Newer Cars Rant, Why must they complicate things so much?!? Options

[d3ath2009]

Just wanted to rant about how newer cars are becoming less and less customizable. Honda has done a mid-life refresh of my current car that has a few little odds and ends I would LOVE to have on mine, but such things are impossible because of how stupid auto manufacturers have become. This refresh includes a new, much cleaner layout for the gauge cluster as well as an updated infotainment system. The new cluster looks better, but swapping is not possible due to everything they have routed through it (think new safety features, adaptive cruise, etc.) and forget about trying to update the odometer. The new infotainment, however, is the best upgrade to the whole damn car. It's amazing how something so simple as bringing back a volume knob instead of a stupid sliding feature on a touchscreen (and Apple Car Play) will make you envious. And of course that can no longer be swapped as modern units are coded to the cars computer and VIN. Stupid, stupid, stupid.. Whatever happened to the easiness of swapping out newer parts for newer features without needing a coding expert or dealership to make it work? I fear the golden age of easy customization and upgrading is behind us... Rant over... for now.

This post has been edited by d3ath2009: Nov 26, 2017 - 9:55 PM

[d3ath2009]

Its the little things they used to do that they don't anymore that will make you crazy. My celica didn't come with fog lights, but the harness is completely there and all it took was hooking up the fogs and swapping the multifunction for one with the fog light switch. My newer car is not that simple to do. You want to add a feature like that, then you gotta add all the wiring and everything. Just a PITA anymore.. the only problem with these 20 yr old econoboxes is that they are starting to get so high mileage and age on em that they are becoming more expensive to maintain than they are worth. Oil leaks, oil burning, rust, worn out suspension and steering, years of neglect from previous owners, its all adding up and taking its toll on the easy to mod and very reliable cars of the yesteryears...