According to You: New Technology You Like
Asking the Hagerty Community about new technology could have gone the wrong way, as we clearly skew to older vehicles with a more universal appeal. Modern technology is just that, a new idea aimed at addressing a problem for intenders and outsiders alike. These ideas work in theory and pass muster in many an American zip code, but do they stand the test of time?
Such a query was the underlying yet driving force behind last’s week According To You question. While I still believe that all technology over time is misused, it’s clear that some new items in “newer” vehicles are worth having. Perhaps even worth desiring, and motivating to want in your next vehicle. So let’s see what we came up with!
LED lights
DUB6: Are LEDs considered new tech? I certainly can see LED taillights and brake lights much better (especially in daylight) with my tired old eyes than the old 1157s used to provide.
TG: I would tend to agree with LEDs—except in the headlight application. They just don’t look right.
Sajeev Mehta: that’s because more people need to put LEDs (H4 sized) in Hella E-code headlights. But I am not using this forum to go down that wormhole, again.
Ray: I have improved my 61 year old car with the following: LED headlights, LED brake/turn signal lights, LED parking lights , electronic turn signal flasher, fully electronic ignition. These are all safety related items that can be easily reversed for originality. I also see a need for a back up side view camera. Do not see a real need for disc brakes. Drum for street use are very adequate. Track use I would upgrade. I have mixed feelings about fuel injection. Carburetors work fine if you or someone you know has the skill set to set them up and maintain them. The problem with this and a lot of old school equipment is that the expertise is disappearing. This opens up the door for more new technology, whether it’s better or not. My car has been at the dealership for three weeks with a no start issue. No where to plug their computer into. Its not a repair issue, its a project. I have to admit that OBD is a good new technology.
Bluetooth Transmitters
Jeepcj5: I really like the cheap bluetooth cigarette lighter FM transmitters. I don’t know how new they are, but I only found out about them in the last couple of years. Now any of my old beaters can play music from my phone as long as they have a cigarette lighter and an FM radio. For the ones that don’t, and don’t even have an FM radio, I use a bluetooth speaker.
Heated and Cooled Components
hyperv6: The best thing I like is the heated steering wheel. I hate gloves so they are great.
Sajeev Mehta: Good point. That reminds me how much I love air conditioned seats in the summertime, especially since it gets in the high 90s a lot earlier than it used to before A/C seats were common place. Not a big deal with cloth seats, but absolutely mandatory with leather thrones where I live.
Joe: Heads up display and ventilated seats.
Cameras/Blind Spot sensors
PerpetuallyUnimpressed: Blind spot monitors and backup cameras (I’m one of these blasted millennials, so ABS, traction control, and fuel injection are all a given.) Having those two is like having extra eyes without having the intrusion of “driver assistance” features.
02 original owner: Agree 100%. Every time I back my 2007 Frontier with a cap, I worry there’s something back there I can’t see with my mirrors. Same with blind spot warning: despite having all 3 mirrors adjusted properly, there are still hiding spots, especially for small, low cars and motorcycles.
Loren: When my wife died in 2020 I inherited her 2014 Honda Minivan. I swore years ago I would never own a foreign car! But my son in law said this Honda van was made in Ohio. The Ford Fusions you like are made in Mexico! It is a nice van, rides nice, handles nice, at 248 hp. It moves nice. I love the reverse camera, I leave it on when driving so I have my blind spot in view.
Powertrain Advancements
audiobycarmine: Not much for me, but engine design and fuel-delivery systems are certainly far better. Today’s efficiency and power outputs continue to amaze.
hyperv6: I also love direct injection as this was the key to unleash great power in N/A and Turbo engines. It has pushed up compression and boost levels.
Screens (In Moderation!)
kevin: I love a screen for navigation and display. No other functions.
Ross: As for NEW technology, it has to be CarPlay. First thing I want on a rental car.
Marilyn: I like the GPS systems, plus I love cruise control.
USB Ports
TG: My newest is a ’12, so I am not exactly a subject matter expert on new technology. As far as those I’m familiar with, heated seats and LEDs are definitely on the list, but the greatest is the ability to plug USB thumb drives into radios.
I despise broadcast radios for 2 key reasons: They only play three genres, and only the most popular songs in those genres, and 40% of the content is commercials or DJs talking. (I don’t have stats for that 40%, but I would bet a dozen donuts that’s not far off from the real number.)
I plug my thumb drive in and play MY music with no interruptions!
Grab Bag
Peter: Fuel injection, ABS, stability control, auto up/down power window switches, torque vectoring, regenerative braking on EVs (when blended well with physical brakes), and (if we ever get it in the USA) matrix LED headlights.
Marc: The first thing that comes to mind is the hardware/software bridge that enables Carplay and Android Auto. I can’t imagine a daily driver without those any more. Second is modern engine technologies. Direct injection, software, modern turbo-charged engines, etc. Third is the engineering that goes into modern car unibody structures.
I don’t love the increase in mass but cars are both hugely strong and stiff which benefits safety, handling and the solid feeling of cars today. I’m not a fan of modern car complexity and feature creep. Cars have become far too expensive and heavy as a result.
Push-To-Start
Prof+X: I like the push button start, but my 1940 Cadillac has that too.
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Everybody loves tech until it breaks. I cannot tell you how many customers in the service lane start dropping f-bombs and going into seizures when they find out their warranty has expired and the cost of repair of this junk. I retired as a World Class GM tech after 45 years at age 62 in 2021 And I started in 1977. It wasn’t the cars that I left behind. They never say a word. I didn’t set the labor rate, have nothing to do with cost of parts, or availability, or warranty, or how booked up we always were. I just did my job. It was the people that drove me out. On both sides of the counter. The tech is just fine, even if it’s cheaply made and won’t last forever.
I have several cars (’32-’94) insured by Hagerty but in my daily life, I own/operate an automotive service/repair shop (42 years). The new car features are great…across the board, but as many have alluded to this technology has caused the price of new vehicles to soar, and no surprise, the cost to keep all the bells and whistles operable can be quite costly too. In the process we have gone from being mechanics, to technicians and now service and repair reverse engineers.
One of the great best newer technologies I like is remote tire pressure monitoring. It’s certainly handy to have as I had a quick leak that I was warned of, it gave me enough time to get off the road and to a safe place from which I could change the tire.
Clever but another costly gadget that allows people to npt look at their cars condition
I specifically read this article and the comments looking for TPMS. To me this is great tech for exactly the reasons you stated.
My experience with Ford and Toyota is they only give you an idiot light which I hate, but my Dodge RAM trucks tell me the pressure on each tire, which I love!
I have even added TPMS to the trailers I tow. I can relax better being able to monitor the tires right from my dash.
MarineBob scoffs because this allows you to not check your car in advance and he is right, but on balance TPMS is a full-time winner in my book.
I like all the new tech. Especially blind spot monitoring and rear view camera.
Lots of gadgets in modern cars. Most to protect you from yourself. A lot of them contribute to distracted driving. I long for the simpler days with basic features in a vehicle. For decades we all did fine without all that stuff. That stuff is a major contributor to high vehicle prices.
Agree! BTW I was not a big fan of “self-driving” cars… until I see a lot of distracted idiots driving all over the place. So – for them self driving may be fine (maybe they won’t cut me off or run red lights). Just wondering if a “flip the bird” is an option on these cars…
I wish we could still buy a barebone car. Luckily, I can still buy an old one. The only tech I want is AC and power windows. My flip phone has more tech than I want.
We have a 2020 GLC 300. I often think what a great $35k car it could be without….. the electronic crap, changeable color interior lighting, electronic dip stick, run flat tires. It could have an actual shift lever of some sort, no sun roof that we never open. Don’t need a heated steering wheel, power column, power head rests, windshield wipers that some German engineer must laugh at every day. Lighting switches worthy of a US government military contract. So I am thinking without all that stuff, the $50 k list price could have been at least $10k cheaper and I’d be tickled pink.
You want the prices to go down? stop buying the expensive crap! Just common sense
I’m a big fan of backup cameras. I wish someone would make a kit for a full-time rearview camera that’s tied into a forward-facing dash camera with both continuously recording and sending a signal to remote storage. My Dodge Dually had a huge blind spot to the rear. It’d be great in case of accidents, but also good for hooking up the trailer, and just to know who is back there. Smaller cars and motorcycles would sometimes disappear at traffic lights. My new-to-me 2016 Frontier is better, but that tailgate still blocks out a lot.
I tend to be more situationally aware than most people anyway (blame time in the military) and had driven big trucks in the family business when I was young, so with that rolling blind-spot of a dually I was always hypervigilant about looking out for pedestrians. One night I pulled into the local big-box store and had seen a rather scruffy looking character walking behind the row of cars that I had pulled into. I noticed that he disappeared and didn’t reappear on the other side of the truck. I waited a few beats, then put the still-running truck in reverse – I knew he was back there, but that didn’t spook him. Finally, I shut down and waited a few seconds. When I opened the door I was ready for the varmint and charged the rear of the truck. Just then he was coming around the back of the truck trying to charge at me…..it didn’t end well – for him.
Like I said, a rear-view camera would be nice for a lot of reasons.
Anybody make a kit like I described? I’ve never found one.
Non of them, in particular the damn headlights are too damn bright never mind when misaligned or carrying or pulling a load. Not a thing wrong with a T3 or equivalent. $12.00 and five minutes to replace. Today’s vehicles should bypass the consumer going straight to the shredder. Can’t work on them or maintain them, ugly, boring and not worth the time. We’re paying for useless electronics; the actual car is junk.
While not needed, I do appreciate the USB port and heated seats. I have a factory GPS, and while it is nicely integrated into and not like an after-though, sticking out of dash, (cannot stand this trend), they are not supported long enough!!! Especially when you paid a premium for it! LED lights are nice but not absolutely necessary. Don’t care for the back up cameras but having a Mustang and a Fusion with high rear ends, back up sensors are a god send. I really dislike the whole trend of these oversized LCD screens jutting out of the dash. Zero need for it except for laziness on the part of the designers. Integrate them into the dash for a smooth clean look. Most of the other gimmicks they stick in cars these days are truly not necessary. People have simply gotten lazy in their driving habits and forgetting all of the basics. Look before you make a lane change or turn. Look at your mirrors. More tech is not necessarily better.
I recently had a rental car – don’t remember what brand – that had Google Maps built in for nav. Made so much more sense than the proprietary systems that cost a fortune to keep up to date.
I find that much of the ‘new technology’ are changes just for change sake. Who really needs push button start? What’s wrong with turning a key? I HATE the way that physical switches are being replaced by virtual buttons on the central screen. Switches are the steering wheel are a genuine safety hazard. NO steering wheel should have any buttons on it, PERIOD! Turn signals, wipers, and cruise control should all be stalks well out of the way of the steering column. Other buttons (radio volume, etc.) are also not necessary. If the interior is PROPERLY designed, a physical volume control may be easily found without have to take ones eyes off of the road. Another ‘update’ that I hate are the electronic transmission selectors. I have had one of lthese and when it fails, the car becomes undrivable. What is wrong with a physical cable??? It seems like lately, to many young kids are having their way with our cars. THEY NEED TO BE REIGNED IN!!!!
Had a rental car – I believe it was a Ford Edge – a couple of years ago with one of those screens with all the controls on it. Got in the car on a cool morning and my wife turns on the heated seat. Drove a few miles and the screen went blank. Nothing we did got it back. Meanwhile the seat was hot and couldn’t be shut off. Luckily, we were able to pull over, fully shut the car down, wait a few minutes, and restart – and the screen came back. Never did it again while we had that car, but you can be sure we never turned on the heated seats again either!
Fuel gauge prevents me from running out of gas.
I’ve been driving NA Miatas now for 30 years. The only things I have that an MGB wouldn’t are XM, A/C and cruise control. I guess you could add p/s, ABS and 4 wheel disc brakes. What do I need a button starter for? Or a blind spot camera, when I have 360 degree vision? I’ve always said I’ll trade up when they make something better. Still waiting.
Remember the days when you could be driving at night, in trafic, and be able to find the radio knob or heater fan switch without looking?
In most cases, I say “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should!”
I tell my automotive students, “All this high tech convenience features mean two things. Job security for well trained technicians and higher repaire costs. Unfortunately that doesn’t always mean higher pay for the well trained technicians.
For car owners when these features no longer operate, it means higher repair costs, more likely to not get repaired properly the first time. It also limits the shops that might be able to service your car as well.
The drivability and horsepower in the new engines is my choice. Who remembers manual chokes? Who remembers early automatic chokes and madly pumping the gas pedal in cold weather and when the points started to wear? I tell the the younger ones that my pride and joy was my first nice car. A 1979 Cutlass with a 260 V8 with a whopping 110bhp. 0-60 just over 12 seconds. Smooth as silk and so comfortable. My 2.0L BMW X2 makes more than twice that and 0-60 under 6 seconds. Starts at the touch of a button and runs in all weather. Funny thing though.. cars weigh just as much if not more…. why is that? A 1972 Coupe DeVille weighs almost exactly the same as a new Sienna Minivan Hybrid.