Carmakers keep loading new cars with driver aids, but a surprising share of owners never turn the fanciest ones on

  • A study found 25.9 percent of car owners don’t use adaptive cruise control.
  • Many car owners also don’t like using augmented reality head-up displays.
  • Just 27.3 percent of car owners regularly change their car’s driving mode.

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[–] 6 points 3 weeks ago

How is this 'surprising'? It's distracting crap nobody asked for.

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  • [+] 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)
  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago

    I rented a newer Camry and the lane assist nearly put me into an accident driving through a construction zone. I had to fight it to stay in my lane.

    I turned all of it off once I got home.

    The only tech on this list that I've used and enjoyed is the HUD.

    My gauge cluster mostly died (only the warning lights still worked) in a previous car and I bought a HUD that just plugged into the OBD 2 port.

    It was nice being able to see my speed and RPM without having to look away from the road.

    However, while shopping for one, there were plenty that I would consider distracting.

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  • [–] 1 point 3 weeks ago

    Yeah I want an AB test on whether these actually improve safety in real drivers/conditions. I’m sure they do in the lab. Anti-lock braking systems are another safety feature that I feel like has put me in harm’s way on a rainy day more often than it’s protected me on an icy one.

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  • [–] 4 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    I'm guess I'm officially old. My car doesn't have a single piece of tech listed in this article. I don't even know what an AR HUD in a car would look like or what info it would show.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago

    My car is from either 2003 or 2007, it doesn't have any of these features, and even if it did, they hardly sound like important safety features like a belt or airbag is

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