Goodbye, Start / Stop ?

[Roscobbc]

Head-Up Display

• Projects vehicle information onto the windshield low in the driver's line of sight to help you keep your eyes on the road
• Adjustable vertical position and brightness of the display
• Includes color readouts which can display speed, gear, tach, shift lights, turn signals, bright headlamps, audio, turn-by-turn navigation, g-meter, speed limit, and lap times
• 3 selectable modes: Tour, Sport, and Track

A heads-up display I have to admit is perhaps the only 'toy' I would find of use. Things can happen so, so very fast in the Vette that I never get a chance to look down at the instruments......so indicated speed, rpm and oil pressure will only be seen after the event. I do have a small GPS with mph read-out just below eye level on the dash, but again no time to read when accelerating hard......and its too slow to read unless on cruise. I simply rely on gear shift light flashing-on at 6000 rpm and rev limiter cutting-in at 6250 rpm.........so, yes a heads-up display would be useful

 

[teamzr1]

The first HUDS were with the C4s and really slow updating
C5s are better but still a bit slow such as RPMs
This is due to the data coming from the PCM, over the network to the BCM
which then sends it to the IPC (dash controller) and then to the HUD unit so some latency

Better than is, I modified a REV limiter unit so I can set to what every RPM I wanted to trigger the light on
and is at eye level and better being away from bright sunlight

 

[CaptainK]

I wonder what percentage of people actually like and want all the technology put into cars nowadays? I mean its not like you have a choice when buying a car - all the crap is already in the cars nowadays.

Take for example my 73 plate Skoda baby wagon. I got it because wife wanted a new car, and wanted a big-ish estate for baby duties. Its a nice car for baby duties. However, it has lots of complete junk tech in it that I'd rather it didn't have. Electric park brake, "lane suicide assist", start stop.....

.... and keyless entry is also now a PITA. Why? We got 3 keys new with the cars, two were put away miles from the car, and one was used for using the car. After ONE year, the battery in the first key went flat. So decided to use a spare key until I could be bothered to get a new battery. It went dead about a month later. Thought it odd, so used the third and final key. Guess what? Dead after a month. Now, we don't use the car that much, so these keys must be sat there in a cupboard wasting their batteries all the time. Pointless.
Now compare to my FTO that has a "press button for central locking and disable alarm" key fob.... the same battery is in that when I had that alarm system installed when I got the car over 21 years ago, and I've used that car a LOT during that time.

Have people become so lazy they can't be bothered to press a button to unlock the car? But then have to be bothered to change fob batterie every year.

 

[Chuffer]

Must knock hell out of the life of the starter motor too!

Not to mention other moving parts too . The oil pressure ill be up and down like a Yo Yo and in hot weather the coolant won`t be circulating when stationary .

 

[Chuffer]

Head-Up Display

• Projects vehicle information onto the windshield low in the driver's line of sight to help you keep your eyes on the road
• Adjustable vertical position and brightness of the display
• Includes color readouts which can display speed, gear, tach, shift lights, turn signals, bright headlamps, audio, turn-by-turn navigation, g-meter, speed limit, and lap times
• 3 selectable modes: Tour, Sport, and Track

A heads-up display I have to admit is perhaps the only 'toy' I would find of use. Things can happen so, so very fast in the Vette that I never get a chance to look down at the instruments......so indicated speed, rpm and oil pressure will only be seen after the event. I do have a small GPS with mph read-out just below eye level on the dash, but again no time to read when accelerating hard......and its too slow to read unless on cruise. I simply rely on gear shift light flashing-on at 6000 rpm and rev limiter cutting-in at 6250 rpm.........so, yes a heads-up display would be useful

I have fitted a slim line GPS speedo in my line of sight on the C3 . It`s more accurate than the waivering speedometer needle at 30mph that cost me a speeding ticket a few years ago . Plus I don`t have to keep peering down into the dials set so low in the dash and obscured by the small Grant GT steering wheel which means taking my eye off the road : by which time I have run over two children , a cat , a passing cyclist and hit the car in front !

 

[Dorsetsteve]

Still a pointless gizmo though that is only there to `massage` manufacturers emissions figures .

Pretty much yeah. Adheres to the no idling zone rules in some places as well but that’s a very limited application.

 

[Dorsetsteve]

A lot of the tech is companies “adding value” or in more honest terms making money.

That said, my van has;
Cruise, auto speed limit, lane assist, heated screen, mirrors and seats, auto headlights inc full beam, auto wipers, auto hand brake with hill start assist. Basically it’s fully loaded.

If I was doing 5k miles a year this would be utterly overkill but I’m often driving that a month. What I refer to these gizmos as, is fatigue saving. Being able to cruise for an hour on an empty motorway through the early hours or safeguard yourself from an error in endless 50mph average cameras, it does help stave off the fatigue.

 

[Roscobbc]

A lot of the tech is companies “adding value” or in more honest terms making money.

That said, my van has;
Cruise, auto speed limit, lane assist, heated screen, mirrors and seats, auto headlights inc full beam, auto wipers, auto hand brake with hill start assist. Basically it’s fully loaded.

If I was doing 5k miles a year this would be utterly overkill but I’m often driving that a month. What I refer to these gizmos as, is fatigue saving. Being able to cruise for an hour on an empty motorway through the early hours or safeguard yourself from an error in endless 50mph average cameras, it does help stave off the fatigue.

I agree with the cruise control if travelling many miles - I would use it every opportunity - regarded it as something to help maintain a legal speed, especially in urban areas.........likewise the auto speed limit..........again a great tool in reduced extended sections of motorway repairs.......but really at its best in city use where there are 20 mph limits........couple all that with (arguably) the essentail auto transmission makes for far less stressful driving.

 

[Chuffer]

A lot of the tech is companies “adding value” or in more honest terms making money.

That said, my van has;
Cruise, auto speed limit, lane assist, heated screen, mirrors and seats, auto headlights inc full beam, auto wipers, auto hand brake with hill start assist. Basically it’s fully loaded.

If I was doing 5k miles a year this would be utterly overkill but I’m often driving that a month. What I refer to these gizmos as, is fatigue saving. Being able to cruise for an hour on an empty motorway through the early hours or safeguard yourself from an error in endless 50mph average cameras, it does help stave off the fatigue.

Surely the less you have to do physically the more likely you are to loose concentration on long journeys , especially when roads are quiet ( are they ever ?? ) . Fatigue management is a big consideration on today`s modern railways for drivers traveling long distances at high speed with nothing much to do except endure the mesmorising effect of watching the track and surroundings flash by their comfortable air conditioned cab . Failure to manually operate a control of any sort at regular intervals sounds an audible warning and failure to respond to that automatically applies the brakes . In short , the less you have to do the more likely you are to nod off !

 

[Dorsetsteve]

Surely the less you have to do physically the more likely you are to loose concentration on long journeys , especially when roads are quiet ( are they ever ?? ) . Fatigue management is a big consideration on today`s modern railways for drivers traveling long distances at high speed with nothing much to do except endure the mesmorising effect of watching the track and surroundings flash by their comfortable air conditioned cab . Failure to manually operate a control of any sort at regular intervals sounds an audible warning and failure to respond to that automatically applies the brakes . In short , the less you have to do the more likely you are to nod off !

If we’ve got to that point, it’s time to pull over for a break. If I’m watching the road rather than the speedo and I’m comfortable I’m safer. My first van when I stated the company was a 15 year old Vito with nothing, electric windows that’s it and I was exhausted the difference between that and the next van which had the “essentials” cruise etc was night and day.

 

[Dorsetsteve]

I agree with the cruise control if travelling many miles - I would use it every opportunity - regarded it as something to help maintain a legal speed, especially in urban areas.........likewise the auto speed limit..........again a great tool in reduced extended sections of motorway repairs.......but really at its best in city use where there are 20 mph limits........couple all that with (arguably) the essentail auto transmission makes for far less stressful driving.

Particularly when you get a change of rules, so driving into Wales it’s easy to forget the 20mph blanket or round London to turn down a street and it’s now a 20mph limit etc. This coupled with Waze does help reduce the stress, you still have to be vigilant but it’s the next best thing to a co pilot.

 

[Roscobbc]

Chuffer does thave a point.......however the opposite side to that is when driving in major cities and urban areas the respective local authorities will be doing their very best to fleece you for traffic offences.......so bus lanes (especially those where the 'access' times vary on the same stretch of road. Yello box junctions that are carefully laid-out so only one, perhaps two vehicles can pass through without stopping. LTN (low traffic neighbourhoods) and 'timed' no entry roads. Inadequate signage 'warning' you of upcoming no left/right turns. 20 are being made by locamph speed limits. Traffic light cameras. Need I go on........huge revenues by local authorities.
So many distractions for drivers unfamiliar with specific areas - so use of GPS based satnav or Waze is essentail. A auto transmission speed hold/cruise control are all essential items for modern driving. Lets not forget the need for front, rear and side view cameras for all those 'incidents' out there and I've forgotten about Khan's congestion charges. We live within the M25 and it is just possible (if your car is chargeable) to pick certain roads where cameras have been (and are continually) chopped/painted-over or plastic bags are covering the cameras........but you need to be very alert as Khan's 'crooks' may have cleaned/repaired the cameras......