Is this the most stupid/useless car feature ever?

[pwd72s]

I see it now...a group of nameless bureaucrats in D.C., discussing new "safety regulations":

"What if we require_____ ____? It'll drive people NUTS!"

Much laughter in agreement..."Yeah, let's do it!"

[Dixie]

Originally Posted by john70t

-I wonder if Toyota sells all that information to data brokers and the insurance companies.

GM got busted this year for selling OnStar data to insurance companies. Important to note is That OnStar collects data regardless of signing up for the service, and it's at the VIN level.

[Dixie]

Originally Posted by oldE

I am not sure we are going in the right direction by trying to compensate for lousy drivers

I think cars are too safe.
Wait, hear me out. Safe cars lul people into driving like lunatics. Crash a new Honda at 80 and you'll most likely walk away without a scratch. Crash a '62 Pontiac at 80 and they'll be collecting body parts for miles, both driver and car body parts. (Said only half jokingly.)

[rattlsnak]

GF just got a new Sentra company car.. We loaded up the mtn bikes on the rear bike rack and couldn't leave the driveway. The rear camera senses something was in the way and as soon as we put it in reverse it activates the electronic parking brake so we couldn't move.

We later found out there is a way to disable it but it is buried DEEP in the dash menu and it defaults back on when you shut the car off. What a PITA !

[stevej37]

Well...here we go.
Control of the gas pedal when speeding coming.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/cars-may-soon-warn-speeders-153540885.html

[masraum]

Originally Posted by HobieMarty

The Saudi vehicles also have a rear fog light.

Porsches (my old '88 911 and my '08 Boxster) and my wifes 2018 Outback all have rear foglights.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

The most annoying feature to my mind - mostly because I encounter it every single time I get in the car - is the damn seat belt warning. It starts dinging the instant I push "Start."

I'm old school (not pre-seatbelt old!). I'm used to cars that need a moment to warm up and get the oil circulating, so my habit for decades as been to get in, fire up the ol' burner, and then fasten the seat belt, adjust the mirrors, etc while the oil gets circulated a little.

I hate that thing telling me I'm doing it wrong.

Interesting. Both of our vehicles won't ding about a seatbelt until your car starts moving. You can start the car and sit still with the seatbelt off all day, but as soon as you start moving, that's when it'll complain that you aren't wearing a seatbelt. And my wife's car starts as a low ding that gets gradually louder and louder the longer you ignore it.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by mjohnson

Our ~2010ish Outback XT would whine at you if you put even a 15# bag on the front passenger seat. I quieted it by making the computer very satisfied that the seatbelt was correctly in use. It seemed like the airbag was also enabled by the weight so I kept that "functionality". Happily I never tested the airbag.

I understand the reasoning from a safety perspective but at some point that's turd-polishing. We know by now that we need to wear our seatbelts, this extra nagging if it even _suspects_ someone is there is a little over the top.

Yep, most modern cars have a weight limit. I think my boxster is quiet until you get 30-40# in the seat.

[thingmon]

For every lawsuit, there’s new nanny feature. Maybe two.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Well...here we go.
Control of the gas pedal when speeding coming.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/cars-may-soon-warn-speeders-153540885.html

"The anti-speeding systems in the California bill would give drivers an audible and visual warning once they are more than 10 mph over the limit. Other versions of the technology make the gas pedal push back once the speed limit has been exceeded."

Great. As if doing 90 in a school zone isn't stressful enough, now I have to put up with a lot dinging bells and flashing lights in the car while I'm doing it. It's getting so a guy can't be a criminal anymore without the government butting in.

[HobieMarty]

^^^^^^

Sent from my SM-S916U using Tapatalk

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

"The anti-speeding systems in the California bill would give drivers an audible and visual warning once they are more than 10 mph over the limit. Other versions of the technology make the gas pedal push back once the speed limit has been exceeded."

Great. As if doing 90 in a school zone isn't stressful enough, now I have to put up with a lot dinging bells and flashing lights in the car while I'm doing it. It's getting so a guy can't be a criminal anymore without the government butting in.

I got distracted by the beep and crashed.
Lawsuit gonna be epic. This will be better than unintended acceleration.

[KNS]

Originally Posted by stevej37

Well...here we go.
Control of the gas pedal when speeding coming.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/cars-may-soon-warn-speeders-153540885.html

So what happens if you're on a two lane road stuck behind a tractor-trailer. You're waiting for a gap in the opposite direction traffic to make your pass around the truck. A gap opens up just big enough for your to floor it and get around the tractor-trailer. As you're passing the truck with your foot buried into the accelerator the throttle is suddenly retarded and you're not able to make it past the truck but are now along side it with the opposite direction traffic heading right at you.

[stevej37]

^^^ Alexa will suggest taking the first u-turn possible.

[john70t]

Or when escaping carjackers/ragers who seek to do harm.
Or taking a critical care to a distant hospital.
Or