Normally, a desirable feature is one people are willing to pay extra for. Air conditioning comes to mind. There was a time when many cars did not have AC, mainly because it was an expensive option well into the ’80s. But lots of people still opted for AC – the italics are used here to make a point – because they considered the cost worth what they got. As more and more people opted for AC, it became unusual to find a new vehicle that did not come with AC.
Because that’s what most people wanted.
AC is now standard equipment in all new vehicles.
But note the progression – from available option to standard feature. Now consider what is marketed as “advanced driver assistance technology.” This encompasses such driver interference “technology” – this word is always used whenever they want to make people think something infantilizing is sophisticated – as Lane Keep Assist, Brake Assist and various other iterations of “assistance” that assert control over the vehicle. It can be understood by imagining a normally healthy man or woman fully able to walk unaided trying to cross the street having an annoying Boy Scout manifest by their side, grab them by the arm and try to “assist” them across the street – probably by holding them back so they can’t do that.
Everyone dislikes this – as a recently published survey performed by J.D. Power establishes. As if anyone didn’t already know this. Drivers “don’t seem particularly satisfied” with “technologies” such as Lane Keep Assist, Brake Assist and so on, the study states.
And in other news, it has been discovered that most people dislike going to the dentist. . . .
“J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study surveyed 81,926 vehicle owners about their perceptions of 40 types of automotive technologies. The findings indicate that, while advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) are becoming increasingly common, many drivers feel they are relatively useless.”
This is soft-pedaling it. I say that as a car journalist who hears from a lot of people and not one of them has ever told me they merely regard the “technology” as “relatively useless.” They uniformly despise it and ask about how to defeat it. Figuring out how to turn off these driver interference technologies is the first thing I-can’t-tell-you-how-many new vehicle owners ask me about.
It begs the question – rarely asked – as to why it is that features so unpopular with so many drivers have become standard equipment in all new vehicles? It is as strange a thing as going to the supermarket for hamburger and discovering all you can buy now is cricket meal “burgers.”
The answer to the question – as to why this unwanted driver interference “technology” has become standard equipment in all new vehicles – ought to be obvious to anyone who wants to deal with it. It is that they – the manufacturers – are well-aware almost no one wants the driver interference “technology” and if it were offered as optional equipment, very few (if any) would freely choose to buy it.
This begs a deeper – a more troubling – question: Why push this “technology” no one wants by making it impossible to buy a new vehicle without this “technology”? The answer to that is equally obvious, too. Or ought to be. It is that the manufacturers are all-in on wresting control over the vehicle from the driver. They have anticipated federal mandates requiring such controllability be embedded in all new vehicles – as for example the edict that all new vehicles be equipped with automatic emergency braking by 2026. Note that Brake Assist “technology” – which is the same thing marketed differently – has been made standard in most new vehicles for years already.
Years before the edict was ever publicly revealed. 
But the manufacturers knew about it – about what was coming – and decided to be in on it. More of it is coming, too. Steering “assistance” will become steer-by-wire and you will no longer have any real control over the vehicle’s steering. Just as you only have the illusion of control over engine speed, which is controlled via drive-by-wire “technology.” The same “technology” already in use to “assist” you when it comes to obeying the speed limit by throttling back the engine when you exceed it.
J.D. Power says “many people hope for a helper that makes their experience safer and easier. As a result, automotive manufacturers have introduced various driver assistance features.”
Italics added.
Claptrap!
Do you know even a single driver who “hope(s) for a helper”? This treacly lie is used as the predicate for the bigger lie, about how “automotive manufacturers have introduced various driver assistance features.” But – again -they did not “introduce” them. Not if you take that to mean they offered them.
AC was introduced. This driver interference “technology” is being imposed. The distinction is important. 
“Automotive manufacturers must carefully consider how to develop driver assistance features that better meet consumer needs. This could include designing more practical functions tailored to narrow streets or frequently stopping and going traffic. Additionally, they should enhance introduction and information for consumers on how to use these functions effectively, enabling them to truly understand and confidently utilize the technology.”
How about just making these “features” available for purchase – so that those who think they’re worth buying can buy them. And the rest of us – who neither need nor want a “helper” – can skip them?
Of course not. For exactly the same basic reason that government is to be made more “efficient” – as distinct from less.
. . .
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The most recent BMW operating system cannot be “coded”. Perhaps if Trump kills AS/S they can open it up again, for the US market anyway. I’m hoping.
I think I told you about the flood of Volvo SUV commercials I’m seeing now. There is a series featuring one particular non-driving woman, the same one in each of about 5 ads. She is always watching something else besides WHERE she is going, so the car has to prevent her from ass-ending someone else. Or she drove to the wrong place, so the on-board guidance system drives her and the dickless male passengers to the correct place.
That’s the other part, what few males are in these ads, are either passengers who have been emasculated to being cargo. The one time a ‘guy’ is driving her Volvo XC90, she has unexpectedly saddled him with driving a whole shit load of teenage girls he did not expect to ferry around like a dickless slave.
It’s a power-play to feminists who can’t drive, can’t mind their own business, buy tons of useless shit on a whim, having their eunuchs load it all up, and transport there useless shit, or their spoiled cunt-caravan somewhere in opulent luxury.
Volvo has literally become the luxury Vulva-Transporter.
HA! Good analysis.
Oh look, Eric, the proposed breathalyzers are coming to prevent drunk driving. https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/mandatory-anti-drunk-driving-tech-is-coming-and-gm-s-ready/ar-AA1ETQie?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=2e99f2b0816e43c68ab9ef8540dcaa39&ei=96
Can’t the Orange Man reverse this?
Hi Myles,
Yes, he could. But will he? FYI – to all: I know a guy who knows a guy who knows Trump and is trying to get me an audience. It is a very long shot. But maybe I’ll get that chance and maybe he’ll listen…
That would be freaking awesome. Would be good to maybe plant some seeds in his brain that may manifest themselves into some of his future decisions.
Here’s hoping…
I’ve always advocated for mandatory motorcycle ownership and courses for anyone who wants to drive anything.
Better yet, women and DUI offenders get the driver seat relocated to the front bumper of their car, permanently.
Totally agree. I have just spent a couple of hours turning off “features” and testing results on my wifes new car. It seems now that we are back to a basic car with adaptive cruise. Still cant turn off stop/start permanently but at least its an up front shortcut on the main screen now.
sometimes you can turn ass off. For my ford f150 all it took was jumping a wire on the ass button. Car starts up and it thinks I hit the button. permanent.
“There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.” Robert Heinlein
‘It begs the question – rarely asked – as to why it is that features so unpopular with so many drivers have become standard equipment in all new vehicles?’
Don’t give a corrupt automotive press a pass. They are right on board insisting these intrusive nanny systems be standard and if a manufacturer doesn’t make them standard they are somehow worthy of spite and derision.
The list keeps growing of the number of features, tech and electronic boat and dubious engineering to meet arbitrary government regulations to the point where I will remain out of the market unless some sanity comes back into play.
But with GM and Ford Uncle Sam’s personal butt boys… that will never happen
Keep what you have. Buyer’s strike. Starve the beast.
My Jeep Grand Cherokee had that feature, and because of the law, (if there was really one), our personal mechanic refused to disable it. Eventually it stopped working, which was a relief.
And then at one point I had to take my jeep back to the dealership to fix something because our mechanic was on vacation. After retrieving my jeep from the dealership that GD Start/Stop feature was working again, but thank god is starting to fail again.
Regulators sometimes apply “soft” pressure on manufacturers without explicit mandates. They “should” do something now, or something else will be forced in the future. With these “soft” mandates, manufacturers at least have some leeway in implementing the “suggestion”. I’m not being conspiratorial here, I’ve been in meetings about this with a big European car manufacturer discussing it with the regulators from a big European country’s transportation department.
In the US, the number of traffic fatalities is increasing after going down for a while until the middle of the 2010’s, and this must be stopped by any cost, since regulators judge their effectiveness by this. The number of fatalities per mile driven has been steadily dropping, but people are driving more.
This is why we have some really onerous rules in the pipeline. Cars will need to somehow prevent distracted driving. The first step are the “suggestions” to stop drunk or sleepy drivers automatically, but next up, is distracted driving.
These systems are so highly and tightly integrated in a modern vehicle that makers couldn’t offer them as an option. And far too many tech worshipers love them- any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and they see this magic and believe it’s the power of the gods. Good luck getting them to give up on the latest gimmicks.
But there is no reason there couldn’t be mechanical toggle switches or jumpers to DEFEAT these unnecessary and undesired features. And they should completely defeat the affected system, once ADAS is toggled off, it should be completely de powered.
In an aircraft, systems like autopilot must be physically engaged, at least in the small stuff I’ve dealt with. This same design philosophy should be applied in all vehicles.
I like your analogy about magic and the gods! So true.
“But there is no reason there couldn’t be mechanical toggle switches or jumpers to DEFEAT these unnecessary and undesired features. And they should completely defeat the affected system, once ADAS is toggled off, it should be completely de powered.”
Clearly you have not worked on modern vehicles.
Disable a sensor – get annoying messages and DTCs in related modules.
Disable the module – again more DTC’s and even more messages. Often with the implication that you’ve now disabled another module or feature that you actually want like power steering or a transmission that shifts.
In modern vehicles (since about 2017) the CAN bus access via OBD is being locked down for all messages except mandated OBDII communication. . . .mandated cyber security don’t cha’ know via ISO standards.
Can’t have the proles accessing the data stream within their own cars they think they purchased.
Just as you no longer own your computers operating system – you don’t own the software within your vehicle
Welcome to the plight of the farmers that are fighting with John Deere over right to repair while their harvest goes south due to broken down equipment as unfavorable weather moves in
Yeah, I’m quite aware of that and I do avoid new cars. But I also design state of the art production and packaging equipment and if it were designed to the standards I work to, what I’m suggesting is pretty straightforward.
The problem is the kids doing software on computers and consumer devices have severe tunnel vision and arrogance. They do the magic and it’s good enough. They seldom question whether they should do something, and are rewarded handsomely for poorly thought out systems and devices.
‘They [don’t] merely regard the “technology” as “relatively useless.” They uniformly despise it and ask about how to defeat it.’ — eric
Profound truth!
I don’t merely regard the “US fedgov” as “relatively useless.” I uniformly despise it and ask about how to defeat it.
You can crush us, you can bruise us
But you’ll have to answer to
Oh-oh, the guns of Brixton
— The Clash, Guns of Brixton
“This begs a deeper – a more troubling – question:”
No, it doesn’t. It RAISES a question, or BINGS UP a quesiton.
“Begging the question” is a term of semantics, or logic, or logical fallacy.
To BEG a question is to use a position to argue for the same position. For example
“God must be everywhere – He is in all places at all times.” Look it up.
Stop using “begs the question” when you mean “RAiSES the question
You must be a real joy at parties.
Your comment begs the question, if you find Eric’s writing so disagreeable, why are you here?
The car makers are sitting on a gold mine. Why not offer disabling some of this equine fecal matter as an option? Keep the price down and I’m sure they would make significant sales.
You guys aren’t understanding.
The automotive industry has been captured by the Government, the lawyers, and the large commercial fleets.
They don’t care about the retail customer.
There are regulations, and Memorandums of Understanding in place that specify the rollout of these features.
What you want literally doesn’t matter.
I’ll keep saying it . . . Just stop buying new cars if you don’t want this crap.
You are correct. Buying a new car under these conditions is profoundly unAmerican. Of course, many decades ago when fleets and governments were buying the cheapest, lowest margin models, they didn’t have that kind of influence. Now, with a couple hundred trillion in on and off books debt, economy is for the tax serfs.
Classic example, heavy duty, simple, cheap Willys Jeep vs Humvee.
Agreed, BID. Joe and Rosie Jones, who purchases a car every five years, is not how the auto manufacturers generate revenue…fleet sales from the government and large commercial enterprises are.
Will Joe and Rosie not buying cause a ding in income? Yes, but not enough to change anything. The sales from your personal information is where the money is… not the $1800 that they make on your marked up purchase. If we don’t want to be spied on we need to stop buying the spy equipment.
That will work for awhile until the Feds make it illegal to own or repair/fix a vehicle that is ten years old. Or 15 as is the case I read. Effectively forcing people into these saaafety devices on wheels.
those features spook me every time when I get a rental car- the odd vibrations and such.
I actually was in a new rental chevy equinox last week and noticed at about 57 mph at somewhere between 1800 and 1950 rpm in top gear, the 4 pot mill reaches a resonant frequency with the entire vehicle, causing a severe vibration much like a ghetto subwoofer. I initially thought this was driver assistance, but then it happened mid lane with no other cars or objects around. We were able to pinpoint it to the above but it was very unnerving. All plastic panels and even the metal was shaking for a few seconds. I’m sure some people will be bringing that one to the shop for that.
It’s called resonate frequency and the Manuf. know about it. They struggle to make an 8 cyl not vibrate in 4cyl mode, or with many other engine gimmicks cause of emissions.
Ram added a frequency damper to the frame to compensate this and it works great, but just another device, that would not be needed if not for all these emissions gimmicks.
This is what Eric is best at, pulling out and mocking weaselly language. And what fertile ground there is. “Hoping for a helper” is a nauseating one. “Enabling drivers to truly understand and confidently use these features” is another one. See you people just don’t fully appreciate and understand why you need lane keep assist. Be confident and happy that your car just prevented you from swerving around that child chasing his ball into the street. Don’t keep fighting it! Bleurgh!
Thanks, RS!
This sort of thing just gets my back up; I feel compelled to deconstruct it.
LMAO. Yes..thank you for preventing from swerving to avoid that moose that I hit instead and subsequently destroyed my car with when it hit my windshield due to not being able to swerve to avoid it. But hey…thank you for keeping me safe from performing evasive driving maneuvers you (not you RS) dumb a**es
“Be confident and happy that your car just prevented you from swerving around that child chasing his ball into the street. ”
This is a fabricated scenario that cannot happen. The “feature” will not prevent you from steering. It won’t even slow down the vehicles response to an evasive steering input.
All of the lane keeping systems currently on the market cannot overpower driver intent and prevent a driver from taking evasive action.
Torque feedback is limited to about 4Nm or 2.95 lb-ft of torque. Even the most elderly driver can easily overcome that torque.
Likewise if steering wheel angle rate (ie acceleration of the steering wheel) is high, the feature is completely overridden and driver input always prevails.
Don’t get me wrong . . . I hate these technologies. I also hate the tactile feedback of lane keep assist as it tries to “assist”.
But making up fake failure modes and saying it will prevent the car from being steered by the driver doesn’t help our case.
But these technologies are meant to slowly acclimate us to what’s coming. Yes, for now we can steer ourselves, but for how long? What’s the next step in the progression?
A fake game controller instead of a steering wheel.
Then no steering wheel.
They don’t take large steps towards enslaving us. They nudge.
Totally correct Philo
Which is all the more reason people should (but won’t) stop buying new cars.
Hi BID,
I’ve had a couple rental cars with the lane keep “assist”, annoying for sure. What worries me is the steering by wire, no direct mechanical connection. What if that fails during an emergency maneuver? Just hoping to keep my old cars running until I’m no longer able to drive.
Yeah – I’m with you guys. Not a fan of steer by wire.
However having said that anything that is steer by wire will have to have double redundancy at a minimum per ISO standards.
So that means two ECU’s, redundant actuators, redundancy of critical sensors, etc.
Then there is a “watch dog” module that is watching both ECUs and comparing their intended action. Both should agree.
If one doesn’t agree, the watch dog will compare actual output to expected output and will then give authority to the functional module.
All this redundancy and functional safety requirements are currently very expensive.
Does another power source come included in this redundancy?
If my Pontiac’s engine and electrical system fail, I can still steer the dang car and use the dang brakes to safely pull off the dang road because everything is mechanically attached. I am the redundancy.
Yes – dual power supply redundancy is required
That could take a couple paths depending on whether vehicle is EV, hybrid or ICE. EV & hybrids are better suited since the battery pack and power electronics often have multi source power redundancy.
However on ICE it’s already becoming more common to have two batteries to handle ASS and other feature loads.
The compute power demands of these new ADAS feature sets is becoming much higher than you would think.
Yet
Here we are in May, and Orange Man & the Republican controlled congress still have the 2026MY auto kill switch mandate on the books.
Wonder what glitchy “impaired driving detection” technology we will see soon arrive in showrooms this fall?
Whoa, Artificial Intelligence just yelled at me when I searched ‘NHTSA punts on impaired driving detection.’
AI Overview
‘The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is not “punting” on impaired driving detection; rather, they are actively working to develop and implement technology to detect and prevent impaired driving. While the NHTSA has taken steps to gather information about impaired driving technology and how to deploy it safely and effectively, the implementation of a federal standard requiring this technology in new vehicles is ongoing.’
Shut up, stupid computer. They ARE TOO PUNTING. The alcohol sensor technology doesn’t work (too many false positives) and will not be installed in 2026 model year vehicles or any vehicles.
It’s all there, black and white — you get NOTHING! You LOSE! Good day, sirs!
I read this article not too long ago regarding the speed limiters that are coming to new vehicles in 2026. What are states going to do when they realize they are losing revenue, when they cannot hand out speeding tickets? Ugh, and who dares to trust taking their newer vehicle to a dealership, lest they stick one of these in your vehicle without your knowledge or consent? Older model vehicles are starting to look more and more appealing every time I read one of your articles, Eric. https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/autos/why-your-next-car-might-be-slower-than-you-think-%E2%80%93-new-speed-limiter-law/vi-AA1EjPjr
Laying off any AGWs is unthinkable.
So, they’ll unleash them on the public to “enforce” whatever other kinds of petty BS they think they can get by with.
Grass 1/2 inch too tall after a spring rain? That’s a tasin’! GET ON THE GROUND !!! GET ON THE GROUND RIGHT NOW !!!! LET ME SEE THOSE HANDS !!! STOP RESISTING !!! STOP RESISTING !!!
The implicit enslavement by such technology is shunned by many but embraced by many more. And its generational.
As things have progressed, if you can even call it that, over the last 60-70 years when it comes to selling “safety” it was once offered but, after the Tylenol tampering it suddenly became ubiquitous. The society became Sealed For Your Protection.
Then came the litigation over the most innocuous things. This reached its pinnacle with the McDonald’s coffee lawsuit. Now anyone that offered anything for sale was responsible for the stupidity of their customers. Liability now became “they’re liable to sue” and the judiciary saw the opportunity to secure their future employment. This, by the way, includes the lawyers who are Officers of the Court.
We now have several generations that have been raised in such an environment. When you add in the sloth that is generated in our push-button society you end up with people that think someone has eliminated all harm and that they can satisfy their needs by tapping or swiping a screen. They are comfy cozy in their isolation and food is delivered on command and should they want to go somewhere Uber is just a click away.
They don’t see that the level of control they’ve bought into. And notice how it’s sold, they word “Freedom” is constantly bombarding us in advertising. And advertising works.
Goethe nailed it two hundred years ago, “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free”
“Then came the litigation over the most innocuous things. This reached its pinnacle with the McDonald’s coffee lawsuit.”
I believe you are mistaken.
The new pinnacle for the automakers is what is called “failure to equip”.
If the automakers offer a safety feature as standard either in other markets or in say only in most expensive, high trim packages.
But then someone dies . . . and having said safety feature (like Automatic Emergency Braking) COULD have potentially saved that life . . . Well now they sue the automakers for not having made that safety feature standard equipment across all markets or products.
You see it’s the automakers fault that failed to equip ALL cars with that feature.
Insidious
Eric, et al,
This problem relates to technological advance. The use of sophisticated ECUs (computers) in automobiles enables very efficient use of EFI to optimize power and gas mileage but it also allows telemetry and control of all other aspects of the human/machine interface. The processors in cars now are much more powerful than in the past and that gives “engineers” the capacity to implement the tyrannical state’s wet dream of total control.
The alternative would be to provide consumers with choice like the Toyota Hilux, which would enable ordinary people to afford transportation.
The “features” that you and I find abhorrent are also addictive to a populace whose cell phone usage has become a psychological addiction of frightening proportions. The spy screens of 1984 have morphed into devices like smart phones, laptops and tablets that people voluntarily carry around enabling their most intimate moments to be tracked and recorded.
The EV scam is just a bridge too far simply because most of the populace simply cannot afford to buy one. Our dependence on and lack of appreciation of basic levels of infrastructure technology will shock most people when it breaks down (my well just went out and we cannot find the well head so for me this is a much more basic realization). Oh well, life goes on….