Tech for the sake of it

[UltraWomble]

I was sat behind a new Mitsubishi Outrigger PHEV last night and realised after a little while that the rear view mirror was a video display being fed by a camera on the tailgate.

Now, the original rear view mirror was undoubtedly handy for quickly assessing what is behind you.

Then we got the tilt/dip mirror to reduce the glare from headlights from the vehicle behind at night - a great innovation

Then came automatically dimming rear view mirrors, OK - so this saves you manually tipping the mirror and seems to work OK - its still going strong on my 20 year old Polo.

But why on earth would you mess with something that clearly works so well & is relativly simple in its design?
A video camera/screen just seems needlessly re-inventing something that didnt need changing (see also rear view cameras on HGV's & Buses replacing side mirrors) and an added expense when it fails or is broken.

[colino]

Just because they can and common sense has gone out the window.  Remember when Mercedes had electric mirrors on the passenger side, but a manual one on the drivers?  Logic was it made sense to remotely operate the one you couldn't easily reach but save cost and complication with one that was at arms length.

[beko1987]

I like the mercs where the merc badge tilts up for the camera (Charlie pointed one out the other day as he thought their boot was open).

I bet it's a fab idea in 4 years when that little plastic mechanism breaks and the camera can't come out and the car refuses to go into reverse for 'safety' or some hilarity

[Peter C]

Most cars feature manually operated dashboard vents, like these:

Simple and they rarely go wrong.

On my VW ID7, the dashboard vents are electrically operated via the infotainment climate screen.

The system is fiddly to use and completely pointless.

Fortunately, I don't have to adjust the vents all that often.

 

[artdjones]

The camera rear view mirrors are a great idea for panel vans, but that's all.

[MrBig]

A subject close to my heart. As already mentioned above, cameras replacing mirrors and motorised air vents.

Replacing a solution which has worked perfectly for f**king decades with pointless tech that adds complexity and weight and needs various elements that have to be dug up out of the ground and refined. If we actually gave a shit about this planet, we'd be trying to avoid bullshit like this and make things simpler. 

[grogee]

I'll stick up for camera rear view, if there are people or luggage in the back then it gives a clear view of the road behind you. Not a particularly contrived solution if you already have a rear view camera for reversing - it just uses what's already there. 

However, motorised air vents can get in the sea. 

[Peter C]

Any love for camera wing mirrors?

Thought not.

 

[Markeh]

My X-Trail has the rear view mirror camera - of note, it uses a separate camera (within the swept area of the wiper) not the one for reversing. As the salesman was showing me round the car, he said not a lot of people use it and that he didn't like it himself, it was too distracting out the corner of your eye compared to a standard mirror - I didn't even know it was something the car came with, so they can't be doing a great job of pointing it out on the spec sheets. I can't say I'm a fan, but it has come in useful when I've had passengers in the back and can't see out the back window properly (or if I've left the tonneau cover sticking up by mistake...)

[IronStar]

4 minutes ago, Peter C said:

Any love for camera wing mirrors?

Thought not.

 

I saw this in use on public transport, and actually loved it. Larger than a mirror, closer to the driver, UWA cameras to do away with blindspots. Bonus points for making the bus/tram/trolleybus slightly narrower and less chance of wacking something with a huge mirror in a narrow, jam-packed street. 

Not this pointless design, though. Needs a proper UWA camera that's not sticking out, and common-sense placement of the screen. 

[MrBig]

27 minutes ago, grogee said:

I'll stick up for camera rear view, if there are people or luggage in the back then it gives a clear view of the road behind you. Not a particularly contrived solution if you already have a rear view camera for reversing - it just uses what's already there. 

However, motorised air vents can get in the sea. 

 

22 minutes ago, Peter C said:

Any love for camera wing mirrors?

Thought not.

 

I should have been clearer in my post, replacing wing/mirrors with cameras is what I have a major issue with.

Pretty much every time I'm reversing to park I move my head around to be able to see a slightly different angle to make sure I'm not going to clout a kerb, bollard or similar. The camera doesn't give you that flexibility. The costs to replace one are insane too, I've seen quotes of around £2k to replace one and calibrate it! 

[SiBriers]

Absolute nonsense - what if your car runs out of electric and cuts out on a motorway, needing a swift escape to the hard shoulder?
I'm sure modernz won't let you start a journey without a decent battery, but electrics aren't exempt from failing while driving...

[grogee]

22 minutes ago, Markeh said:

My X-Trail has the rear view mirror camera - of note, it uses a separate camera (within the swept area of the wiper) not the one for reversing. As the salesman was showing me round the car, he said not a lot of people use it and that he didn't like it himself, it was too distracting out the corner of your eye compared to a standard mirror - I didn't even know it was something the car came with, so they can't be doing a great job of pointing it out on the spec sheets. I can't say I'm a fan, but it has come in useful when I've had passengers in the back and can't see out the back window properly (or if I've left the tonneau cover sticking up by mistake...)

For the sake of balance I've heard this too, some people get sickness feeling with rear view camera. On Nissan models it's possible to turn it off and just have a 'normal' mirror. 

Cameras themselves can be troublesome in that they get dirty, so there is a whole new bunch of mechanical gubbins to keep them clean eg washers and wipers. More to go wrong. 

[New POD]

1 hour ago, artdjones said:

The camera rear view mirrors are a great idea for panel vans, but that's all.

The removal of mirrors in trucks and replacing them with cameras will improve pedestrian safety.  Have you a seem the size of the mirrors. You could hide a small car behind them.  

[GrumpiusMaximus]

The Volvo VESC was doing this in 1972.

Note the camera on the back.

 

[Peter C]

12 minutes ago, New POD said:

The removal of mirrors in trucks and replacing them with cameras will improve pedestrian safety. 

And aerodynamics!

[cort16]

They'd come up with all the useful stuff by about 20 years ago so now it's mostly needless shite dreamed up by OEM's to try to persuade buyers to buy their car.

[artdjones]

55 minutes ago, New POD said:

You could hide a small car behind them.  

That's what lots of truck drivers seem to do.

[HMC]

ignition advance thats vacuum powered what wrong with your left hand 🫲 😂

[sierraman]

Those boot button close things. 

[Timewaster]

3 days after kerbing (another) wheel, my new car randomly popped up an image from cameras in the mirrors showing the kerb both sides.

I've been back in the menus since and can't find how to activate it.

That would be a useful gadget if knew how to use it.

As said elsewhere, lane assist and speed warnings are the worst invention yet and for some reason legislated upon us.

Round here, you steer around a big pothole (or in some places the edge of the road has fallen away) and if you don't indicate round the pothole the bloody car tries to steer you back into it.

 

I think peak technology level was a Mk3 Cavalier CD or the equivalent Mondeo.

[Rocket88]

The electric parking brake 😳😳😳🤬🤬🤬

[Timewaster]

2 minutes ago, Rocket88 said:

The electric parking brake 😳😳😳🤬🤬🤬

On a new car they can be great. They come on automatically and go off automatically. 

Great for someone as lazy as me.

No good for the 3rd or 4th owner once the warranty is done though.

Some cars with an electric parking brake are still manual operation. Whatever is the point in that? No benefit what so ever.

[juular]

Electric pop out door handles.

Electric glove box release.

Automatic headlight dip/main.

All of this feels like shit web design from the early 2000s.

[warninglight]

24 minutes ago, Timewaster said:

On a new car they can be great. They come on automatically and go off automatically. 

Great for someone as lazy as me.

No good for the 3rd or 4th owner once the warranty is done though.

Some cars with an electric parking brake are still manual operation. Whatever is the point in that? No benefit what so ever.

I've had quite a number of cars with conventional and electric parking brakes.

I've never had a single issue with an electric brake even on cars well over 200k miles.

The only issues have been with old seized handbrake cables, and things stretching and going out of adjustment, needing stripped and checked for MOT every year.

A little motor in each rear calliper to hold the car? Great idea. 10 years ago I thought they were a shit idea, I grant you!

Certain OEMs like Land Rover managed to make the worst of both worlds on things like the Disco 3 and 4, using electrics to pull a pair of cables. 

[grogee]

17 minutes ago, juular said:

Electric pop out door handles.

Electric glove box release.

Automatic headlight dip/main.

All of this feels like shit web design from the early 2000s.

Yeah it's pretty clunky. 

The nu_Mrs Grogee's Rennow Captur has auto high beam and it's dim-witted. 

Pop out door handles are for aero benefit mainly, but I agree it's just more weight and more to go wrong. Also if the OEMs are that concerned about aero then use concealed rear facing cameras and do away with door mirrors altogether. Shirley that wins more aero benefit than door handles? 

Those shitty Audi stick-on door camera jobs are cack. 

Brace yourself for electric opening doors, coming to a Range Rover near you 💥

[bezzabsa]

5 hours ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

The Volvo VESC was doing this in 1972.

Note the camera on the back.

 

Now if that was a Nightblinder 5000 watt light that would be perfect antidote to todays headlamps that sear paint at 500yards

[flat4alfa]

2 hours ago, juular said:

Automatic headlight dip/main.

https://www.underhoodservice.com/gms-autronic-eye-1952/

[MikeR]

I noticed today the mirror adjustment lever had stuck on the drivers door mirror ....

So I wound down the window and poked the mirror .......... 

 

[Missy Charm]

Tesla door handles.  There is - or at least was, I've not seen it for ages - a Tesla saloon of some description working as a Hackney carriage in the town I live in.  I've been in it more than once, but still haven't a clue how either the interior or exterior door handles are supposed to work.  The driver had to get out and open the door for me at the beginning of the journey and then reach into the back and perform some odd procedure to re-open the door at the other end.  I asked about it and the driver said he was obliged to do similar for almost every other passenger as nobody intuitively seemed to grasp the door-opening technique.  

The whole business wasn't helped by the fact that I'd had a drink and it was dark.  Having said that, pretty much anyone the cab would be picking up at premium taxi time - drinkers at night - would have the same issue.