It turns out that more technology in cars isn’t necessarily something customers want, and it’s not really improving their driving experience. We know my thoughts on the matter, but I’ll do my best to stay impartial on this latest survey from JD Power that shows most customers don’t appreciate technology in cars unless they can see a clear benefit to them.
JD Power’s 2024 U.S. Tech Experience Index Study evaluated over 81,000 drivers’ experience with “advanced vehicle technologies” in 2024 model year vehicles after 90 days of ownership, It turned out to be a pretty mixed bag when it came to what people liked using. There are a number of tech features that customers like using because they feels that it answers their needs, but at the same time there is a whole lot that don’t get used very often or are continually annoying, according to the survey.
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I have a feeling almost everyone has set that Push wheel set to windshield wipers. Solved my biggest touch screen gripe. None of the rest while driving really bother me as it’s very infrequent that I need to adjust anything else while driving.
Setting climate to auto and I can mostly forget about it.
I need music control and that’s about it. I sometimes like to set “minimal lane changes”, but that’s mostly for long haul and I can do it before I leave. My wipers are by and large well behaved.
Ah, I barely ever touch the music once it’s going other than skip song on the wheel, and I otherwise use voice.
My auto wipers are bonkers though and are almost unusable so it was a HUGE quality of life improvement.