[mdasen]

> electric-drivetrain with onboard gasoline generator

Generally speaking, it's more efficient to power a car using a series-parallel hybrid system than an electric drivetrain with generator (series hybrid) while not really being any more complicated.

In a series hybrid (electric with generator), you're losing energy converting the rotational energy into electric energy. It's better to use the engine's output to power the wheels while it's in an efficient range. It's why Toyota's series-parallel hybrid design offered better mileage than vehicles that (primarily or fully) operated as series hybrids like the Chevy Volt.

> No screens

You can't really sell a car without a screen due to government regulations which require backup cameras (since 2018 in North America, since 2022 in the EU and Japan).

> no assists

Automatic Emergency Braking is going to be required in the US in 2029 (detecting frontal crashes about to happen and automatically braking, including pedestrian detection).

The EU requires even more including blind spot detection and lane-keeping assist.

I certainly agree that cars need knobs and buttons for controls like AC/heat, music, etc. However, it'd be hard to make a car where you aren't putting in a screen and assistive technology. I think a better argument would be to make a car where the screen was simply Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and a backup camera - rather than shoving a lot of garbage UX into it.

[ErroneousBosh]

> Automatic Emergency Braking is going to be required in the US in 2029 (detecting frontal crashes about to happen and automatically braking, including pedestrian detection).

I'm never going to want to drive a car that has that.

[bdamm]

My car has AEB and it's great. I'll never drive another car without it. Why not take the energy out of the impact? Humans aren't perfect, and even less so as we age.

[ErroneousBosh]

What impact?

Why do you think it's great?

[bdamm]

"Impact" as in an inevitable crash. I like it because it has unquestionably caused the avoidance of two cases where my car would have hit something. Once when I was merging onto a freeway and the car ahead of me basically brakechecked panic'd at the last second while I was briefly looking over my shoulder at the traffic I was merging into, and the other when a friend of mine borrowed my car and nearly hit a deer. Both cases the AEB kicked in, the car came to a very aggressive halt, and the crash was avoided. Yes, the AEB has kicked in at other times, but on the whole, it's been great and I appreciate having it. Probably other manufacturers have different implementations and different experiences. Mine is a Tesla.

[advisedwang]

Why? You presumably don't enjoy get into frontal crashes, are you worried about it doing false positives? Is that a significant issue?

[ErroneousBosh]

Because I don't want anything in the vehicle apart from me deciding when I should brake.

[advisedwang]

So if you get into a crash, you would rather not have an extra few hundred milliseconds of deceleration? You would rather have more costly repairs, more injuries, maybe even more liability? I just don't see what you get in exchange for that by avoiding these features, or what principal is at stake

[ErroneousBosh]

What crash?

My car already has this awesome safety feature called a "windscreen". It's a bit of thick glass about a metre and a half across, kind of like the screens that cars now have inside but here's the clever bit - it lets you look outside the car! It's completely transparent with no electronics (although mine has very fine wires embedded to heat it to clear ice off, that's not really "active" in any sense).

By looking out of this "windscreen" at other things in front of your car, you can prevent crashes.

[advisedwang]

Ah, I see where you are coming from. As a driver with perfect attention, zero ms response time, 360 degree vision and a car that never fails in a world where no other driver ever makes mistakes, this feature doesn't help you.

You still never articulated an upside to not having it though.

[ssl-3]

I guess you know your cutoff date, then. My own perspective differs.

A couple of years ago, I was involved in a stupid car crash that probably would have been prevented by this kind of system. Everyone was pretty much OK (yay), but both vehicles were ruined. And for me, at least, it was a complete and utter pain in the ass to find something else to drive that fit my intended use.

0/10. Would rather be annoyed by false positives.