Why I think “software-centric” vehicles are going to have a much shorter useful life. Not a lot of people are using a 10-year-old smartphone phone or computer. Again, what is the long-term commitment from automakers to keep software patched and updated? The answer seems cryptic right now.
All of the documentation in our Bolt EUV basically ends in a big ??? After 10 years. OEMs need to release source code and/or APIs after 10 years if the OEMs aren't going to directly support products. Some vehicles will surely fair better than others in community support.
Vertical integration helps, but legacy automakers are still using a lot of off-the-shelf third-party controllers that all need to talk to each other. Otherwise, we’ve already seen how poorly factory infotainment systems have aged over the past decade.
No, that’s the entire point of an SDV. No more legacy ECUs, just a handful of high performance computers, each in charge of a single domain.
Right, I understand. Just saying newer EV startups have been further ahead in that regard, but that is rapidly changing.
This applies to chargers too. I just found out my new in the box JuiceBox (that's been sitting uninstalled for years because my wife gets by fine with the Lvl1 charger) is no longer supported by the manufacturer because the company that authenticates the software is defunct.
Yes, we've seen this time and again with consumer electronics. Best Buy always had JuiceBox chargers on sale too. It's even worse when companies farm out software development, or rely on some third-party host or cloud service that they either no longer want to pay to support, or it goes defunct.
It’s because the company that owned Juicebox decided to depart the US market. arstechnica.com/cars/2024/10...
You’d have the same problem if you bought a Fisker Ocean. Sometimes companies go under or stop trading. And that means no more support.
Yes, I'm fully aware. Our collective point was that it's infuriating.
Maybe none of these things need to be connected to a server in the first place. As you note, that isn't the world we live in :(
Fully agree with that. Authentication servers are just another tool of corporate greed. All electronics should have a fail safe mode that allows them to operate with basic / primary functionality without an internet connection. Anything else is bullshit.
It's the worst mechanical dystopian future coming to fruition now. Even a short global internet outage will cripple an amazing amount of the world.
“Software defined vehicle” is the industry term. Also the answer isn’t cryptic, you just have to ask them: arstechnica.com/cars/2023/03...
I’m reading about the “lifetime of the car, up to fifteen years”… while literally sitting in a lawn chair between my ‘94 Mustang and my ‘98 Z3.
It's okay I could not identify a 30ish year old Concord properly yesterday.
To be fair, LH sightings these days are like spotting an alligator in Nebraska; so unexpected it takes a while to process what you’re seeing. 😅
Concur. Saw an Eagle Vision the other day and it took me a hot second to remember that they did in fact exist.
Now that's just shocking.
Tired eyes
Sorry, "software-defined" is what I meant 😅. I would love to see OEMs follow though with such a plan, but remains to be seen. I know there's already software support problems for first-gen Porsche Taycans.
Taycan isn’t an SDV. Anything on PPE is, so Macan, Q6, A6. The Volvo EX90 is an SDV. And yes, they have been buggy. But never, ever buy a car in its first year of production.
I know VW was also working on it's "Trinity" platform successor to MEB, but both MEB/MEB+ and Porsche/Audi PPE are now set to be replaced by SSP into the next decade?
Yeah SSP was due next year, now 2028 at the earliest? arstechnica.com/cars/2021/07... www.electrive.com/2025/05/27/v...