As we approach the end of 2017 and draw ever closer to the end of the 2010s as a whole, it
seems like car technology is advancing at a rate it never has before. Cars Are becoming safer, more and more packed with time and effort saving technology and better for the environment than we might have imagined possible even just a few years ago at the beginning of the decade.
Unfortunately, there are still plenty of car trends to groan about, many of which we’d all be glad to see the back of next year. Here are some of the most annoying:
Drab Colors
Okay, so this one isn’t really a biggie, but it seems like, in the past few years, as cars have gotten technically better, they’ve also lost their personalities. Whereas in the 80s, we had cars in every color of the rainbow imaginable, now most of the vehicles on the road appear to be varying shades of black, gray and white. The good news, if you hate this trend for drab cars, is that things seem to be changing with even cheap car hire, who would traditionally have been a sea of black and gray, now offering more colorful options, and with the abundance of vinyl wrapping and paints that make brightening up the car easier, now becoming available. It can’t come soon enough because we were starting to die of boredom!
Pointless Automation
There’s no denying that automation has a bright future in the automobile industry, but its future lies in fully automated self-driving cars, not annoying beeping safety sensors, clunky self-braking, and adjustment systems and vibrating steering wheels that are more of a nuisance than anything else. Hopefully, car manufacturers will concentrate on creating totally self-driving aspect and, in the meantime, leave the pointless automation out of the average vehicle.
Button-Based Interfaces
There is no excuse for new vehicles having clunky, inefficient button-based interfaces when the 21st Century s all about the touchscreen and the technology isn’t exactly difficult to implement. Whether it’s the buttons to control your radio, the HVAC system or your hands-free, it makes sense to have a touchscreen which is more streamlined and easy to use. Really, what are manufacturers who still use old-school interfaces thinking of?
Their Own Software
Obviously, cars may need to have their own software for some aspects of operation, but when it comes to things like playing the music from your phone through your car speakers, for example, competing software is surplus flows and, I’m, sure you’ll agree, very annoying. Car companies should be making it very simple for us all to sync our iPhone and Android devices with our cars and using their own software, which requires additional downloads and setup is not the way to do this. This is one minor, but very annoying trend that needs to be killed off asap.
Crossover Vehicles
I’m sure many of you will disagree, but to my mind, crossover vehicles like the Toyota RAV4 are boring, bland and unnecessary. Their popularity, like the popularity of drably colored cars, are contributing to duller roads and less interesting driving experiences.
What car trends would you like to see dead in the water come 2018?
