Seems someone is always borrowing my Subaru. And readjusting the driver's seat. In "olden" times, no big deal. There were only a few adjustments and getting back a preferred posture, not much of an issue. Now Subaru has quite a large range of possible adjustable positions, but they also have a button you can push to save your spot. LOVE IT. Auto stop/start. Hate worse than automatic windows. Your hated/loved improvements?
You pay for these conveniences in two ways. Initially, you pay for the option to be inclined the purchase if the car. Later, you pay for the cost of the repair. Likely, the repair parts will only be dealer specific at high cost. Because, electronics control units are involved, they will need to reprogrammed at a dealer with their proprietary software. Then, the parts may not be available any longer, the software may have been abandoned. I remember when 3G cell service was shut down and a lot of OTA electronics were bricked. I'll continue to buy the base optioned vehicle. Like my 25 year old totally mechanical washing machine, dryer and kitchen range, they still work and the replacement parts are still available.
Anyone ever try to buy a barebones car? Sure they are available, sometimes, but usually it takes a few months and many dealers are not too happy to order them. At least in my experience. And, if you really, really want an option, it is often available ONLY if you get three other options you do not want. Love. It is a tie between heated seats and heated steering wheel. My body fat level is pretty low, so I struggle to retain what heat my muscles produce. Between the two, love heated steering wheel the most. Hate auto stop and start. Most people don't want to drive my mutt mobile, although I seriously keep it pretty clean. But I can really see the value of the seat memory. Hey, life is short and sometimes painful. I am going to go for something like heated steering if I can. I do miss dad's old car with "wind wings" kristen
LoL; That's a good one They're advertised, but you can't get your hands on one. If they do find one, transportation cost or ordering one would approach the cost of ones that's already on the lot - ready to drive-off. That's been my experience with Stealerships. I inherited my dad's Toyota SR5 xtra cab with wing windows, 3.0L 5-speed. AC was standard equipment in the SR5 model. Don't recall if it had electric windows.
my last bare bones was a '91 miata with crank windows. i hate touch screens. i love cooled seats and heated steering wheel. back up cam is great and a big help. sks is nice.
The 2000 Ranger had window cranks, but also had A/C. I think the only think near true bare bones today will be that Bezos EV pick up.
My poor old car carrier/container carrier truck is about the last "old skool" vehicle I own .... wait a minute, the Mazda 3500 motorhome would nearly fit in that category because the air con was fitted after market .... I resisted automatic transmissions, cruise control, ABS, auto climate control, hybrid and anything else that interfered with the true driving experience ..... I have both aged and become wiser or spoilt .... or a lot of both. The latest purchase, an MG4 EV, comes with all the fancy bit, some I have to turn off every time I drive it, although the latest factory update seems to have calmed the Lane Keep Assist down to gently warning compared to taking control. I can even turn the warning beeper off that will occasionally flick the steering enough to sense a white line, then beep at you ..... like it's a challenge to see if I'm quick enough to beat it and gloating when it wins ..... I'm guessing it is checking to see if I'm still paying attention and it isn't doing all the driving.., Love the adaptive cruise control and the fact you can change the sensing distance to the vehicle in front with a flick of a control on the steering wheel ..... although, the single green bar compared to the 3 green bar when town driving certainly tests the faith in the system, yet the 3 green bars means you have to judge if the car in front is travelling at the same speed or a lot slower, from way back up the road ..... or it simply slows down gradually till you are doing the same speed and leaving a few cars gap between you and the next car .... if you guess correctly, you are rewarded with maintaining your speed and sailing past them, if not, you are left in the overtaking lane creeping up on them at a very slow rate and before you have actually reached them, they have changed into your lane and now the car is slowing savagely attempting to retain that crazy distance ..... First world problem for sure The silent sneak up on the person crossing the road that didn't look and certainly didn't hear you approaching, is great fun the first few times when you honk the horn and they near launch into space, but it's annoying in a car park when they just about walk into the car .... so, windows down and the sound system pumping soon sorts that problem Love heated seats, would love cooled seats for summer, and a cooled steering wheel would be great as well, no use for a heated steering wheel over here. Apart from a few other annoying "features," I love all the techo things in this MG4 EV, the price was the real deal sealer though, no idea how they can make it, transport it to Australia and the car stealership sell it and make a $$, yet still be so cheap, 2 yr or 40,000km service intervals is also a great selling point, along with the 10 yr warranty, including the battery T1 Terry
For me, the smart key system and backup camera in my car were revolutionary and must haves going forward. The smart key system allows me to keep my keys in my pocket and is a really great convenience, especially in winter. And the backup camera has been incredibly helpful to back into parking spaces while being able to see what’s going on behind me in a more accurate way than only looking behind. I don’t like antilock brakes and the traction control. It seems like whenever I hit an icy patch, the brakes just refuse to engage and the car tends to go halfway through intersections when I’m trying to stop!
The MG4 senses the change in temp and flashes up a warning that road ice could be a problem, if it continues it recommends to select SNOW mode be selected so the regen and steering response, as well as the brake bias is adjusted and it doubles the sensitivity to wheel speed slowing faster than the other wheels and adjusts the pressure applied to each wheel as required .... and warns you to slow down ..... just in case your head was still in daredevil mode T1 Terry
