It turns out that more technology in cars isn’t necessarily something customers want, and it’s not really improving their driving experience. We know my thoughts on the matter, but I’ll do my best to stay impartial on this latest survey from JD Power that shows most customers don’t appreciate technology in cars unless they can see a clear benefit to them.
JD Power’s 2024 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study evaluated over 81,000 drivers’ experience with “advanced vehicle technologies” in 2024 model year vehicles after 90 days of ownership, It turned out to be a pretty mixed bag when it came to what people liked using. There are a number of tech features that customers like using because they feels that it answers their needs, but at the same time there is a whole lot that don’t get used very often or are continually annoying, according to the survey.
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What bothers me the most (aside from getting rid of all knobs and physical buttons…) is that I bought a car the better part of a decade ago with Android Auto. And it is awesome. It is everything I want in a car “entertainment” system and it makes it trivial to navigate and listen to music.
So… of course car companies are going out of their way to block that and apple auto. Because they want subscription fees.
I just got a new car. I get a text message. I click play on the main menu. It tells me I need a subscription to listen to text messages. I open up android auto, click play. It plays. WEIRD.