It turns out that more technology in cars isn’t necessarily something customers want, and it’s not really improving their driving experience. We know my thoughts on the matter, but I’ll do my best to stay impartial on this latest survey from JD Power that shows most customers don’t appreciate technology in cars unless they can see a clear benefit to them.
JD Power’s 2024 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study evaluated over 81,000 drivers’ experience with “advanced vehicle technologies” in 2024 model year vehicles after 90 days of ownership, It turned out to be a pretty mixed bag when it came to what people liked using. There are a number of tech features that customers like using because they feels that it answers their needs, but at the same time there is a whole lot that don’t get used very often or are continually annoying, according to the survey.
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All I need is Bluetooth in the audio system and a place to hang my phone. Beyond that, things that don’t make my car move or my body comfortable can go to hell.
That’s the biggest (and dumbest) reason I’m looking forward to my next car. So I can play music seamlessly through Bluetooth.
I have a 2016 with Bluetooth but it literally will only let me use it for calls/texts.
Edit: Thanks for the suggestions, but I do have a Bluetooth receiver. It’s just cheap and a pain. I have to power it on separately, occasionally re-pair my phone, and the chords get worn out and need replaced every so often.
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Does your car have an AUX port by chance? Mine was the same with the Bluetooth limited to calls, but with a $20 adapter on Amazon I converted my unused AUX port to Bluetooth audio. Aside from that ONE thing I love my car and am thrilled to have this solved, especially so cheaply.
See if your car is on the website niftycity you might be able to get a piggyback adapter from them to run Android Auto & Apple Carplay through your OEM setup.
They no doubt sell rebranded versions of the same stuff you can find on AliExpress but they do the hard parts of working out all the bits to make it all nicely integrated with the OEM setup rather than having to research which obscure cables you need to buy.
Meanwhile I am in my 91 with a single DIN cheap aftermarket stereo enjoying Bluetooth
And rear parking sensors. I don’t want a fancy camera+screen system, but simply an ultrasonic sensor which beeps if you’re going to hit something
I do like my cameras, but I have a truck where they are wildly helpful. In a small car, I don’t value them as much.
A build-in gps is also pretty nice
Every single one I saw has been either slow, have terrible maps, missing maps, outdated maps, or most likely, all of the above. Doesn’t hold a candle to open maps, waze, or gmaps on a phone
Tesla uses the data from Google maps with their own route planning (for charging) and Volvo/Polestar uses straight up Google maps.
All cars that use Android Automotive with Google Services use Google Maps. A bunch of car manufacturers are either migrating over to it or already use it, including Volvo, Polestar, Chevy, Cadillac, GMC, Buick, and a few others
Some manufacturers are instead using Android Automotive without Google services, like Rivian and Porsche. I think this is because it doesn’t need a licensing fee to be paid to Google, as the actual OS without any of the Google stuff is open-source.
Cool, I only have seen Volvo and Polestar here in Europe. I hope it gets wider adoption.
Have it pull the map app from your smartphone. Up to date, personalized, knows your schedule.
It’s nice as a backup. My car has built in GPS, and it’s actually really good with navigation, the directions are better (in terms of clarity) than my phone. I still use my phone for 99.9% of my GPS, since the maps are updated more often (and for free!), the interface is easier to use, there are more options for intermediate stops, construction and road obstruction warnings, and I can queue up my directions before I get into the car.