What era of cars has the right amount of tech - helpful but not distracting?

This seems about right. For sale by a scammer on CL. Now how to get the goose?

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Keyless entry , Apple AirPlay are bare minimum.

I love the cruise control that works in stop and go traffic under 20 MPH. Not a requirement.

I can't even remember the last time I locked the doors on a car. Usually leave the keys in it.
At most, I pull them out of the ignition and put them in the ashtray or console.
 
After I almost killed some idiot riding an ATV doing a wheelie at night on a busy road, I'm looking at the Subaru tech. More is better.
 
Overall I think newer cars tend to have way too many gimmicks and screens that detract from the interior appearance and usability, and mostly detract from the driving experience instead of enhancing it.

I watched this video earlier today. It touches on just what yu're asking about, including the use of "gimmcks."

 
The limited slip diff was great in the Florida rain, instead of the newer F150's with open diff with e-locker and traction control applying the brakes on the spinning wheel and reducing the throttle.

But an LSD is nothing more than a brake inside the diff. so it's the throttle reducing you don't like?
 
I’m all in for the late 90s to mid 00s. Daimler Chrysler held respect back then too with the cherokees and minivans and the large sedans.
 
After I almost killed some idiot riding an ATV doing a wheelie at night on a busy road, I'm looking at the Subaru tech. More is better.
That's the thing I don't really like about all the driver assistance stuff, people assume its going to do something better than they can, but I don't think its all that great at the difficult types of accident avoidance?
As far as I can tell, subaru eyesight is optically sensored only(lidar is coming?), so unless if false positive brakes in all sorts of situations, I doubt it was going to see your ATV in that situation at night with lots of glare from multiple cars heading towards you, and do anything before you did? A radar or lidar based system would be able to image the situation better,

Sure it will hit the brakes if a car is stopped in front of you, in broad daylight, pretty much every time! Maybe not so much with with people.

My assumption is that almost all of these systems are so biased to avoid false positive, that they only catch the very obvious situations, and then only take the simplest course of action which is to hit the brakes?
Anyone have a link to where these systems capabilities are tested in real world situations rigorously? I think most will fail miserably most of the time, with things like, night driving on a 2 lane road, with a car passing a group of cars coming towards you in your lane...

My main problem is that these promote less driver attention, when none of them perform anywhere close to the level of a driver paying attention...
 
My main problem is that these promote less driver attention, when none of them perform anywhere close to the level of a driver paying attention...
I spent a couple of hours in a Tesla yesterday and experienced something surprising: we dere driving and the Tesla slowed fairly rapidly and moved toward the lane to our left. According to my friend who was driving the Tesla, it saw the car to our right, and closely in front of us, signaling to move into our lane, so the Tesla took evasive action.

My feeling about the situation is that the Tesla's technology in this case was pretty cool. However, watching my friend drive and know that he was expecting, perhaps counting on, the Tesla to assist his driving, I felt he was less alert and attentive behind the wheel. He really should have seen that car signaling and taken action by the time the Tesla acted.
 
I had a loner 2024 Corolla for a while and I thought the tech was well done. I particularly liked the lane keep and adaptive cruise. I think today's tech is the best... So far
 
2006 Dodge Magnum R/T
2008 Miata

Both with updated head units, hands free cell phone. Both have knobs for hvac, and steering wheel controls for radio volume, source, etc.
both have heated seats.

Love them both.
 
Actually gone backwards in years from a Gen 4 (2010 to 2014) Outback to Gen 3 (2005-2009).

We only buy the H6 [flat 6 models). Relative to the more-common 4 cylinders, they have:
  • 85 more horsepower. We remove the badge.😉
  • 7 quart oil capacity
  • 5 speed automatic vs 4 speed (manual version was never sold in U.S.)
  • VTD drive system, a true full-time AWD system with a planetary center differential and rear torque bias
  • VDC, Subaru’s 4 wheel skid control system
  • Rear [mechanical] LSD. (Only the STI has front LSD)
  • Outstanding road handling, with enough ground clearance (8.4”) for most snowy conditions.
  • At 69.7” they are narrow, which is great for Boston city streets.
  • Surprising towing capability - rated for 3,500 in the U.S. and 4,400 everywhere else in the world.

Our first Gen 3 was a 2006. We had a 2014 3.6 for a while. It felt like an SUV instead of a wagon. They are wider and a little taller. When it was totaled by a texting driver, we bought a 2005. Gave that to my daughter when we sold the 06 at 255,000 miles and bought an 08.

The biggest shortcoming of these cars was they were sold in the U.S. with a sound system integrated with the dual zone HVAC controls. They did not have BlueTooth support.

But in Japan they were sold with a double DIN bezel. So we bought the bezel there, and installed a Kenwood Excelon system with Garmin GPS, BlueTooth, wired/wireless CarPlay and backup camera.

We’ve goofed around with suspension over the years, from coilovers to various struts. We’ve gone back to KYB’s, which are stock. We changed the rear swaybar for one from a Legacy GT, and installed Rallitec springs. We used JDM BBS forged wheels and Nokian or Michelin tires.
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I like all the modern tech but appreciate vehicles that retain physical buttons for climate, volume, turn signals, etc.

I've got so used to driving turbo engines with gluts of low end torque that going to a larger displacement NA engine is odd. Turbos are great.
Same here; one reason I preferred the C43 over a newer M240i or M340i (aside from the glorious AMG Performance Exhaust) was the fact that the C43 had physical buttons for most functions as well as multiple ways to access them. That said, I love my Club Sport as it provides a definitive analog experience, but I don’t begrudge the power or features of my newer cars.
 
Zero tech is as close to the perfect amount of tech there is . Heater, a/c [manual] electric mirrors and for F.I. Bosch type L Jetronic.
 
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When I was looking for a C43 the no negotiable features were the intelligent LED headlamps, AMG exhaust, and 19” wheels (in order to get the top speed raised to 155 mph). The car I ended up with had Distronic Plus (Level 2 autonomy) and surround view parking cameras). I have to say that I really like both features.
 
Actually gone backwards in years from a Gen 4 (2010 to 2014) Outback to Gen 3 (2005-2009).

We only buy the H6 [flat 6 models). Relative to the more-common 4 cylinders, they have:
  • 85 more horsepower. We remove the badge.😉
  • 7 quart oil capacity
  • 5 speed automatic vs 4 speed (manual version was never sold in U.S.)
  • VTD drive system, a true full-time AWD system with a planetary center differential and rear torque bias
  • VDC, Subaru’s 4 wheel skid control system
  • Rear [mechanical] LSD. (Only the STI has front LSD)
  • Outstanding road handling, with enough ground clearance (8.4”) for most snowy conditions.
  • At 69.7” they are narrow, which is great for Boston city streets.
  • Surprising towing capability - rated for 3,500 in the U.S. and 4,400 everywhere else in the world.

Our first Gen 3 was a 2006. We had a 2014 3.6 for a while. It felt like an SUV instead of a wagon. They are wider and a little taller. When it was totaled by a texting driver, we bought a 2005. Gave that to my daughter when we sold the 06 at 255,000 miles and bought an 08.

The biggest shortcoming of these cars was they were sold in the U.S. with a sound system integrated with the dual zone HVAC controls. They did not have BlueTooth support.

But in Japan they were sold with a double DIN bezel. So we bought the bezel there, and installed a Kenwood Excelon system with Garmin GPS, BlueTooth, wired/wireless CarPlay and backup camera.

We’ve goofed around with suspension over the years, from coilovers to various struts. We’ve gone back to KYB’s, which are stock. We changed the rear swaybar for one from a Legacy GT, and installed Rallitec springs. We used JDM BBS forged wheels and Nokian or Michelin tires.View attachment 252440
Ive had subaru on my mind for a bit and thats one heck of a pitch
 
My 2000 Taurus wagon has OBD2, dual airbags and electric locks. That's about all. At 173K miles the locks only work on the driver side and rear hatch now and the oil level sensor is failing only after highway speeds. The car has been far more reliable than anticipated. I'd planned to replace one day with a Taurus and the 3.5L engine, however, learning that all transverse 3.5L have internal water pumps under the timing cover had ended that plan. So, it's not only a consideration of tech but also poor design choices in later model years.
 
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