What is important to you from the infotainment system?

[crashmtb]

This is a good list. I think the biggest things I'd move up to "must have" is some kind of sentry/dashcam feature.

Nice to have wishlist:

• A way to see surround cameras, especially if you can see a front bumper camera while driving (for offroad spotting / cramped parallel parking).
• Include the rearview mirror in the power adjusting/driver profile settings. It's weird to have to adjust that manually when everything else is automatic.
• Show real-time energy usage by various subsystems (motors, climate, BMS, accessory ports).
• For bonus points, display estimated impact of various factors on your range (e.g. "You're using 40% more energy than rated range on this trip. 20% of this is due to high speeds which increase drag. 10% of this is due to extreme cold temperatures requiring the battery heater to remain active. 10% of this is due to unknown factors such as aerodynamics from accessories or towing.")

I'd actively prefer to omit the browser out since it's a huge threat vector. Web apps (e.g. for media) are fine, but don't give it a URL bar, please.

gearguard seems to be a dashcsm sort of deal.
pretty sure they’ll have some kinda 360 camera view. all the competition does.

A power rear view mirror? Why? Takes 5 seconds to reach up and align it.
I don’t think even rolls Royce has that.

side mirror settings are saved to driver profiles Though

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[thrill]

...A power rear view mirror? Why? Takes 5 seconds to reach up and align it.
I don’t think even rolls Royce has that...

Mercedes had 'em in the early naughties.

 

[crashmtb]

Mercedes had 'em in the early naughties.

Until MY’04 it seems. Because of course they did. Four motors and two sensors….bet that’s a fun repair bill.

 

[Babbuino]

I wouldn't mind a video like this one from RJ...

 

[kylealden]

gearguard seems to be a dashcsm sort of deal.
pretty sure they’ll have some kinda 360 camera view. all the competition does.

A power rear view mirror? Why? Takes 5 seconds to reach up and align it.
I don’t think even rolls Royce has that.

side mirror settings are saved to driver profiles Though

A memory side view mirror? Why? Takes 5 seconds to reach over and align it.

A power seat? Why? Takes 5 seconds to reach down and move it.

A power frunk? Why? Takes 5 seconds to lift it...

More seriously, when everything else is saved to a profile, it's easy to forget the rearview mirror until suddenly you need it. It's also inevitably going to get smudged and never quite be in the right position when you align it in a hurry after someone else used your car. And often times the resistance is just off so it's quite a pain to actually get it in the optimal position.

It's not a meaningfully harder problem than we've already solved with the side view mirrors. Why leave one remaining manual adjustment after selecting your profile, when we could have zero?

 

[Dohmar]

- Any screens need to be readable in full sunlight - if this isnt fixed then its worthless
- Buttons or tactile controls for volume, back/forward, answer/hangup, mute (usual stuff), you can't do stuff with a touchscreen while you're focusing on the road (which is where your attention should be when in motion)
- Good bluetooth implementation
- Good GPS implementation (I would prefer android based)
- Ability to install apps that are relevant

ie, On my car's head unit, I have apps for weather forecast, rainfall, wind, I have an ODBII app for the engine codes + gauges, I have an app that tells me where the nearest phone towers are, an app that tells me where the nearest public toilets are, etc... these are android apps so I would prefer an android head unit, one that is snappy and can integrate with the rest of the car functions like self levelling etc..

It doesn't have to have ALL the bells and whistles, but it NEEDS to do the basics extremely well. And the first 3 are really requirements, the 4th is just optional (if it has android auto/apple carplay it does the same thing)

 

[Rivian-WI]

My 'gap' vehicle is a 2021 Mazda CX-5 Signature.
In this level they removed the touch screen and have a navigation knob. At first I thought that was odd / dumb. But after using it for a bit, I am beginning to like it. I can sit back in the seat and my hand/arm easily reaches the knob. I can move about the screen easily. No need to lean forward to touch a screen (tall guy with seat way back). At times it is a pain to move 'cursor' from one side of screen to other where with a touch screen this would be nothing to do.
Just a thought that a nav knob would be interesting.

 

[staples]

More seriously, when everything else is saved to a profile, it's easy to forget the rearview mirror until suddenly you need it. It's also inevitably going to get smudged and never quite be in the right position when you align it in a hurry after someone else used your car. And often times the resistance is just off so it's quite a pain to actually get it in the optimal position.

It's not a meaningfully harder problem than we've already solved with the side view mirrors. Why leave one remaining manual adjustment after selecting your profile, when we could have zero?

Heads move more than butts. And with such a small mirror, it is hard to have the leeway in any central automatic adjustment to account for minuscule changes in head position. Even in the same drive I find myself manually moving my rear view mirror as I adjust my torso / head.

 

[Hopper]

Sirius XM that connects to satellites. Seemless connection to iPhone with ability to use Siri. Route planning, vehicle metrics and ability to use phone apps like Waze. Surround camera views.

 

[Gshenderson]

- Any screens need to be readable in full sunlight - if this isnt fixed then its worthless
- Buttons or tactile controls for volume, back/forward, answer/hangup, mute (usual stuff), you can't do stuff with a touchscreen while you're focusing on the road (which is where your attention should be when in motion)
- Good bluetooth implementation
- Good GPS implementation (I would prefer android based)
- Ability to install apps that are relevant

ie, On my car's head unit, I have apps for weather forecast, rainfall, wind, I have an ODBII app for the engine codes + gauges, I have an app that tells me where the nearest phone towers are, an app that tells me where the nearest public toilets are, etc... these are android apps so I would prefer an android head unit, one that is snappy and can integrate with the rest of the car functions like self levelling etc..

It doesn't have to have ALL the bells and whistles, but it NEEDS to do the basics extremely well. And the first 3 are really requirements, the 4th is just optional (if it has android auto/apple carplay it does the same thing)

I have an aftermarket head unit in my 4Runner that is essentially an Android tablet. I really like having the ability to to load any number of third party apps onto it. Rivian has chosen to go in a different (proprietary) direction. Understandable given all the things the OS and apps need to control, but at the same time the absence of AA/CP is disappointing.

 

[SoCal Rob]

It's not a meaningfully harder problem than we've already solved with the side view mirrors. Why leave one remaining manual adjustment after selecting your profile, when we could have zero?

I think it is meaningfully harder to motorize and precisely position a rear view mirror compared to seats, side view mirrors, steering column, and trunk/frunk/hatch.

You have to design these systems for the ways people abuse them as much as how they use them.

Seats and steering columns are easy because someone used to manual seat and steering column adjustment knows you have to manually unlock the item befor you start forcefully pushing, pulling, raising, lowering, etc. People aren’t used to yanking on their seat before unlocking it first so when they can’t find a way to unlock it they probably aren’t going to try to force anything.

The side view mirrors are completely surrounded in such a way that it is difficult to manually move them, and the number of people who would try to manually move an outside mirror by touching it is pretty low anyway. Even the manual mirrors have had inside mechanical remote controls for close to 50 years. That means for about the last 50 years people aren’t used to reaching out a window to manually move a mirror so they probably aren’t going to try to force anything.

The power operated trunk/frunk/hatch mechanisms are designed to allow someone to manually override them because people ARE going to try to force them. Even if the power mechanism loses a little precision over time from people manually moving them, a millimeter of play or so isn’t going to be perceptible to the user.

The likelihood of someone reaching up and yanking on a rear view mirror to adjust it is very high. The tolerance for inaccuracy is very low since a millimeter of difference at the pivot point can make a meaningful difference in field of view. Even the smallest vibration can be maddening as the image becomes blurry. It’s a recipe for dissatisfaction and warranty claims

If Mercedes tried this and then abandoned the option as another poster said, there is probably a good reason why.

I think we are more likely to see a video rear view “mirror” display than motorized rear view mirror with driver memory. This is like the progression we saw with power antennas, which used to be all the rage. You could improve the power antenna mechanism and add sensors to protect from impact and abuse, but it isn’t worth it when you can use a shark fin and/or window-integrated antenna plus circuitry instead. As cool as it was to watch a power antenna doing its thing, they were also a source of dissatisfaction and warranty claims. I don’t think any new cars use them now.

 

[stingerdav]

I think we are more likely to see a video rear view “mirror” display than motorized rear view mirror with driver memory.

This is exactly what they should be focused on. My 2021 GMC Sierra 2500HD has the rear view mirror display and it is far superior to a traditional mirror. I have no head rest obstruction, I don't have to change the position of the mirror between my 5' 1" wife and 6' 2" me, and while it doesn't have night vision, it does have better low light vision than my eyes do looking through the factory tinted rear window. It also stays incredibly (almost impossibly) clean up near the third brake light. It sounds like the Rivian won't have this at launch and that will be a big step back for me.

 

[MIG]

A memory side view mirror? Why? Takes 5 seconds to reach over and align it.

A power seat? Why? Takes 5 seconds to reach down and move it.

A power frunk? Why? Takes 5 seconds to lift it...

More seriously, when everything else is saved to a profile, it's easy to forget the rearview mirror until suddenly you need it. It's also inevitably going to get smudged and never quite be in the right position when you align it in a hurry after someone else used your car. And often times the resistance is just off so it's quite a pain to actually get it in the optimal position.

It's not a meaningfully harder problem than we've already solved with the side view mirrors. Why leave one remaining manual adjustment after selecting your profile, when we could have zero?

Not an exact comparison but... I have a modern double wall oven (expensive, was here when I bought the house) with a digital control panel that controls both ovens. I used the "self clean" feature exactly once on the top oven, after which I discovered that vaporized particles could lodge in the sensor port and cause a display error. The control panel controlled both ovens and the resulting fault rendered both inoperable for several days while I figured out the problem. I also have a third, commercial, oven. It has a gas pilot and a dial to select temperature. The third over will work in a zombie apocalypse assuming the gas line is still intact.

Lesson: some things benefit from overcomplication, other things are fine left simple.

 

[Dohmar]

Not an exact comparison but... I have a modern double wall oven (expensive, was here when I bought the house) with a digital control panel that controls both ovens. I used the "self clean" feature exactly once on the top oven, after which I discovered that vaporized particles could lodge in the sensor port and cause a display error. The control panel controlled both ovens and the resulting fault rendered both inoperable for several days while I figured out the problem. I also have a third, commercial, oven. It has a gas pilot and a dial to select temperature. The third over will work in a zombie apocalypse assuming the gas line is still intact.

Lesson: some things benefit from overcomplication, other things are fine left simple.

I'd say the side mirror/middle mirror isnt quite the same comparison. Side mirrors are electric so you can adjust them without having to wind the window down. The center mirror is always within arms reach.

I wouldn't want to electrify things that don't need it for two reasons, a) more complications and moving parts = more parts to break and needs replacing, b) your range is compromised the more electrical stuff on there. Now some of them are really useful, like the kitchen and the air compressor (ie you can't cook food or pump up a tire by hand). I do like the electric tonneau cover for the security aspect of it, but I wouldn't want heaps on it.
That said, powered frunk, side mirrors, seats - they only draw current when moving, so its no big deal... I'd happily take them as addons. Not sold on electric center mirror yet. Just don't seen the point.

 

[888tom888]

As mentioned above, I love 95% of my Tesla features. As an apple fanboy, I"d love to see Carplay present. Not sure why automakers get their panties in a bunch about allowing other systems into their cars. Kinda stupid if you ask me. I'd love accurate battery info as well as dog mode and most important to me, the ability to cool or heat the car remotely. Living in SoCal our summers get hot, and I love that I can pre-cool my Tesla so that the car is cool and I don't fry when I sit in it. The best feature ever. Lastly, great to hear about ventilated seats. Its the thing I hate most about Tesla.

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