Car quality dinged by tech glitches, survey finds

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By DEE-ANN DURBIN

DETROIT (AP) - Car buyers increasingly want high-tech features like voice recognition and navigation. But they're not very forgiving of the car company when those systems fail.

The top complaints in J.D. Power's closely-watched survey of new vehicle owners, released Wednesday, involved technologies that drivers are clamoring for. Voice recognition systems either didn't recognize commands or didn't work at all. Bluetooth systems had trouble connecting with drivers' phones.

The result: Just when automakers had reached their highest-ever levels of quality - as they did in J.D. Power's 2012 survey - technology glitches are dragging their scores down.

"I've had companies tell me they would rather develop a new car from the ground up than a new entertainment system," said Tom Mutchler, program manager of vehicle interface at Consumer Reports.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130619/DA712RO00.html

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This Nov. 27, 2012 photo shows a 2013 Honda Civic is shown in Detroit. Porsche and GMC have the highest-quality vehicles in a new survey of U.S. car owners. But the survey suggests overall quality is falling because of glitches with new technology, like navigation and voice recognition systems. The survey, released Wednesday, June 19, 2013, questioned 83,442 owners and lessees of 2013 model year vehicles who were contacted at random through state registration data. Honda had the top-performing small car and small SUV, with the Honda Civic and Honda CR-V. The best midsize car was the Toyota Camry and the best large car was the Chevrolet Impala. Chevrolet also had the best large SUV, the Tahoe and the best pickups , the Avalanche and Silverado. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, file)

[onehandle]

1. Apple just announced a bunch of companies signing up for iOS integration.

That should solve a lot of those problems.

Proprietary systems are usually out of date and buggy when launched, not to mention non-upgradeable.

[ChromeFoundry]

8. Hopefully not using Apple Maps for Vehicle Navigation Systems

Siri for voice recognition

or any of the other major bugs found in iOS 6.x API and the ever increasing list of bugs found in v7 Beta

Hopefully I will never have to have a car serviced by a douche bag in a knit hat at the Genius Bar.


BTW, iOS is a Proprietary operating system and I haven't seen any automobile manufacturers signing up for iOS integration, the royalty fees would probably double the cost of the vehicle.

[usGovOwesUs3Trillion]

9. I hope Nissan signs up

I am happy with my Juke and all it's toys, but I am a big apple user and would love even tighter integration on my car.

For example, I would love to be able to look up directions on my desktop before heading out, email it to my phone, and then have it work with my turn-by-turn navigation system in my car, for starters.

[onehandle]

11. Nissan. Check.

At WWDC 2013, Apple unveiled iOS in the Car, a new platform that mirrors your iPhone on your in-car display. The company has been working with numerous car makers to get Siri into automobiles but iOS in the Car takes "integration to a whole other level" by letting you access your Maps, messages, and other services without having to take your eyes off the wheel. Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, Ferrari, Chevrolet, Kia, Hyundai, Volvo, Jaguar, and a number of other manufacturers are on board, incorporating it into their new car models coming in 2014.

http://www.theverge.com/2013/6/10/4414368/apple-wwdc-ios-in-the-car

[usGovOwesUs3Trillion]

12. Excellent! And thanks for the link :toast: n/t

[Gidney N Cloyd]

2. I can't see loading up a car with tech toys. It'll look like CBs or 8-Traks by the time I trade in.

[xtraxritical]

3. I think not. Keep your toys and give me dependability, high mileage and clean air.

[wordpix]

4. +1000 However, many of the younger generation can't read road maps anymore

[MicaelS]

7. You know, I can't recall the last time I saw a map for sale.

Much less a road atlas. I imagine they're headed for extinction like encyclopedias.

[Amonester]

10. Save the trees! Save the trees!

Trees are our last hope!

[Mosby]

5. that's exactly the kind of stuff I don't want in my car. nt

[MicaelS]

6. The hell with all that.

I have voice recognition, Bluetooth communication, and navigation on my phone. I don't need or want it in my car. People are going to start spending too much time playing with the toys in their car, and ignoring their driving. You just wait until someone causes a fatal accident because they were fucking with their car technological toys.

[xtraxritical]

13. It's a common occurance now.

[MindPilot]

14. Agreed. I submit that those things are even worse than just answering the phone.

Not unusual when the phone rings the BT has a bad connection and all I get is really loud garbled noise. At this point the system is locked up and doesn't accept any commands. I can't even turn the sound system off. I now have to find my phone, open it, put in the password to unlock it, and then manually end the call.

I could have just picked up the phone and started talking, but no, THAT would create a dangerous distraction.