Would you believe – say it like Max in Get Smart (for those who remember Get Smart) – that Volvo is not including a rear window as part of the deal when you buy its newest device?
That being the Polestar 4.
Volvo’s newest EV has a panorama sunroof, but no rear glass – which means you can’t see what’s behind you. Not with your eyes, at any rate. Instead, you get a rearview screen to view what’s behind you. The system is an elaboration of the back-up cameras that every new vehicle already comes standard with; the difference is that in this case, rear glass is no longer standard.
This means you have to rely on the rearview screen to see what’s behind you – unless you crack open the driver’s door and try to back up while turned around in the seat. But the seatbelt probably won’t let you do that; it’ll cinch down tight if you try. And more than likely, Volvo (like other manufacturers) has programmed the thing so that if you do try to reverse it with the door open, it’ll refuse to reverse – by putting itself in Park. A number of new vehicles – not just EVs – do this.
So, you are trained – in the manner of Jake and Elwood (the Blues Brothers) via the Penguin – to keep the doors closed while you try to back up. Use the screen rather than your eyes. But what to do when (it’s not a matter of if, because everything stops working eventually) you can’t see what’s behind you because the screen isn’t showing you? This doesn’t require a glitch. J
ust some snow will do the trick.
I know this already because I test drive new cars. Sometimes – as during winter – it snows. When it does, snow and ice will accumulate overnight on the exterior of the vehicle. This includes the little cameras that are embedded in the front and rear bumpers, upon which the various “safety” systems – such as back-up cameras – depend. When the cameras can’t see, these systems are blinded and you will see a frantic warning displayed in the main gauge cluster warning you that the systems (plural, typically) are offline and that means you will have to manage the drive without them.
This is not a big deal if you are a competent driver. A competent driver being one who is capable of keeping his vehicle from wandering across the double yellow line – or off onto the shoulder – and so doesn’t need “safety” systems such as Lane Keep Assistance. And if the back-up cameras are iced over, there’s still the rearview mirror. You can still back-up (without backing into something) if it’s still there.
But Volvo has taken that away. Now what?
You probably do not want to know what. It is what I have been expecting to happen any day now. Someone is going to say – right on cue – that when a vehicle’s “safety tech” isn’t working, the vehicle is not “safe” to drive and the vehicle will prevent itself from being driven. It will either not move at all or it will slow down and stop – until it is once again “safe” to drive.
Is it not logical? Does it not follow?
The premise of “safety tech” is that it makes a vehicle “safer” to drive. Implicit in this premise is that without the “safety tech,” it ain’t. If it is not, then it would be dangerous to continue driving without the “safety tech” working. So the car stops working.
The possibility of this happening is not hypothetical, either. It already happens. It happened to me recently – while driving another brand’s vehicle. I was driving home on a road – the Blue Ridge Parkway – that I know like my own smell (paraphrasing El Guapo) that is also sparsely used (in my area) with the cruise control on. I was using my knees to steer – so I could eat some wings while I drove, which I know just caused some Safety People’s hearts to flutter but I can drive more accurately with my knees than most of them can with both hands on the wheel.
Anyhow, as I was driving along, the car suddenly began to slow – as in to a stop. There was no moose in the road. But there was a warning display in the gauge panel (all LCD, of course) demanding I control the vehicle immediately! – which of course I was already doing, just with my knees rather than my hands. And that was the problem, from the vehicles’s point-of-view. It knew my hands were off the wheel – whether via pressure sensors built into the steering wheel or via the creepy camera built into the hub of the steering wheel that watched me as I drove.
The point is the vehicle considered my driving “unsafe” – and intervened to keep me from driving, until I put my hands back on the wheel. If it could intervene for that reason, it could intervene for other reasons, such as the “safety tech” not working because the cameras are offline.
Or some other reason.
All of this follows and it’s not by accident. It takes almost Forrest Gumpian naivete to believe otherwise. But by bit and piece by piece, “tech” is being used to ease the driver out of the equation.
“Safety tech” will ultimately be used to remove him altogether. Wait and see.
. . .
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I occasionally drive with my knees. Beats having to pull over to put on sunglasses or some other quick task.
I won’t have a computer that doesn’t know how to drive tell me how to drive.
The blind spots will be huge on that car. Cameras don’t see all back there. There are still blind spots. So even when the cameras are working, you are going to not see all you should be seeing. That is so with my 2018 Ford Focus and I am sure that is true of all.
Even if your car is equipped with backup cameras you should still look. I would surmise most people don’t look at all back there when they have a camera. If anything, a better (and may I say it safer) design would put the backup screen in the back, so you still have to turn to look!!
Many modern cars already are like not having back windows with how small they are.
I remember an episode of Top Gear (before the good hosts left), where they did a bit where they covered the windows and tried to drive only with GPS. They of course were running into things and each other.
IMHO the “safety” tech is probably still less safe than a competent driver.
Re: eating in the car, verboten. Not for safety for preservation. Three in the family over the years. One caretaker (me) and two destroyers (Commander and daughter).
Eat in the car, debris, usually greasy, everywhere. Easier on the Nova with black vinyl interior, still the grubby hands spreading grease on the seat belt fabric. Absolutely forbidden in my 79 Gran Prix with the camel color interior, fabric seats. “We wiped up!” No, you quickly passed the thin dry paper napkin over your hands which failed to “degrease”. Can’t grasp the concept of transference to interior or clothing.
Then the whining begins. My reply “you can’t go without food or drink for a 40 minute ride I’ll drop you off at the Emergency Room you obviously need urgent care”.
Then to family and friends I’m painted as the “oddball” but of course no context of my point of view provided. Me, the one that ends up cleaning the mess. “We cleaned up inside!” No, you quickly wiped up some crumbs, smeared the rest and called it good.
Thus my saying: “guy can’t own anything nice with women and kids around”
Apologies to the 3 in 1000 females that really understand how to use things without destroying them in the process. I’ll give credit, one gal at work kept spotless cars and home. Her husband passed leaving her with a mint ‘73 Ranchero. She would bring it to the annual car show at work. Everything original, everything perfect. Another case looking at houses to buy with daughter and fam. One place, real wood doors and trim, no marks anywhere in this 30 year old house. I said “oh you never had kids?” “Oh yes I did, 3 boys” !!! was my reaction. “I’m proud of this place and always treated it with respect.” OK rant off time for my blood pressure to subside.
I too have a no eating in my vehicles rule.
One of my top 100 bothers is getting into someone’s car that is littered with cans, wrappers, papers, general junk.
I drove a bucket truck that only had side view mirrors – couldn’t see anything out the back anyway – but they were good sized and were adequate for backing up. Car side view mirrors are pretty small and I wouldn’t be surprised if they get eliminated next for “aerodynamics” to squeeze out a one tenth of one percent improvement in mpg.
I feel all you who rely on rear windows. I’ve had vans or trucks with campers for decades so I’m very comfortable backing with side mirrors. The cargo van converted to a stealth RV I drive now doesn’t even have a rear view mirror inside since the back doors are solid. Until you remove that thing off the windshield you may never realize just how intrusive and space hogs they are. So to me this whole rant is a nothing burger. Welcome to the world of commercial drivers.
I must address the eating wings while driving comment before getting to the main point. Eric must have been joking. Maybe he was eating something less amusing with both hands to elicit the diver assistance warning. The only foods eaten in my car are non drip snacks which can be consumed with one hand. That said this has included McD”s cheeseburgers and fries (not proud of that). Wings, pizza, tacos, DQ or pup cups would be everywhere and require a full detail!
The lack of rear window – camera or no camera defies logic, is completely unsafe, creepy and makes a mockery of the safety standards. Volvo of all companies. I hope they don’t sell. But they will and when a small child gets run over they will just add more tech.
Hi RS.
I’ve eaten plenty of food whilst driving but generally stick to one handed foods. Chicken wings are above my skill level but those little drumsticks I can handle.
As for the removal of the back window; this should get interesting if parts become unavailable and the car fails a state DMV inspection due to the lack of a functional camera/ screen. As for the people who say use the side mirrors on your car all I can say is larger commercial trucks might have great mirrors but the ones on your car aren’t as good.
Thats a hard NO for me. I use my rearview mirror often when driving. Not about to trust some camera over my own eyes. More importantly, the rear view often comes in handy when being bird-dogged by some bored law dawg.
You cracked me up with the part about ‘using my knees to steer, so I could eat some wings while I drove.’ As someone who mastered that same skill set of eating and driving, adding wings, or nachos while not getting any on your clothes or car elevates it to an art form. Most people our age learned how to eat and drive racing back to school before lunch ended. The only eateries were miles away and always crowded. Having just 30 minutes made it quite the challenge. For extra points, next time try wings in your 5-speed truck while in traffic, heading back up your mountain.
Good news, the rear window-less car is a Volvo, it’s an EeeeeVeee, and probably costs a crap ton of money. Doubt they’ll be flying off the lots. The market for techie curious seems pretty saturated now.
Eric: “This is not a big deal if you are a competent driver.”
…And then you wake up. I’ve been cut off so many times by people that can’t realize that their most important job when driving is to drive. Self driving cars aren’t much better.
Eric: “I was using my knees to steer – so I could eat some wings while I drove.”
But since Eric actually knows how to drive I’ll just have a good chuckle over it but I’m curious if the wings had sauce on them because if I tried to eat wings with sauce on them everything would have sauce on it in short order.
As for the car knowing you didn’t have your hands on the wheel it could be due to some sort of a capacitance type sensor that can sense contact area or the camera. Either way I don’t want that crap in my car. Perhaps Eric can report if he had only one finger on the wheel if it responds in the same way. Then try with the hub camera covered and steer with your knees and see if it responds the same way.
Guaranteed if there was an accident the data log would have a video of Eric’s face with a chicken wing approaching it. 🙂
Glass is heavy. Rear defrosters are power hungry. There was likely a design weight budget for glass. Volvo’s engineers (Marketeers) chose a panorama sunroof over a rear window. Not only will it options-match other semi-luxury models, it lets them trade a big current draw for a small one. And it makes the cars a little more “safe” in a rollover, at least in theory, while baking your interior on cloudless days.
As for all the problems with cameras, they’ll design a small wiper or maybe a rotating cover like what you see on broadcast cameras mounted to race cars. Complicated? Sure! But now you can feel like you’re running at Daytona watching the guys tailgating you in full HD! And if there’s FOD from the road splashing up, just push the button!
“The point is the vehicle considered my driving “unsafe” – and intervened to keep me from driving, until I put my hands back on the wheel. If it could intervene for that reason, it could intervene for other reasons, such as the “safety tech” not working because the cameras are offline.
Or some other reason.”
Yeah, Eric, like you Social Credit Score. Or maybe, just because.
No one in their right minds up here are going to constantly stop their vehicles to brush off the rear view camera because of ice and snow. Unless they are so addled they cannot function without it, in which case, they will just drive regardless. It just is not going to happen. But, sadly, you are right, Eric. The ultimate goal is to force everyone out of vehicles entirely. For our “safety”, I am sure. I crack up every time mine warns me that the rear view camera “dot” is obstructed. Which is most of the time during the Winter, due to snow, dirt, etc. I do not need it, I have my mirrors. And yes, I have been known to open the driver’s side door (Heaven forbid!!!) and look behind me when backing up, if the visibility is crappy (aka, ice fog, what have you). What a pain it would be if the car bricked itself because I thought for myself with such a move. Give me a rear view window any day of the week. But then again, I guess none of us can be surprised. If TPTB are mandating safety seats for teenagers-as though they are infants-then this is not a far stretch, either in the “Trying To Keep You Safe” department. Do you also find it ironic, in that they are forcing the use of a screen and looking at it for everything, while at the same time dinging you with the “Keep Your Eyes On The Road” warning? It reminds me of a Far Side Clip: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t, and the devil demanding the guy standing, looking at the two doors, to “…pick one already”.
In the last few months, I have driven a KIA Stonica and a Mazda 3. Both had these safety systems which my 25 year old Holden does not have. Especially the lane assist, which I found to be creepy. Little icons on the dash I could not see clearly due to their nano size and I was unable to make out the symbol each represented. Great to see these car makers have 20/20 vision which at least half the population lacks. Me included. The Stonica absorbed the deteriorating roads in Austraya quite well, that was a good surprise.
Morning, to5!
I would not object to these “assistance” and “safety” systems if they were optional. I do not object to wheelchairs, either. I would object to them if the able-bodied were forced to buy them, though.