In 2015 (if you believe Back to the Future), we were supposed to have flying cars. So maybe car tech isn't that ambitious these days (although if you consider self-driving cars, maybe it is.) But why are we so disinclined to use the Bluetooth function in our car radio?
As computer technology has multiplied our capabilities, naturally people thought it would be useful for cars as well. But at least a couple of news articles lately say that car tech is not all that it is believed to be.
"How great are the incremental benefits of in-car tech? Isn't the fundamental pleasure of driving the actual driving part? Don't we love feeling comfortable and able to accelerate away in the manner we please?" writes Chris Matyszczyk in CNET.
"This, naturally, will be taken away by self-driving cars. They will do everything for you -- not according to your predilections necessarily, but according to those of the wider system," he adds.
According to CNET and Forbes, a J.D. power survey discovered that about 20% of people with new cars didn't even use half the electronic features in the cars (at least, the features that were covered by the survey).
"Never using technology features you’ve paid for – often handsomely – reveals another facet of the tech-in-cars issue: bundling of equipment that survey respondents said 'came as part of a package on my current vehicle and I did not want it,'" writes Bill Visnic in Forbes.
Perhaps this is another compelling reason to buy used. If you're not going to use the features the car has, why spend the $25,000 new or so to get it? Why splurge for the upgrade when in reality, you may use the feature rarely or at all?
This also speaks to another thing about cars: really, our function is to drive them safely. Don't get distracted by the tech. The road certainly matters more than how well your phone integrates with the GPS system. Trust us on that one.
Do you have an idea to improve vehicular tech (and safety)? Let us know by launching a HeroX challenge.
Top image: Wikimedia Commons
