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PaperclipPerfector  2mo ago (text post)   2863 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for February 9, 2025

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Very likely looking to buy a new (to me, at least) car in the next few months. Weirdly, I have almost no starting criteria on which to begin my search. It really will be mostly a Point A to Point B thing, and while I'm not opposed to any features/bells/whistles, I find myself mostly apathetic. Just not really aware of what really nifty features might be out there now that can genuinely provide value. Almost certainly want something <10yrs old, good chance I'd be amenable to something <5yrs old. Last car I bought was 4yrs old at the time, and it's still in pretty great condition after an additional decade. It was near the end of a model run that was still just "basic car, engine makes it go", not a bunch of computers and wiz-bang gizmos in the cabin. I grew up too poor to ever think about buying new, but I know that was almost a better deal in the market for some window in time not too long ago. I have more means now and am not completely opposed to it; it will depend completely on the shape of the market once I really dive in.

Anyway, with that background, I'd like to at least try to focus in on one Small-Scale Question for this Sunday. Any resources for how to find a relatively-recent car that isn't constantly spying on you? Any little communities out there that curate some lists for cars that spy less on you out of the box or have how-to guides for lobotomizing cars that can be lobotomized?

Especially if you do much interstate driving, consider something with adaptive cruise control (i.e. you set max speed and do the steering wheel still, but it does acceleration/breaking). Makes things way less taxing. Something comma.ai compatible is one way to get that in older cars.

I've never understood the point of cruise control. It doesn't really take any effort to maintain a constant speed.

IMO, it depends on what specific kind of freeway driving you do. My commute spends just twenty minutes each way on a busy freeway, where my speed changes all the time and cruise control is worthless. But I once took a drive through the featureless wastes of rural Ohio on US 30, with hardly any traffic on the road, and being able to rest my foot for two hours on an eleven-hour drive (each way) was nice.

Interesting, I like even plain cruise control. Gets tiresome on my ankle otherwise. But adaptive is a whole nother level. Now you don't have to speed up and slow down as people in front of you do things - you are really just setting a max speed. Super great in stop and go traffic.

I think cruise control is useful for those times where it would take the average driver effort to maintain a constant speed- specifically, avoiding fines when the design speed of the road is sufficiently divorced from its limit (especially if those fines can be levied automatically).

Adaptive cruise control (and the lane-keep assists) is mainly so that you don't crash while you're navigating through your car's shitty infotainment menus, keeps you driving straight when you are flash-blinded by modern headlights, or when you are texting.

I was also sceptical but adaptive cruise control actually makes a pretty big difference for a longer drive.

a) Minimal effort is still nonzero. With cruise control it's zero, and that is nice.

b) Adaptive cruise control is a whole new level. It's amazing in particular during traffic jams when you are going to be stopping and starting a lot.

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