Do YOU Want ALL The Technology All-New Cars Come With OR Could You Do Without It?

Of the new Technologies that they have put into cars - There are some that you automatically use like anti-lock brakes and traction control - so among the new ones - the Automatic braking in case of a collision seems a good choice - but I do not have a car that does that yet. I also have never had a car with a heads up display - but it is likely I would use that at night at least. My fave of the new technology is rear-view cameras - makes parking my Mini-van a snap. No more guessing just how close the car in back is. But I would probably never use the automatic parallel parking feature - I actually can do that myself very well. For most of my driving - I know where I am going so a NAV system is hardly used - and was not worth the money this time. I learned to read a map in ancient times - and I can get directions easily from a number of sources. The DVD player in my MiniVAN might be nice for the grandkids - but it was way too expensive to be worthwhile - I could get them EACH their own hand held unit for less money - and have fewer fights about which movie. But it was the only way to get the rear camera - which I wanted. Since I cannot actually see the front of the car - A front facing camera might be something I could use though - only when parking. Regular cruise control is fine - getting adaptive cruise control is a lot more expensive - and simply makes you slow down for the person in front of you - when you should be passing that person. If you are not paying attention to the distance between cars in front - you should not be driving the car anyway. On some cars - power seats are needed to get a comfortable position - especially for really short or tall (Like me) people. But power seats - radios - tilt-telescope are not really new - we had them in ancient times too. And I would have preferred to get power rear windows in the Van (I could not find one that had all my preferences at the time I bought) - I suppose that concierge service would be nice in an emergency - but I hope to never need it and my cell phone would likely do much the same things. I do not associate the car with a cell phone or wifi service - neither should be used by the driver when driving - and they should be set to automatically tell people you are driving and to leave a message - when the car is in motion.

No thanks. I don't want any distrating interference when driving.
I have a PC at home and do not need one in my auto.

I'm supposed to be in the demographic that wants as much tech as possible, but I hate some of it. I grudgingly accept GPS, but I also always know where I going and how to get there before I get behind the wheel. I value hands free phone. Technology like back-up cameras, air bags, anti-lock brakes, and predictive braking are fine, but I'm dead set against the emergence of autonomous technology. I definitely do NOT want apps on my infotainment screen. I want my sound system to have knobs and buttons with redundant buttons on the wheel. I want my climate control system to have buttons and knobs too because I can set the system quickly and more quickly than fishing through screens and clicking this and that.

The Fusion I was driving was the perfect set up. It really is too bad that you cannot get a premium sedan--a premium anything--that is as utterly simple and basic as a Fusion SE's controls.

I can do without. And none of makes anyone a better driver. Probably half the drivers have no idea what's at work in their car and don't know what all the beeps and lights are telling them. I would have been more than happy if my last two cars had very capable chassis, powerful engines, great transmissions, a/c, highest-standard sound system, great steering, navigation, and that's it (MAYBE Bluetooth phone connection, but only if I had to do business on the road). All the other doo-dads could have been left off, and I could have saved about $15k-$20k. Actually, in my last car transaction, the salesman was surprised how much stuff I didn't want in my car, not because I couldn't pay for it, but because I thought much of it was just nonsense. If I don't know how to park, reverse, change lanes, and stop on my own, then I shouldn't be allowed to drive.

@cidflekken...a rare moment of agreement between us.

I'm not much of a fan of the nanny state and technological bandaids aimed at protecting idiots behind the wheel. I'd rather have them die than to seed and breed more idiots.

That's why I loved the rantings of one especially dim bulb in the TVR thread about the supposed bad handling of TVRs. They have no traction control, stability control, or antilock brakes, so if you don't know how to drive, they are unruly. If you know how to drive, TVRs are wicked fast around the track.

THAT is the bottom line. LEARN TO DRIVE!

We keep piling on more technology to protect idiots behind the wheel.

For example, a contemporary Porsche 911 handles decently--much more so than it's Corvairlike ancestor--because of a myriad of techno-electro crap dodads which were developed because people wanted a car with the engine in the wrong place and Porsche had to do something to avoid getting its a$$ sued off for the inevitable wrongful death.

The first 911 turbo produced lawsuits due to its vile handling and deaths that resulted.

Then as now, people are lazy. They don't want to learn to drive properly. They do not want to have to be vigilant. Hell, they are too damn lazy to push a button to turn their cars off.

Where is personal responsibility?

I don't know, but I have dealer plates on my Sagaris LS7 (aka Black Widow) and I feel like a drive.

Stop by sometime. We can compare notes.

I want my phone to control everything lol

I like all the tech in my x5. i don't think it gets in the way or gets distracting. and it makes the interior like a futuristic spaceship. if i wanted a barebones car i would get a lotus.

my car has to have every damn option possible, except the automatic parking... couldnt care less about that.
how can anyone possibly want to take a key out of their pants to open a door !!!
nothing drives me more crazy than a car without push button start and keyless touch.
if you live in nyc, parking sensors/ cameras are a MUST or your bumper will get destroyed.
i can understand not needing gps because we all have it in our smart phones, I just think the interior looks better with the gps screen rather than a bare bones interior.