this post was submitted on 29 Dec 2023
199 points (94.6% liked)

Technology

74180 readers
4140 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
L3s@lemmy.world
enu@lemmy.world
technopagan@lemmy.world
L4s@lemmy.world
L3s@hackingne.ws
L4s@hackingne.ws
199
Electric Cars Are Already Upending America | After years of promise, a massive shift is under way (www.theatlantic.com)
submitted 2 years ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
34 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Electric Cars Are Already Upending America | After years of promise, a massive shift is under way::After years of promise, a massive shift is under way.

all 35 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] AnneBonny@lemmy.dbzer0.com 103 points 2 years ago (1 children)

In the EV age, cars are no longer just cars. They are computers.

oh no

Stripping out a gas engine, transmission, and 100-plus moving parts turns a vehicle into something more digital than analog—sort of like how typing on an iPhone keyboard is different than on my clackety old Samsung flip phone.

stop

“It’s the software that is really the heart of an EV,” DeGraff said—it runs the motors, calculates how many miles are left on a charge, optimizes the brakes, and much more.

stop, please

Just like with other gadgets that bug you about software updates, all of this firmware can be updated over Wi-Fi while a car charges overnight.

noooooooooooooooo

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 87 points 2 years ago (2 children)

“It’s the software that is really the heart of an EV,” DeGraff said—it runs the motors, calculates how many miles are left on a charge, optimizes the brakes, and much more.

Its all the worst parts of owning an EV.

Seriously, give me a mostly-dumb EV and I'm happy as a clam. The best parts of an EV are not the software (those are some of the worst).

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago

But you can’t. You need something to properly modulate the brake bias. You need something to translate the throttle to the motor. You need something to control the abs, stability control, etc.

Then, for cost savings, you need 1-2 simple screens to display information.

Bespoke retro/analog EVs will exist but they won’t be cheap because size they won’t sell well.

[–] nayminlwin@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 years ago

A lot of "smart" devices are better off dumb.

[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 78 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It kind of annoys me when people say that expanded infotainment and self driving tech is an EV thing. It’s not.

LOTS of internal combustion cars are basically a rolling Android computer with OTA firmware updates. It’s been this way for quite a while now.

[–] Fiivemacs@lemmy.ca 49 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I can't wait to not own my car anymore and have all features preinstalled but not working because I didn't pay enough.

[–] JeffKerman1999@sopuli.xyz 29 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Audi and BMW are doing this for a decade. A friend has an Audi and he cracked the infotainment to have all the smart drive things and sensors for parking

[–] Cannibal_MoshpitV3@lemmy.world 22 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Yo ho ho a new sea to sail under the jolly roger yaharr

[–] crsu@lemmy.world 5 points 2 years ago

An optimist I see

[–] QuandaleDingle@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I never thought people would be rogering their cars. XD

[–] ThePantser@lemmy.world 11 points 2 years ago (2 children)

Wonder what they would do if found out. Would they brick the car remotely? Then would it be covered under insurance since the car is totaled if the CPU is bricked. That sure would be an interesting lawsuit to find out about the true ownership of a car.

[–] nickhammes@lemmy.world 7 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I assume if you put custom firmware on the car, you'd either tamper with the antenna so this was not possible, or futz with signing keys so the car wouldn't accept an OTA update from the manufacturer?

[–] j4k3@lemmy.world 10 points 2 years ago

The problem is the first theft that everyone was too stupid to fight against. Emissions laws established that you don't own your car when they required you to use OEM hardware. The state has every right to test what comes out the tailpipe, but has no right to tell you what you must purchase and install to pass the test. This is what killed the majority of the grassroots automotive hobby and surrounding businesses. You may not like mod car culture, but this was the first step in stealing ownership, just like "free" email and web searches are how an entire industry has the right to manipulate and now own us all by manipulation and exploitation of information.

That said, if the antenna is altered in any way, it simply will not work. Antennas are a funny, fragile thing. The main problem will be when you need to work on the car and the proprietary diagnostic tool requires the car to be on the latest firmware. This will make your car depreciate like a phone. It is neo-digital-feudalism.

[–] JeffKerman1999@sopuli.xyz 3 points 2 years ago

It's an old model, doesn't have an antenna.

[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 15 points 2 years ago

This is trend is happening regardless of whether or not the wheels spin because of batteries or little explosions.

We need to push for consumer protection for all vehicles.

[–] Apollo2323@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 years ago

Also my car updating overnight and the update broke my brakes and I am dead the next day.

[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 27 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (4 children)

How is this a transition, though?

I had a 1981 four-cylinder Ford Ranger that needed it's onboard computer replaced so the damn thing would stop shuddering while idling. The thing had a damn carburetor, this was prior to fuel injection. Still had a small "computer" inside of it.

Computers have been in vehicles and managing parts of vehicles for forty fucking years or more.

The real transition is deciding that the electronic sensors are cheaper than physical sensors, despite physical sensors (often) being more accurate and less prone to failure.

[–] IronKrill@lemmy.ca 19 points 2 years ago

They need to convince you it's different so you'll eat the $50/month subscription.

[–] thisisawayoflife@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

And even further back than that, the B-29 used computers for the remote controlled defensive guns that would provide bullet drop compensation for the gunner.

[–] Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago

Exactly. My Volvo S60 is internal combustion and is basically a rolling computer.

Shit, yesterday some software crashed and caused the power steering to go out while I was driving. That was fun.

[–] wantd2B1ofthestrokes@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Transition in the same way it is for all software these days. The difference is the expectation of always on connections, constant telemetry, and continuous delivery of updates. That’s quite a bit different than the software model used for your 1981 Ranger. Though it’s not specific to cars.

[–] ada@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This headline is weird.

How can it be both "already upending" and "after years of promise". They seem like mutually exclusive concepts

[–] Tikiporch@lemmy.world 3 points 2 years ago

Seems like, but I dont think they are. It's like going from 0 to 60, it's more impressive the faster it happens. We were promised EVs for years, and it's like a fire hose was turned on instead of a slow trickle. Sorry to mix metaphors all willy nilly.

[–] crsu@lemmy.world 4 points 2 years ago

I like the technology but I don't like the plans for implementation