of using that, we instead used my Mom's Civic's USB connection.  Big mistake!  The car took over complete control over the iPod, its interface was far inferior, and my prepared playlist was completely inaccessible.  It took over 30 miles just to figure out how the thing worked and get it to play an album.

Yeah, never again.  Plus using things like USB/bluetooth/etc. (basically anything more sophisticated than the analog audio-only connection of an aux jack) has privacy and security implications when you eventually get around to replacing the car, especially since the typical car's software security makes the initial release of Windows XP look like Fort Knox.

[jakeroot]

You better not be driving with a headset on. That's idiotic.

And also illegal in a lot of states. But you can always use an aux cord to play music from your phone or talk on speaker without a full Bluetooth integration.

At that point, you may as well use Bluetooth, which connects automatically every time you enter your car (read: easier). Fumbling around with wires just isn't necessary; technology has [mostly] superseded the need for them.

I decided I wanted nothing to do with something more sophisticated than an iTrip or an aux jack on my family vacation to DC back in 2010.  Whenever I drove to/from college, I'd prepare an on the go playlist on my iPod for the trip, plug in the iTrip, set it to a radio station that wouldn't have much interference, and push play (I hadn't yet gotten into setting radio presets across frequently traveled corridors, and my car's entertainment system consisted of AM, FM1/2, and a cassette tape player).  Instead of using that, we instead used my Mom's Civic's USB connection.  Big mistake!  The car took over complete control over the iPod, its interface was far inferior, and my prepared playlist was completely inaccessible.  It took over 30 miles just to figure out how the thing worked and get it to play an album.

Yeah, never again.  Plus using things like USB/bluetooth/etc. (basically anything more sophisticated than the analog audio-only connection of an aux jack) has privacy and security implications when you eventually get around to replacing the car, especially since the typical car's software security makes the initial release of Windows XP look like Fort Knox.

I had to look up "iTrip" (had not heard of it). Never found those systems to be either reliable or even sound decent. The aux-tape deck, on the other hand...

Your experience with the USB/iOS interface has been largely superseded by Apple Carplay. For us Android users, where Bluetooth was the only option for years, Android Auto is the new interface. I would have to agree that the older USB interfacing system, where each car had a slightly different interface for interacting with an iPhone or iPod, was far from an enjoyable experience. I had an iPhone for one year between the purchase of my 2015 Golf, and the purchase of an Android phone, so I got quite used to the experience in my car. All told, it was fine for me. It kept my phone charged, and all of my playlists and albums (even those from my Apple Music subscription) were all there and accessible by voice control. The car didn't have an aux port, but I didn't want to fumble around with my phone in my hand while driving anyways, so the Golf's interface kind of had to work. It also kept me from having two cables plugged into my phone (one for audio, another to charge).

With the advent of Carplay/Android Auto, it's a totally new experience. One designed by the phone manufacturers, and it's light years ahead of the USB/iOS interface. Definitely check out a system if you haven't yet. It's not perfect, but (especially for those of us in states where holding a phone is illegal) it works exceptionally well, and is controlled almost entirely by either Siri or the Google Assistant, which are both exceedingly good at what they do (quick and accurate).

[SectorZ]

Moreover, why is there an incessant need to add technology features that don't improve safety and/or don't enhance the driving experience?  I don't need Android Auto.  I don't need ventilated seats.  I don't need advanced telemetry or faux self-driving modes or even different handling modes.  I don't need to integrate my lifestyle into a machine that simply serves as transportation.  Then when I want to go and buy a new car instead of buying used beaters every three years, I'm stuck with base prices between $22k and $25k.  I'm a single person.  I don't want to have to manage a loan beyond what I'm capable of paying off. 

Right now I think that there's a donut hole of car buyers who desire a new vehicle out of longevity but are limited by high prices and maybe don't have or can't establish good credit.

Every auto manufacturer (outside of luxury) has a model that is less than $20K. Nissan and Mitsubishi under $15K. They aren't great cars, but the cheapest brand new car available has never been great.

Honda Fit, MSRP $16,190, and is not a bad vehicle at all.

[kphoger]

My question is, how does wearing head phones or some sort of head set constitute something unsafe compared to loud music or just talking on a hands free device?   ...

... I suppose the thinking is the physical earphone/earbud will block out ambient/environmental noise and make it harder to hear sirens/etc. than just having loud music from the speakers? ...

Yet it's perfectly legal for a deaf person to drive (#JNW).  Just another one of those proposals that no politician actually wants to oppose, so it becomes law.

[hbelkins]

I have difficulty hearing certain voices. My wife's, specifically. The pitch and tone of her voice is hard to hear if there is background noise or if I'm not concentrating on listening to her. My most-uttered word to her is "What?" because if she says something and I'm not expecting her to say something, she'll inevitably have to repeat herself.

When I was doing a lot of traveling, I bought a standard Bluetooth earpiece and found I had trouble hearing her if we were talking when I was driving. It was recommended to me that I get a Sennheiser earpiece, which I did, but it wasn't a whole lot better. Only when I got a set of Bluetooth headphones (a Motorola product) did I find that could easily hear voices during phone calls. But then someone said that many (most) states don't allow the use of headphones that cover both ears.

I don't like hooking my phone up to a vehicle system to charge because it takes over the phone, texts show up on the viewscreen, etc. That's why I always take a lighter plug-in charger when I drive a work vehicle with a touchscreen. I forgot to take one once, had to plug it in to the vehicle's USB port, and didn't like the interaction.

[kphoger]

I have difficulty hearing certain voices. My wife's, specifically. The pitch and tone of her voice is hard to hear if there is background noise...

Every married man on this forum is now cringing at the thought of trying to use that excuse with our own wives.  But bravo! for having the guts.

"Have you __________ yet?  I asked you to this morning."
"Did you?  Sorry, honey, but–because of the pitch and tone of your voice–I have a hard time hearing you."

... or if I'm not concentrating on listening to her.

Oh.  Yeah.  Well, the truth does come out, doesn't it?

[webny99]

I have difficulty hearing certain voices. My wife's, specifically. The pitch and tone of her voice is hard to hear if there is background noise...

Every married man on this forum is now cringing at the thought of trying to use that excuse with our own wives.  But bravo! for having the guts.

I'm not married, and also cringing.
Not sure what to say, except, uh, not that.

[Max Rockatansky]

I have difficulty hearing certain voices. My wife's, specifically. The pitch and tone of her voice is hard to hear if there is background noise...

Every married man on this forum is now cringing at the thought of trying to use that excuse with our own wives.  But bravo! for having the guts.

I'm not married, and also cringing.
Not sure what to say, except, uh, not that.

I say it to my wife all the time, she has a tendency to turn away from me and keep talking even when she is halfway across the house.  I usually just yell back "I can't hear you"  which has varying degrees of success in bringing the conversation into audible clarity. 

More topical, in the car it's hard sometimes because she'll be in the middle of sentence and will suddenly turn away making hard to understand on Bluetooth.  For some reason when she calls me from her Bluetooth in the car the voice is drowned out by the background road noise.  I've found that Apple ear buds pick up her voice better than the blue tooth for some reason, but that also works on normal phone calls too. 

[Duke87]

My mother's main argument against power windows (I don't believe she ever owned a car equipped with such) was if one found themselves in a lake or a pond.  With crank windows, one can simply roll the window(s) down as a means of escaping without carrying a supplemental tool to smash the glass.

It's worth noting that the Mythbusters were able to operate the power windows in a submerged car.

[Max Rockatansky]

My mother's main argument against power windows (I don't believe she ever owned a car equipped with such) was if one found themselves in a lake or a pond.  With crank windows, one can simply roll the window(s) down as a means of escaping without carrying a supplemental tool to smash the glass.

It's worth noting that the Mythbusters were able to operate the power windows in a submerged car.

Didn't turn out to be that because the circuits and wires were isolated that didn't shift out?

[qguy]

I have difficulty hearing certain voices. My wife's, specifically. The pitch and tone of her voice is hard to hear if there is background noise or if I'm not concentrating on listening to her.

That's your story and you're sticking to it, eh?

[formulanone]

My mother's main argument against power windows (I don't believe she ever owned a car equipped with such) was if one found themselves in a lake or a pond.  With crank windows, one can simply roll the window(s) down as a means of escaping without carrying a supplemental tool to smash the glass.

It's worth noting that the Mythbusters were able to operate the power windows in a submerged car.

Didn’t turn out to be that because the circuits and wires were isolated that didn’t shift out?

It takes about a 30-60 for water to entirely intrude on the electrical systems of a car; having the windows up actually affords you more time to react before it's diver down!

If the battery dies with the windows down, or the motor quits working, and it's going to rain, how do you get them rolled up?

Someone steals the $2 air freshener. Seriously, the bigger problem is the non-moving vehicle at that point, so one gets a jumpstart. Yes, I've had cars with window cranks - but rolling down more than the driver's window is a bit of a nuisance.

Power windows have been out for over 50 years now...what sort of steampunk forum did I stumble onto today?

[hbelkins]

Some of you all get it concerning not being able to hear. If I am not expecting her to say something, and not looking directly at her when she says it, and the TV is on or something else is making noise, odds are I'm not going to comprehend what she's saying.

I have a male co-worker whose voice is soft enough that I can't always hear him, either, if there's a lot of background noise.

If the battery dies with the windows down, or the motor quits working, and it's going to rain, how do you get them rolled up?

Someone steals the $2 air freshener. Seriously, the bigger problem is the non-moving vehicle at that point, so one gets a jumpstart. Yes, I've had cars with window cranks - but rolling down more than the driver's window is a bit of a nuisance.

I'm thinking more about rain blowing in before you can get the car jumped, or the power window motor repaired, but vehicle security would be an issue. Not just for theft, but vandalism.

[kalvado]

Some of you all get it concerning not being able to hear. If I am not expecting her to say something, and not looking directly at her when she says it, and the TV is on or something else is making noise, odds are I'm not going to comprehend what she's saying.

I have a male co-worker whose voice is soft enough that I can't always hear him, either, if there's a lot of background noise.

If the battery dies with the windows down, or the motor quits working, and it's going to rain, how do you get them rolled up?

Someone steals the $2 air freshener. Seriously, the bigger problem is the non-moving vehicle at that point, so one gets a jumpstart. Yes, I've had cars with window cranks - but rolling down more than the driver's window is a bit of a nuisance.

I'm thinking more about rain blowing in before you can get the car jumped, or the power window motor repaired, but vehicle security would be an issue. Not just for theft, but vandalism.

As if manual drives never fail.

[Rothman]

Heh.  Had to snicker at vdeane not comprehending someone driving a manual shift with manual windows.  Welcome to my childhood...

[US71]

Years ago, there was a rather mean Blonde joke about not being able to roll down the car windows.

[ce929wax]

I have some similar hearing issues as HB, except that I sometimes hear words jumbled or out of order, which I suspect is caused by my being on the spectrum.  For instance, my Mom asked me to get her a glass of milk once and I heard water.

[formulanone]

Some of you all get it concerning not being able to hear. If I am not expecting her to say something, and not looking directly at her when she says it, and the TV is on or something else is making noise, odds are I'm not going to comprehend what she's saying.

I have a male co-worker whose voice is soft enough that I can't always hear him, either, if there's a lot of background noise.

If the battery dies with the windows down, or the motor quits working, and it's going to rain, how do you get them rolled up?

Someone steals the $2 air freshener. Seriously, the bigger problem is the non-moving vehicle at that point, so one gets a jumpstart. Yes, I've had cars with window cranks - but rolling down more than the driver's window is a bit of a nuisance.

I'm thinking more about rain blowing in before you can get the car jumped, or the power window motor repaired, but vehicle security would be an issue. Not just for theft, but vandalism.

As if manual drives never fail.

I've broken a window crank and regulator before; having a car with a frameless window and cranking it while the door was open was entirely my fault. I didn't pop the window out, thankfully!

As to the hearing issues: there's times I get that "mid-level mush" if there's too many similar sounds going around; words sometimes get distorted or effectively canceled out. I have some co-workers like that too.  I try to avoid noisy places for meals where there might be conversations and this I usually just wind up being very quiet. And yeah, I'm married and my wife isn't thrilled with that excuse, either.