Recent posts

#91
The Fast Lane / Re: Formula 1 - 2020 + 2021
Last post by Galaxy - March 08, 2024, 09:36:56 PM
So.... it was Red Bull Racing Director Helmut Marko who leaked the WhatsApp screenshots that incriminated Red Bull Racing CEO Christian Horner, to the other F1 Team Principles and the Media?   :mask:  There are reports that he is on the verge of being fired.


I thought the reports that Max Verstappen threatened to leave Red Bull was all BS, why would he leave the team that built arguably the best F1 car ever made,  but based on this interview if Marko gets fired he will leave.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abpV3rFxxzk


He talks about Marko being one of the key people that made Red Bull Racing, no mention of CEO Christian Horner.

#92
⚡ Electric Power ⚡ / Re: EVs
Last post by Morris Minor - March 08, 2024, 08:14:24 PM
Quote from: MrH on March 08, 2024, 01:18:09 PMI don't think there's a licensing cost.  The excuse the OEMs have stated is that it gives away the control of the user experience and they'd rather have full control of that.  GM has openly stated that they want the reoccurring revenue from subscriptions.

Whatever the reason, I think everyone's lives are too phone dependent to not mirror in the car.  There are too many audio sources and communication methods that come through the phone that just Bluetooth isn't sufficient.  The battle is already over, they're just picking the losing side after the fact.

And it's only going to get worse.  The next gen CarPlay is taking over gauges too.  And it will be better than whatever the OEMs can do and more integrated into everyone's life.

I like Honda's approach.  They just got their entire infotainment budget to the bone, and will just use Android Automotive OS + phone mirroring moving forward.  It's a waste to try and do it yourself.
This (made in Thailand) Ford Everest we're renting has a lovely interface: nice big iPad display in the middle, cool driver display... all obviously carefully thought-out and debugged. But we've never really used any of it; all we want is the iPhone & Google Maps, which has done a fantastic job of getting us around NZ.
#93
⚡ Electric Power ⚡ / Re: EVs
Last post by MrH - March 08, 2024, 01:18:09 PM
Quote from: afty on March 08, 2024, 11:50:14 AMClearly there's some business reason car companies don't like Apple Carplay and Android Auto.  It could be that they don't want to give control of their UI to another company, or that they'd have to share data with Apple/Google, or that there's a large licensing cost and they're sick of paying it.

I don't think there's a licensing cost.  The excuse the OEMs have stated is that it gives away the control of the user experience and they'd rather have full control of that.  GM has openly stated that they want the reoccurring revenue from subscriptions.

Whatever the reason, I think everyone's lives are too phone dependent to not mirror in the car.  There are too many audio sources and communication methods that come through the phone that just Bluetooth isn't sufficient.  The battle is already over, they're just picking the losing side after the fact.

And it's only going to get worse.  The next gen CarPlay is taking over gauges too.  And it will be better than whatever the OEMs can do and more integrated into everyone's life.

I like Honda's approach.  They just got their entire infotainment budget to the bone, and will just use Android Automotive OS + phone mirroring moving forward.  It's a waste to try and do it yourself.
#94
⚡ Electric Power ⚡ / Re: EVs
Last post by afty - March 08, 2024, 11:50:14 AM
Clearly there's some business reason car companies don't like Apple Carplay and Android Auto.  It could be that they don't want to give control of their UI to another company, or that they'd have to share data with Apple/Google, or that there's a large licensing cost and they're sick of paying it.
#95
⚡ Electric Power ⚡ / Re: EVs
Last post by r0tor - March 08, 2024, 11:27:12 AM
A mom of one of my daughters friends has an R1S... I'm not a fan, their "minimalist" styling just looks cheap
#96
⚡ Electric Power ⚡ / Re: EVs
Last post by SJ_GTI - March 08, 2024, 11:11:54 AM
Quote from: MrH on March 08, 2024, 08:33:49 AMI think it's even in question if they get there.  R1S and R1T are awesome vehicles, but prohibitively expensive.  There's a lot of shoot for the moon kind of engineering solutions in them that are awesome, but overkill for most of the market.

Yeah this could be true too. Even getting to mid-2026 is not a guarantee for them.

BTW you are right about the size of the R3 vs the EX30. The EX30 is about the same size as my Golf. The R3 is about halfway between a Golf and an R2.

Golf/EX30: ~167 inches long
R3: ~176 inches long
R2: ~186 inches long (about the same as a Model Y or BMW X3)
#97
⚡ Electric Power ⚡ / Re: EVs
Last post by CaminoRacer - March 08, 2024, 10:38:28 AM
Quote from: MrH on March 08, 2024, 08:33:49 AMI think I would prefer CarPlay.  Even that is getting better at communicating with the car.  There's an update I'm getting soon with the Lightning that allows charge % to communicate to Apple Maps.

BMW has integrated it pretty well. It will ask if you want to navigate to a gas station in Apple Maps if the gas light comes on.
#98
General Automotive / Re: The Craigslist/eBay/AutoTr...
Last post by veeman - March 08, 2024, 09:37:51 AM
Quote from: Madman on March 07, 2024, 08:56:44 PMI can't even remember the last time I'd seen a first generation Ford Probe.  Or a second generation Probe, come to think of it.

With the benefit on 20/20 hindsight, I think the Probe was underappreciated in it's own time.  Reflecting on today's lack of affordable sporty coupes compared to 30 years ago brings into sharp focus just what it is we are missing in this moment.  Where is the successor to the Probe or all the other sporty coupes that were available to us in decades past?  Have we really all given up on sharp handling, performance, and driving pleasure?

The "Truckification" of the US car market is one of the saddest long-term transformations I have seen in my lifetime.

I only wish this particular Probe wasn't rougher than a badger's ass!




I currently drive a Ford Probe near equivalent (base model Hyundai Veloster). It's underpowered but with a stick shift it doesn't feel that slow and I love it. Sporty looking, good handling at road legal speeds, low to the ground, and hatchback big cargo area with the rear seats folded down.

The only way I see for these to become popular again is if the govt would put really high taxes on gas causing people to forego their SUVs. That's not going to happen in the U.S.

#99
⚡ Electric Power ⚡ / Re: EVs
Last post by veeman - March 08, 2024, 09:19:54 AM
Apple continuously updates and betters their CarPlay and I'm sure Android Auto is continuously updated and made better.  There's no way Tesla or anyone else can compete with that. I think they decide not to integrate with CarPlay and Android Auto in order to start charging for subscriptions for their in house inferior product in the not too distant future. Continuous cash cow.

I like to poke fun at my brother in law (big Tesla fan boy) that he doesn't have Waze on his Tesla IPAD screen and therefore does not know where the police officers lie in wait and therefore his navigation system is grossly inferior to the one I use (Waze via Apple CarPlay). 
#100
⚡ Electric Power ⚡ / Re: EVs
Last post by MrH - March 08, 2024, 08:33:49 AM
Quote from: SJ_GTI on March 08, 2024, 06:49:20 AMThat was my impression of their plan as well, but if the R2 doesn't sell well it will be a moot point I think. I think they need to R2 to be a legit hit for them to stay in business.

I think it's even in question if they get there.  R1S and R1T are awesome vehicles, but prohibitively expensive.  There's a lot of shoot for the moon kind of engineering solutions in them that are awesome, but overkill for most of the market.

The weirdest thing about Rivian is their insistence on not doing CarPlay and Android Auto.  I know Tesla doesn't do it either, but it strikes me as a strange strategy decision for them too.  I don't get it.

I know there's an opportunity to better integrate other aspects of the car into the infotainment when it's all running on the car's OS, but that doesn't outweigh the downside IMO.

With a Rivian and Tesla, your car's range and efficiency can be relayed to navigation to plan charging, etc.  But then you also have the issue that all your media consumption lives on phone.  So either you have to offer in car applications to replicate everything (Spotify/Apple Music, Podcasts, Audible, YouTube, etc) that has to constantly cloud sync to keep them all on the same page, or you just bluetooth your phone to the car, and now you're stuck selecting and managing all of this on your phone while driving.

I think I would prefer CarPlay.  Even that is getting better at communicating with the car.  There's an update I'm getting soon with the Lightning that allows charge % to communicate to Apple Maps.