Quoted from Blitzburgh99:2017 Honda Pilot ... has the start/stop engine feature. Sucks. Totally sucks. It can be disabled but have to push button everytime. It has too many nanny features. The blind spot detectors, lane change pulling, auto braking if sense other cars, etc....it’s too damn much. In fact, that stuff makes it more dangerous when stuff happens and distracts me. I work in healthcare and driving a car now feels like walking down the hall of an ICU. Beeps and blips everywhere for everything.
In years past, engineers designed cars based on physics and laws of science. You know, things that are universal and unchangeable? But when Federal Gov enacted higher mpg requirement laws, now automakers are trying to cheat the laws of nature with gimmicks. Start/stop, 9 plus gear transmissions, etc. all that stuff won’t make a big difference and in fact will cause consumers to spend more in the end. Restarting an engine is one of the hardest things on the complete car system. All those electronic gadgets are just gremlins lying in wait. And those won’t be cheap fixes because of the computers running them. Disable them? Then the insurance company won’t pay a claim, and may in fact come back after you for not having those safety features operating properly.
Absolutely great points that many people are not aware of these days. This is not a 2017 Honda Pilot thing, this is everywhere now. All of the things you mention are why I have held back from buying a new car, in my case I am looking at a Highlander, but all the same things apply. Another thing you didn't mention are the gremlin-like behaviors of these systems. Such as, slamming on the brakes even though there is nothing there, sounding warnings again when nothing is there, etc. These are supposed to be things to improve safety, but they also can be downright dangerous. I know personally of one person whose (almost brand new) car unexpectedly simply shut down in the middle a freeway trip, the reason later determined to be "computer failure". The start/stop thing and the 8-9 gear transmissions are used to eke out minuscule improvements in mpg, hardly worth all of the extra cost and maintenance. This is a bad direction all of the car makers are going in. Seat belts, anti-lock brakes, air bags, these were improvements that were well worth the return on investment. An expensive radar system with a computer tied to the brakes to stop the car because you are looking down at your phone and not paying attention is a waste. With all of the sensors in the bumpers now even if you just get involved in a small tap it is going to thousands to replace a bumper instead of hundreds. A lot of people don't know about the emblem on the front of their car, I first found out about it while researching the Toyota Highlander. If you have adaptive cruise control, they use a "special" see-through emblem. If you break it, it costs $500 to $1000. Versus $50 for the usual plastic piece.
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The old way worked pretty darn good if you just put a little effort in it. Watch where you are going, leave a gap, take it easy and don't speed, and drive defensively while watching out for idiots. Add in staying off the phone and you are good to go.