US car software, ya, I've never seen such trash in my life. This said I don't really have any complaints about my Hyundai software. It works, doesn't crash, and does what I want it too.
My - admittedly 8 year old - Mitsubishi has atrocious UX. State resets itself at odd times (cruise control disables EV mode, and resets regenerative braking settings, eg.), preferences are forgotten, if I want to listen to the radio I have to cycle through AM before FM every time, the touchscreen is slow to respond, the WiFi password for connecting to the app can only be gotten from a dealer, buttons do different things depending on context, etc.
UX in my Audi Q5 (2024) is terrible. With two phones in the car you never know which one is connected and whose google maps is being currently displayed. And then come the buttons designed with a contempt for a driver. I recently had to change a flat tire which is a story in itself. German engineering is soooo different these days.
I really wish that cars were legislated to have documented APIs/canbus. It would be great to be able to load an app that set my car up the way I like it, instead of having to change a bunch of settings every time I start it (EV mode on above 10% battery, eco mode accelerator mapping, single pedal driving all the way off. Every. Single. Time.)
Re Germans: I’m not sure it’s a new thing. I can remember trying to uninstall a seat in a 90s BMW and wondering how they had managed to make something that could be accomplished with 4 bolts into something so complex.
we have a 2017 and 2020 ioniq hybrid and the android auto has been flawless since we got them. except for updates from google on the phone temporarily breaking things, that is.
CarPlay works great though.
It’s not just American cars