[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by MacNNFamous 

I'm fine with geofenced autonomous driving. But I want to be able to get in the back seat and go to to sleep, while it drives on our mind numbingly boring divided highways that span most of this country.

I'm with you here.

That's my issue with driving aids: they just put me in a position where I am worst as a human being, I'm being asked to constantly watch something and interject at a moment's notice. Mentally, you invariably tend to doze off or stay as engaged as if you were on the wheel full time. Add to that that some versions of “adaptive cruise control” either drive like idiots (braking harshly or accelerating strongly) and get confused when e. g. there is construction on the highway and you have two sets of lane markers. In the worst case, I'd have to fight it, because it wants to keep me in the wrong lange.

The big step is to have true autonomous driving in select circumstances. Don't tackle bustling city traffic just yet, focus on highway driving.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

That’s what this is. Same with GM’s SuperCruise (which is pretty good). Geofence it to the highways where circumstances are mapped out and keep collecting data.

They are all subscription based of course. Get you hooked and then ask you to pay. But that is life now apparently

[OreoCookie]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

That’s what this is. Same with GM’s SuperCruise (which is pretty good). Geofence it to the highways where circumstances are mapped out and keep collecting data.

Yeah, diver assistants that are in the uncanny valley are the worst. In a sense, you have to adapt to them, learning when they work and how they want to be used. On one of VW's adaptive cruise control, you could tweak some of the presets (e. g. how much distance it'd leave between you and the vehicle in front of you, whether you want lane assist today or not, etc.). Since that particular rental had those cursed touch buttons, I'd often accidentally disable one feature or another and it was very distracting when I wanted to fix it.

Now I know what airplane pilots feel like these days

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

They are all subscription based of course. Get you hooked and then ask you to pay. But that is life now apparently

Ugh, that's so gross, I hate that.

[andi*pandi]

Me on a road trip to maine: driving
car suddenly beeps and flashes a message:
Me: What?!? ack!
car: you've been driving for 2 hours
me: no shit sherlock. Thanks for that helpful/distracting warning?

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

Yeah, diver assistants that are in the uncanny valley are the worst. In a sense, you have to adapt to them, learning when they work and how they want to be used. On one of VW's adaptive cruise control, you could tweak some of the presets (e. g. how much distance it'd leave between you and the vehicle in front of you, whether you want lane assist today or not, etc.). Since that particular rental had those cursed touch buttons, I'd often accidentally disable one feature or another and it was very distracting when I wanted to fix it.

Now I know what airplane pilots feel like these days

Ugh, that's so gross, I hate that.

Yeah. Like all technology you do need to use them for a while to get comfortable. Note that adaptive cruise control is much much different than Blue Cruise or Super Cruise of course.

[OreoCookie]

Out of curiosity, what’s the difference between? I thought super cruise = sum of assistants like adaptive cruise control and lane assist.

Do you develop trust in these systems? I only used rentals and company cars, so I didn’t have time to get to know each car very well.

[Laminar]

It's adaptive cruise and lane centering and sometimes auto lane changes (driver hits turn signal to initiate), all allowing no hands on the steering wheel. If BlueCruise isn't enabled, Ford gets mad if you take your hands off the wheel. If it has to warn you to put hands back on the wheel a couple of times it just turns off. There's also a camera monitoring driver attention and will shut off BlueCruise if you're not watching the road.

[MacNNFamous]

Once I can sleep in the back of my van while cross Nebraska, I will be at the dealership. Until then I don't care.

You guys see the new Scout?
https://www.theautopian.com/embargo-...utely-amazing/

Looks great, Scouts have been one of my love languages for a long time, despite my hatred of SUVs. Scouts, the old ones anyway, are purity. I've tried to buy one 3 times, and every time something happens either as I'm getting there, or about to leave, that prevents it from happening.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by OreoCookie 

Out of curiosity, what’s the difference between? I thought super cruise = sum of assistants like adaptive cruise control and lane assist.

Do you develop trust in these systems? I only used rentals and company cars, so I didn’t have time to get to know each car very well.

Super Cruise is really good on highways. I haven’t tried Blue Cruise yet, but I’ve heard it’s a somewhat more limited version (at least here in Canada). They are pre-mapped roads but it’s truly uncanny. It changes lanes for you and everything. I believe it’s actually hands-free driving — unlike Tesla’s, which technically is not (although you wouldn’t think it based on Musk marketing).

I will say that it took me a while to get used to it.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by MacNNFamous 

You guys see the new Scout?
https://www.theautopian.com/embargo-...utely-amazing/

Looks great, Scouts have been one of my love languages for a long time, despite my hatred of SUVs. Scouts, the old ones anyway, are purity. I've tried to buy one 3 times, and every time something happens either as I'm getting there, or about to leave, that prevents it from happening.

I’m interested, but wary. An IH Scout with a modern engine is my dream. They never seemed to wear out. Instead they ran until poor maintenance and abuse killed them.

My short list of “do all, go anywhere” vehicles includes the IH Scout, the classic Land Rover Defender, and a Bronco from when they were rugged, enclosed trucks. Today’s Defender and Bronco are cushy, and the Bronco in particular is a “car-based SUV”. That’s not a bad thing, but it is not something I’d feel OK driving across unpaved areas in.

Our first Honda CR-V had on-demand all-wheel drive, and 8 inches of ground clearance; we once “informally” exited I-10 west of Katy by following the Jeeps and jacked-up trucks as we avoided a complete stoppage (for no apparent reason). No sweat at all. I can’t see anyone driving a Defender or new Bronco across the path we took. I don’t doubt that the base Defender, or even the base Bronco could do it, but I just don’t see it happening.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

They look incredible. Like “will this be vapourware?” incredible. I think maybe every EV announcement we’ve seen has ended up at least a year late and 25% more expensive. In the meantime a ton of deposits presumably fund development. I’m too busy to look into it much but I’d love to know more who is running the show and what automotive experience they have.

[reader50]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

I’m too busy to look into it much but I’d love to know more who is running the show and what automotive experience they have.

The Wikipedia page has a few answers. Scout Motors is wholly owned by the VW group, but is being run independently. CEO is Scott Keogh, who is also CEO of Volkswagen USA. No other executives are mentioned.

Scouts will be made in South Carolina, and sold directly to the public - not through VW dealers. The dealers are vowing to fight this decision. Gotta support your local stealership.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

and the Bronco in particular is a “car-based SUV”. That’s not a bad thing, but it is not something I’d feel OK driving across unpaved areas in.

The Bronco Sport is based on the Escape platform. The Bronco (non-Sport) is a body-on-frame SUV based on the Ranger platform.

Our first Honda CR-V had on-demand all-wheel drive, and 8 inches of ground clearance; we once “informally” exited I-10 west of Katy by following the Jeeps and jacked-up trucks as we avoided a complete stoppage (for no apparent reason). No sweat at all.

Your CR-V is a "car-based SUV" based on the Civic platform. Why is a Civic-based crossover offroad-capable but no other crossover would be?

[ShortcutToMoncton]

I assume that would be one of the original models (first or second gen)? Not that it changes the equation much but at least in those earlier times, those better times manufacturers were giving some sort of token acknowledgement that this sort of vehicle might ever go off-road at some point in its life.

[Thorzdad]

I rolled-over 294,000 miles on our 2010 Honda Fit last Friday.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Had a 2019 Fit that I really loved, and a 2021 HR-V that was a more refined (and AWD, albeit much less efficient) version as well. Great cars.

[Thorzdad]

Our experience with japanese cars, in general, has been great. Our first was a 3rd gen Honda Civic Si. It was a blast to drive, and it had the same TARDIS-like ability to swallow anything we could cram into it, like our current Fit does.

Then we went through two Nissan Maxima SEs that were pretty bulletproof (well, the engines were, anyway lol) Took those to well over 300,000 miles.

[Laminar]

Sold my truck at 298k, bummed I didn't get to roll over to 300k.

[ghporter]

My son’s 2015 Fit didn’t quite make it into your league, Thorz. During the pandemic, he worked from home and rarely went out, so it sat (outdoors) in the San Antonio weather. Worse, somehow the A/C system self-destructed - probably because it wasn’t operating much for that time. In any case, while he loved that car, he had to say goodbye at around 107k miles.

I have yet to decide to just get rid of a Honda. I’ve had them totaled (a 2000 and 2017 CR-V), traded them in on newer models, etc. They just keep going with minimal attention and very simple upkeep.

[MacNNFamous]

I have way too many cars, but my daily will always be a honda. Current insight is at 290k miles, everything works, original hybrid battery.

[subego]

No Mazda love around here?

[MacNNFamous]

They rust out too fast to know if they're long term reliable.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by subego 

No Mazda love around here?

I always liked the old-school RX-7 with the rotary engines, just because. And those first couple gens of the Miatas were super sweet. After that...dunno.

A minor correction...My wife reminded me that we took our 2001 Maxima to over 400,000 miles. Sold it for $800. It needed another clutch, but it was otherwise running great.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by subego 

No Mazda love around here?

Meh. They're not really in the conversation when it comes to Japanese reliability, for whatever reason. I have one, but it's been in the garage for the past three years because of unreliability.

Lately they've been trying to position themselves as the Japanese Volvo - not really a luxury brand, but a bit upmarket? We're still figuring out what to replace my wife's Lincoln with and considered the new CX-90 but the hybrid rollout has been a disaster. Owners reports huge issues that apparently turned into recalls last month.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a6...ftware-recall/

Right now we really like the Crown Signia.

[subego]

Maybe I’m out of date. I thought they were on the good side of the reliability continuum.

[Laminar]

As a brand I think they're up there, at least according to whatever source that half the internet loves and half hates.

But brand average doesn't help when the specific model I want is a disaster. Like how Honda's in the bottom half of the 2024 JDPower list but the Civic is a top 3 compact car.

[Thorzdad]

I’ve never felt JD Power to be all that reliable of a guide, myself. Their award categories seem so segmented and granular that they seem designed to make sure any given brand gets a top award in one category or another. “Top initial customer satisfaction for the first six hours of ownership among 4-door crossover SUVs with panoramic sunroofs and red metallic paint” kind of stuff.

[ghporter]

JD Power is a popularity survey. As such, it depends on voluntary inputs. Like anything we find on the Intarwebs*, their surveys are marked by extreme opinions: really superb, or really crappy. And with cars, a lot of people just don’t feel like venting about their car’s problems because they are wrangling issues with the dealership and manufacturer instead of simply saying “This car is a great paperweight, but otherwise it stinks”.

*I’m not saying JD Power’s surveys are open to all and ON the Internet, only using this as a comparison.

[ghporter]

Not related to the above, but yesterday I was once again reminded of a certain driving style: operating the vehicle with the driver’s seat reclined as far as possible while still retaining “a little” forward visibility. Cool looking? Kinda… Functional? Not really.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

As a brand I think they're up there, at least according to whatever source that half the internet loves and half hates.

I should have known I couldn't preempt the hate.

[subego]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Not related to the above, but yesterday I was once again reminded of a certain driving style: operating the vehicle with the driver’s seat reclined as far as possible while still retaining “a little” forward visibility. Cool looking? Kinda… Functional? Not really.

I’m always right up on the steering wheel and get called a “granny driver” because of it.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by ghporter 

Not related to the above, but yesterday I was once again reminded of a certain driving style: operating the vehicle with the driver’s seat reclined as far as possible while still retaining “a little” forward visibility. Cool looking? Kinda… Functional? Not really.

A version of the gangsta lean.

[ghporter]

That position, all reclined, makes my neck hurt just to think about.