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Telsa remotely disables Auto-Pilot on used car it sold at its own auction ...
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james_s:

--- Quote from: sokoloff on February 10, 2020, 05:33:19 pm ---
--- Quote from: james_s on February 10, 2020, 05:17:57 pm ---That said, I struggle to think of any car made in the last 15 years that I would want if it were offered to me for free. The last 10 years especially, they seem to be in a race to design the most hideously ugly thing possible while also making it boring to drive. Modern cars just have no soul, they're all designed according to the same algorithms and they're all the same.

--- End quote ---
If anyone's giving them away, I'd love to have a 997 Turbo [or even a 991 Turbo], 458, or 488.

--- End quote ---

True, I wouldn't turn it down, but I'd take an aircooled 911 over any of those.
Mr. Scram:

--- Quote from: james_s on February 10, 2020, 05:17:57 pm ---I like owning a car because it's a toy I can tinker with, fix it up, customize it to my liking, I want to own things, I don't rent anything.

That said, I struggle to think of any car made in the last 15 years that I would want if it were offered to me for free. The last 10 years especially, they seem to be in a race to design the most hideously ugly thing possible while also making it boring to drive. Modern cars just have no soul, they're all designed according to the same algorithms and they're all the same.

--- End quote ---
Damn those laws of physics and our advancing understanding of them leading to similar solutions for the same problems and subsequent legal requirements.
james_s:

--- Quote from: Mr. Scram on February 10, 2020, 08:34:18 pm ---
--- Quote from: james_s on February 10, 2020, 05:17:57 pm ---I like owning a car because it's a toy I can tinker with, fix it up, customize it to my liking, I want to own things, I don't rent anything.

That said, I struggle to think of any car made in the last 15 years that I would want if it were offered to me for free. The last 10 years especially, they seem to be in a race to design the most hideously ugly thing possible while also making it boring to drive. Modern cars just have no soul, they're all designed according to the same algorithms and they're all the same.

--- End quote ---
Damn those laws of physics and our advancing understanding of them leading to similar solutions for the same problems and subsequent legal requirements.

--- End quote ---

Bullshit.

Yes car design is encumbered by overregulation of almost every aspect but more so than that the design is driven by fads. Tell me what physics demands rudiculous 20" rims with rubber band tires on a family car. What requirements mandate every car be styled as huge tall fake SUV? Cars look the way they are because they have been optimized to appeal to the broadest range of consumers possible, the middle of the bell curve, the ubiquitous crossover is sort of a car, sort of a station wagon, sort of an SUV, it does none of these things well but it's popular with the average consumer because no matter what they are looking for it looks vaguely like that. Everyone else just copies what is selling best and soon you can hardly buy anything else. While I would love to roll back a lot of the regulations (hey I can buy a motorcycle so why can't I buy a car without a zillion airbags?) it's absolutely possible to make a car that isn't yet another POS crossover within the current system. How about we start with bringing back actual shock mounted bumpers that protect the bodywork so a minor parking lot bump doesn't cost $3k to repair?

People like me who want something different are left out in the cold, gone are the days when manufactures made a bunch of unique stuff aiming for a hit, now they just take the safe route and make more of the same. It's exactly the same reason Hollywood is pumping out so many sequels, prequels and reboots, most of it is unimaginative garbage, but it sells so they make more and more of it, and it displaces more and more interesting stuff. You can't blame that on physics and government regulation, it's just an unfortunate result of capitalism.
tooki:
Some regulations (like how bumpers must behave when colliding with pedestrians, or headlamp design) directly result in convergent evolution.

But another one is simply that developing a car platform costs several billion dollars. As such, lots of models are simply the same platform, skinned a bit differently depending on what marque it's selling under.

I agree that it's a bit of a shame that nobody is willing to take a chance on really unique designs, but given a) how much money is at stake, and b) how cooly the market has responded to the more creative recent models, can you blame them?
nctnico:

--- Quote from: james_s on February 10, 2020, 08:51:09 pm ---Yes car design is encumbered by overregulation of almost every aspect but more so than that the design is driven by fads. Tell me what physics demands rudiculous 20" rims with rubber band tires on a family car. What requirements mandate every car be styled as huge tall fake SUV? Cars look the way they are because they have been optimized to appeal to the broadest range of consumers possible, the middle of the bell curve, the ubiquitous crossover

--- End quote ---
If this where true then every manufacturer would just make one model. The reality is that all manufacturers make a broad range of cars and for some models even a sedan, station wagon and hatchback. And then there are also manufacturers (Volkswagen, PSA) who make cars under several brands which all aim at the same market segment. SUVs (I think it stands for 'Slow Use Vehicles' because everyone seems to drive them slow) are just a part of the range.
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