Comments by "GH1618" (@GH-oi2jf) on "The BEST and WORST Modern Car Features" video.

  1. I like analog dials also, with one caveat. My pickup has a small Driver's Information Center (DIC) screen right behind the steering wheel, between the conventional tach and speedometer dials. It can be set to any of various displays. I find the most useful to be simply the speed in large numerals, so that is my default setting.
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  2. I totally agree, and I'm a computer guy who likes my iPad.
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  3. I think the multifunction stalks in modern cars make great sense. You get the additional function of being able to flash the high bean briefly.
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  4. He means you have a V8 engine, but it is often running on four cylinders.
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  5. It's "stop/start". I hate it because it's annoying and because it cannot be good for the engine when it happens frequently for short periods. The comments about hybrids don't have anything to with the problem being discussed here. A hybrid will run a long time on battery power. Of course you don't a gas engine running then. When the engine starts, it should run long enough to give a reasonable battery charge before shutting down. If I stop for a freight train, I will turn my engine off. If I stop for a passenger train which will pass in seconds, I won't.
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  6. I'm a tech-savvy senior, having computer science degrees, and I hate the idea of a touch screen in an automobile for anything that the driver needs to operate. It is poor safety engineering. I do use a touch screen at home, seated safely in my chair.
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  7. I had a technology career. I have two degrees in computer science. I think he is mostly right.
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  8. I'm pretty old. There are many things I like about modern cars, especially things that make them safer, more efficient, and more reliable. There are many other things about them that I hate, especially stop/start.
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  9. The display function is ok. It is when you have to control something through a touch screen that you have a problem.
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  10. You have reminded me of the Shriners' clown car in Astoria, Oregon, which is normally driven backwards. They might want that.
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  11. I don't know what you mean by "light truck." Light pickups have almost disappeared. Do you mean crossovers?
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  12. I love this! But, I have my own take on each of these, which I will share. 1. backup camera. I do like this. It helps with parallel parking, especially. 2. electric parking brake. I don't want this. It is just unnecessary complication. I don't exactly have a parking pawl, however, as I drive a stick shift. My pawl is a gear in the transmission, 1st or reverse. 3. adaptive cruise control. I don't want this, or any radar system, in my vehicle. It is cruise control that allows the driver to relax while driving, not the adaptive part. When cruising on the highway, if I am creeping up on the vehicle in front of me, I just take one or two mph off the setting. I adjust the setting, by hand, as needed to conform to the heavy trucks. Where I drive, they are usually cruising at the same speed. 4. brake hold. I like this, but not because I am a senior, which I am. I like it because I drive a manual transmission and because my parking brake is on the floor. I need it to start on a hill. It is more accurate to call it hill start. A hand lever parking brake allows starting on a hill with a manual transmission. I know how to do that, but hill start (brake hold) is better. 5. stability. Of course I like stability at highway speeds. My pickup is not sporty, but it is stable and handles very well. Electric power rack and pinion steering is part of this. 6. shifter. The only shifter I like is a stick shift on the floor that plugs directly into the transmission. That's what I have now, and it is the best transmission I have ever driven. 7. electric door handles. An abomination! Mechanical door handles should be mandated by law. When you need to get out of the vehicle, you want the simplest, most reliable system. Electric locks are ok, as long as the mechanical system overrides the lock when operated from the inside. 8. infotainment. Basic is better. I like the screen, which supports the backup camera, but I don't want a touch screen. Mine is display only, and is monochrome. Nothing essential is displayed there, and all controls such as HVAC, radio settings, and other things displayed on that screen are controlled with buttons and knobs. Knobs are safer than touch screens because they can be operated without diverting attention from the road. 9. driver monitor. No, thank you. 10. stop/start (not start/stop) and cylinder deactivation. I agree on both of these. Frequent stopping of the engine is a distraction and probably provides no significant emissions benefit, particularly for a small engine. When I stop for a freight train, I will turn off my engine. When I stop for a passenger train, I will not. Cylinder deactivation is less distracting, but equally unlikeable. Believe it or not, GM has even started putting this in a 4-cylinder engine! I am fortunate in that I decided to buy a new pickup, a basic mid-size, in the 2016 model year. It has almost everything I want and nothing that I don't want. It is reliable, gets decent mileage, and has room to carry things. I hope it is the last vehicle I buy.
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  13. More labor to replace the screen.
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  14. Thankfully, I will be gone by then.
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  15. It's terrible that computer people are taking over the design of automobiles. I don't hate computers — I worked my entire career in the computer business — I just think car people know how to design cars and computer people don't.
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