I hate modern vehicles [rant]

[Neil McCauley]

I get in my wife's 2024 Acura MDX. The seat automatically scrunches me up practically to the windshield. I press a series of buttons on the side of the seat, and slowly the seat returns me to a comfortable position.

Previously, in her last vehicle, a '19 4runner, I'd go to start it. Press the button. Nothing. Oh....that's right- the key fob is dead. I have to take the fob and press it against the start button. There. It started.

Once comfortable in the 2024, I put it in reverse. The side view mirrors automatically shift downward to give me a nice veiw of the tire meeting the road, not the 150 feet of driveway behind me. Why in God's name is it ever helpful to see the side of the tire instead of the road behind you when backing up?

In my own truck...the GPS is worthless. I like the touchscreen but the navigation is terrible. Have to type in an address? Better pull over and put it in park- even if it's your passenger who's putting in the address. Once you do enter the address, goodluck getting anything to come up. Better off just using your phone.

But wait! If you do use your phone, you better not have it plugged into one of the USB or USB-C outlets near the head unit or even the middle console, because that, too, will not let you- or or passenger- search things while the truck is in motion. It also will annoyingly sync the navigation, etc to the main vehicle screen without your consent.

Go to put some air in one of my tires with my kids in the back. Have to turn the car off. Why? Because some genius at RAM decided it would be cool to make the truck honk when it hits 32 PSI for 40 PSI rated tires, even though practically every gas station air pump now beeps when you've attained the pre-determined PSI level. So, I turn the truck off...

The list goes on, and on, and on...

Is it just me or were cars/trucks better in the 1990s/early 2000s? I'm sick of the over-technologization. It's only going to get worse. If I had the money and the space I'd start hoarding old basic analog vehicles.

/[semi-]old man yells at cloud

 

[mikeru82]

I’d be a buyer if they were still building some of the cars and trucks from the 60’s and very early 70’s. The problem is, ignoring all the federal and state regulations car makers need to meet now, there wouldn’t be enough buyers to make it worth their while. Everyone wants those massaging seats, surround view cameras, adaptive cruise, parking sensors, lane assist, head up display…the list goes on and on. I’m not gonna lie, I like all those features when they work. But it doesn’t make them easy to work on in 10 years when I’d be doing my own repairs on all that crap.

 

[Idahoktm]

Nope. No way would I want to go back to that old junk. Nearly everything you complained about was operator error. Take some time to learn how to use the tech and you won't be so frustrated.

 

[SD Rebel]

That's why I also own some old cars from the early 2000s for fun and tinker with. Kinda fun to go back in time and decompress from modern stuff, but then I realize how much nicer the new stuff rides and drives and happy to be driving something modern. Then circle back again when my mood changes, best of both worlds.

A tip to slightly modernize your old ride, I have found that adding a cheap Bluetooth aftermarket stereo to any old car will get me my wireless phone and Pandora/YouTube Music apps I love to use when driving. I use a magnetic phone holder for my giant phone as my NAV, and I'm all set even with a car from the 1990s.

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

I get in my wife's 2024 Acura MDX. The seat automatically scrunches me up practically to the windshield. I press a series of buttons on the side of the seat, and slowly the seat returns me to a comfortable position.

Previously, in her last vehicle, a '19 4runner, I'd go to start it. Press the button. Nothing. Oh....that's right- the key fob is dead. I have to take the fob and press it against the start button. There. It started.

Once comfortable in the 2024, I put it in reverse. The side view mirrors automatically shift downward to give me a nice veiw of the tire meeting the road, not the 150 feet of driveway behind me. Why in God's name is it ever helpful to see the side of the tire instead of the road behind you when backing up?

In my own truck...the GPS is worthless. I like the touchscreen but the navigation is terrible. Have to type in an address? Better pull over and put it in park- even if it's your passenger who's putting in the address. Once you do enter the address, goodluck getting anything to come up. Better off just using your phone.

But wait! If you do use your phone, you better not have it plugged into one of the USB or USB-C outlets near the head unit or even the middle console, because that, too, will not let you- or or passenger- search things while the truck is in motion. It also will annoyingly sync the navigation, etc to the main vehicle screen without your consent.

Go to put some air in one of my tires with my kids in the back. Have to turn the car off. Why? Because some genius at RAM decided it would be cool to make the truck honk when it hits 32 PSI for 40 PSI rated tires, even though practically every gas station air pump now beeps when you've attained the pre-determined PSI level. So, I turn the truck off...

The list goes on, and on, and on...

Is it just me or were cars/trucks better in the 1990s/early 2000s? I'm sick of the over-technologization. It's only going to get worse. If I had the money and the space I'd start hoarding old basic analog vehicles.

/[semi-]old man yells at cloud

So what you are saying is that you are too lazy to set the vehicle up the way you like it. It is called customization. Try it.

Also, drive your own vehicle and leave hers alone! It is set up just like we like it. 🤣

 

[Gillytickle]

I've thrown around the idea of getting trucks from the 90s and doing all the repairs like I used to do. Having 2 carseats, one rear facing, I'd want a crew cab and that was rare back then.
My biggest reason I like modern cars is the adaptive cruise control. Makes a road trip alot less stressful.

 

[HSKR R/T]

I get in my wife's 2024 Acura MDX. The seat automatically scrunches me up practically to the windshield. I press a series of buttons on the side of the seat, and slowly the seat returns me to a comfortable position.

Previously, in her last vehicle, a '19 4runner, I'd go to start it. Press the button. Nothing. Oh....that's right- the key fob is dead. I have to take the fob and press it against the start button. There. It started.

Once comfortable in the 2024, I put it in reverse. The side view mirrors automatically shift downward to give me a nice veiw of the tire meeting the road, not the 150 feet of driveway behind me. Why in God's name is it ever helpful to see the side of the tire instead of the road behind you when backing up?

In my own truck...the GPS is worthless. I like the touchscreen but the navigation is terrible. Have to type in an address? Better pull over and put it in park- even if it's your passenger who's putting in the address. Once you do enter the address, goodluck getting anything to come up. Better off just using your phone.

But wait! If you do use your phone, you better not have it plugged into one of the USB or USB-C outlets near the head unit or even the middle console, because that, too, will not let you- or or passenger- search things while the truck is in motion. It also will annoyingly sync the navigation, etc to the main vehicle screen without your consent.

Go to put some air in one of my tires with my kids in the back. Have to turn the car off. Why? Because some genius at RAM decided it would be cool to make the truck honk when it hits 32 PSI for 40 PSI rated tires, even though practically every gas station air pump now beeps when you've attained the pre-determined PSI level. So, I turn the truck off...

The list goes on, and on, and on...

Is it just me or were cars/trucks better in the 1990s/early 2000s? I'm sick of the over-technologization. It's only going to get worse. If I had the money and the space I'd start hoarding old basic analog vehicles.

/[semi-]old man yells at cloud

You can turn off the tire fill alert on your settings. I'm sure you can change the settings for your wife's car to not scrunch you up if you use a different key than what she uses, and set the memory function for your settings. Also probably able to turn off the feature to lower the mirror when backing up. Sometimes it's good to read the owners manual to learn how to use your vehicle.