Why do legacy manufacturers not implement handy/fun features?

[dogememe]

I mentioned this in another thread, but why don't legacy manufacturers have even 10% of the handy/fun features Tesla has?

It's my belief that anyone and everyone should have a dashcam, at least for the front. Sentry mode and Teslacam are so brilliant. Adding a USB port or SD card slot in the glovebox would cost a dollar and modern cars already have cameras in the front for stuff like adaptive cruise control, right? Like, on my Prologue, if the windshield fogs up (defroster sucks unless it's on Max Defrost btw), it pops up on the screen "camera blocked, clean windshield, forward collision warning and some other stuff disabled" or something like that. Now, whether that camera is full range and outputs normal video signals I have no idea, but if not, adding a second normal camera next to it in the same housing would be cheap and easy for them to do. 1080/30FPS is fine... I don't need a 4K60 dashcam lol.

And as goofy as it sounds, custom lock/unlock sounds would be so easy to implement. All EV/hybrid vehicles already have an external speaker, so cost would be minimal... the ability to upload a custom sound file would be simple to implement.

 

[wings&wheels]

cost, market (will whoever's customers want these features), patents/licensing of the tech, cost....

 

[Vercingetorix]

Good brakes are lots of fun. Manual transmission also. The two in combo are about the most fun you can have while driving.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I am going to have to assume they have done customer focus groups and figured out their customer set is less likely to be willing to pay for these things. I think the average age of a legacy Auto OEM customer is 55. Not likely they care as much, or more precisely are less willing to pay.

It appears GM is trying to do a prescription only service and bypass even Apple CarPlay. So it is entirely possible there just not that smart.

 

[dogememe]

I am going to have to assume they have done customer focus groups and figured out their customer set is less likely to be willing to pay for these things. I think the average age of a legacy Auto OEM customer is 55. Not likely they care as much, or more precisely are less willing to pay.

It appears GM is trying to do a prescription only service and bypass even Apple CarPlay. So it is entirely possible there just not that smart.

Yeah, I do wish the OnStar safety stuff was included for like 3 years instead of 30 days. I would like to have the automatic crash response thing. I am not giving up $40/month/vehicle for that.

 

[eljefino]

GM used to carefully "slot" their products so the best Chevy would be worse than the worst Pontiac and so on. They wouldn't give a cool feature to a Cavalier; they had to introduce it on Cadillac first.

Then you get something like a Toyota Cressida that was a midsize but built stunningly well with lots of gadgets. They weren't trying to shame anyone into buying something bigger because they didn't have anything bigger! (Eventually the Cressida was stomping on Lexus territory though and got discontinued in the US.)

If Tesla had a commuter car line that duplicated their Model 3 at less cost, they'd "sabotage" it to try to get you to pay more for the more gadgety model 3. You'll notice legacy automakers carefully omitting features on the base models to annoy the customers into the next trim line up. My Prius LE for example only has the key fob sensor by the driver's door while the XLE has them at every door. It's not worth thousands of bucks more in parts but people pay it.

 

[dogememe]

GM used to carefully "slot" their products so the best Chevy would be worse than the worst Pontiac and so on. They wouldn't give a cool feature to a Cavalier; they had to introduce it on Cadillac first.

Then you get something like a Toyota Cressida that was a midsize but built stunningly well with lots of gadgets. They weren't trying to shame anyone into buying something bigger because they didn't have anything bigger! (Eventually the Cressida was stomping on Lexus territory though and got discontinued in the US.)

If Tesla had a commuter car line that duplicated their Model 3 at less cost, they'd "sabotage" it to try to get you to pay more for the more gadgety model 3.

Fair enough, but you get all these Tech-forward features at even the cheapest Tesla at this time, while the delicious Sierra EV that costs more than 2x as much can't do that stuff. Or, if we're comparing apples to apples, a Model Y has that stuff, while the Honda Prologue doesn't, and they are direct competitors and cost about the same. I do have normal door handles, though

 

[AZjeff]

As for the the custom lock sounds if you really want it you can just do is as you walk up to your car and it can be different every time...how fun is that?

You can go ding-ding or snick-snick or woof-woof or whatever you feel like. Problem solved.

Pretty sure you get crash response with OnStar whether you have a sub or not.

 

[dogememe]

As for the the custom lock sounds if you really want it you can just do is as you walk up to your car and it can be different every time...how fun is that?

You can go ding-ding or snick-snick or woof-woof or whatever you feel like. Problem solved.

Pretty sure you get crash response with OnStar whether you have a sub or not.

Site Maintenance

"The Automatic Crash Response feature requires an active plan."

 

[Trav]

IMO the handy/fun features unless it is something safety related are nothing more than foolishness and not worth 2c. Woof Woof indeed. LOL.

 

[duck__dodgers]

because no one gets promoted for thinking outside their company's box, unless it's a company norm.

Incentives inside a company are set from the top down.

 

[Oillover]

IMO the handy/fun features unless it is something safety related are nothing more than foolishness and not worth 2c. Woof Woof indeed. LOL.

Unfortunately, more customers in their 20s and 30s prioritize a vehicle by the amount of these features.
The fewer offered, the less likely it'll be chosen.

 

[ecotourist]

Tesla keeps changing something/anything regularly. The dash layout, the way something or other is being shown, something/anything.

If I didn't know better, I'd suspect some crew at Tesla is desperately trying to keep their jobs by saying that the latest really cool something/anything feature isn't quite ready yet. They could stop any time as far as I'm concerned. I don't need or want all those really cool features. It's a car, not a play station.

I'd rather they fixed something meaningful instead, like the car's tendency to think that everything (an overpass, a vehicle crossing in front, waving grass at the side of the road) is a threat requiring power down. My own theory is that this overreaction is for the benefit of the self driving package where there is "nobody behind the wheel", at least nobody with any sense.

I'll stop now, rant is over.

 

[AZjeff]

It's a car, not a play station.

Maybe not to the intended buyer. Careful, your age may be showing.

I've seen people here say they would't buy a car because it didn't have Apple Carplay. Don't even know what that is.

 

[OVERKILL]

Your point about the dashcam is well received. My SRT has a cam in the mirror for the adaptive cruise and automatic braking and it can apparently be accessed remotely in an accident but I can't use it as a dashcam even though it sounds like the vehicle does. BMW has basically the same setup, but you can use it as a dashcam.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Maybe not to the intended buyer. Careful, your age may be showing.

I've seen people here say they would't buy a car because it didn't have Apple Carplay. Don't even know what that is.

I replaced the factory radio in both my Xterra and Frontier with an Atoto head unit from Amazon for like $100. It has apple car play, and apparently android auto. It essentially makes the display a semi mirror of your phone, except its limited to basically the things you would use when driving - like google maps and spotify.

Our Toyota has it from the factory, but the Atoto implementation is better actually. When I start my truck it automatically pairs with my phone, and starts whatever podcast I was listening to last at the point I stopped last time. Toyota does not do this. The Attoto was about 100 bucks.

Maybe Tesla can keep up, but no way these ancient legacy OEM's can.

 

[JeffKeryk]

My guess is, the traditional companies better get moving. Kids have grown up with computers starting in their cribs.

I understand many don't like change, but it's coming. You grow or you go.

 

[SC Maintenance]

My guess is, the traditional companies better get moving. Kids have grown up with computers starting in their cribs.

I understand many don't like change, but it's coming. You grow or you go.

Except they would rather take the bus and surf their phone while riding, not driving.

 

[Hall]

1080/30FPS is fine... I don't need a 4K60 dashcam lol.

You do want as high a resolution as possible in order to read license plate numbers, for example. With lower resolution, add in darkness at night, glare from rain or other headlights, and so on, that higher resolution might be critical.

I understand many don't like change, but it's coming. You grow or you go.

You have to look at the average demographics of this crowd.

 

[Trav]

I

My guess is, the traditional companies better get moving. Kids have grown up with computers starting in their cribs.

I understand many don't like change, but it's coming. You grow or you go.

I don't mind change as long as it is not just worthless gimmicky crap