In-car AI assistants are coming whether you like it or not

From Alexa and Nuance to personal AI helpers that learn your moods, it's happening.

Read the whole story

 

[Dr Gitlin]

Two things, if always on line cars are good thing let the carmakers pay the bill.

These cars will actually have two SIMs. One, which the OEM pays for, will do all the mission critical stuff, the other, which they expect the owner to pay for, will handle things like entertainment streaming.

What exactly do you mean by “Mission Critical”? I can’t imagine anything that fits the description except perhaps calling for help in a crash. Which I’d rather have in some kind of wearable than in a car anyway - so it can be used outside the car.

And how is an OEM “paying” for it? Doesn’t that just mean the owner has to pay upfront for a 20+ year cellular connection? You’d think a single connection would be cheaper - especially with radio spectrum availability being a problem. I’ve already got multiple cellular devices in my car without the car itself having two more.

I fear “Mission Criticial” will mostly end up being “the stuff we can sell to data brokers to pay for the connection”. No thanks.

Even at a cheap price like $5/month that’s still thousands of dollars added to the upfront cost of the car.

Mission critical like sending telemetry data up to the OEM so they can see which buttons you push frequently, or uploading the delta between the HD map layer you downloaded and the changes your car's sensors discovered.

Strange, that doesn't seem mission critical to me. To me, the mission critical parts of a car are the parts that make it go (engine, wheels, transmission - that sort of stuff).

Having the car act as spyware isn't mission critical, nor is improving a map for someone else.

You misunderstand: it's critical to the OEM, not the end user. How else will it monetize you?

 

[Dr Gitlin]

Even at a cheap price like $5/month that’s still thousands of dollars added to the upfront cost of the car.

How long do your cars last? 10 years * 12 months * $5 = $600. There are IOT data plans which are as low as $0.50 a month per device.

I mean Tesla already has cellular connectivity in every car sold. I am not sure we need all this but the infrastructure to do it exists and will only get cheaper and ubiquitous as time goes on.

I don't believe you can buy any GM car now that doesn't have an embedded LTE modem. In fact, I'm not sure there are that many cars from any OEM you can buy that aren't connected.

 

[Crackhead Johny]

From teh Audi piece.
{quote] The data is broken up and pseudonymized on the servers, so determining which employees are in which cars will be impossible.[/quote]
As impossible as noticing that all of employee X's drives start at a given location (their house)

But all too often, these AI systems are presented as yet another way to get us to buy things, only this time while we're on the move. And knowing the audience, that's the last thing any of us really want. But maybe I'm being too cynical.

Cynical? Nope.
Through out the history of driving most crashes are caused by inattentive/distracted drivers. Not drunks. Not speeders.
Billboards were/are designed to distract drivers. So they are designed to cause the major cause of crashes/fatalities.
As soon as advertisers get a way into your car, their money will trump ethics. (oh look trump and ethics in the same sentence)

now every OEM will tell you that customers are crying out for a more

Your average person is in idiot. Do not just give idiots everything they yowl for. Do not kill people for money.
They wanted "hands free" cell phone use in their cars. Sure this is as bad or worse than driving drunk but they wanted it, so they got it... and the bodies piled up.

If the AI is a bad passenger and just yaps at you about things, this will also pile the bodies up. As we all know when we are riding right seat our job is a second set of eyes, not yapping about the inane or keeping our nose in our cell phone.

 

[crispysilicon]

There are plenty of sources for OEM and after-market parts for darn near any vehicle on the road today.

As someone who has worked in the auto parts industry for many years, this is absolutely untrue.

Had a customer come to me a few months ago with a 1993(?) GMC Pickup. Had 61,000 miles on it, burns no oil. Smog pump seized.

Couldn't get one from any supplier. Called Cardone (largest reman supplier), all out of cores.

They are all gone, even the remans. Vehicle still sits because it can't be registered without one, and there are none left, until he gets lucky on ebay or sway meet.

Or a catalytic converter for an 2006 Toyota Prius I had come to me. Can't get one. Period.

It's getting nothing but worse.

 

[jdale]

Two things, if always on line cars are good thing let the carmakers pay the bill.

These cars will actually have two SIMs. One, which the OEM pays for, will do all the mission critical stuff, the other, which they expect the owner to pay for, will handle things like entertainment streaming.

What exactly do you mean by “Mission Critical”? I can’t imagine anything that fits the description except perhaps calling for help in a crash. Which I’d rather have in some kind of wearable than in a car anyway - so it can be used outside the car.

And how is an OEM “paying” for it? Doesn’t that just mean the owner has to pay upfront for a 20+ year cellular connection? You’d think a single connection would be cheaper - especially with radio spectrum availability being a problem. I’ve already got multiple cellular devices in my car without the car itself having two more.

I fear “Mission Criticial” will mostly end up being “the stuff we can sell to data brokers to pay for the connection”. No thanks.

Even at a cheap price like $5/month that’s still thousands of dollars added to the upfront cost of the car.

Mission critical like sending telemetry data up to the OEM so they can see which buttons you push frequently, or uploading the delta between the HD map layer you downloaded and the changes your car's sensors discovered.

Strange, that doesn't seem mission critical to me. To me, the mission critical parts of a car are the parts that make it go (engine, wheels, transmission - that sort of stuff).

Having the car act as spyware isn't mission critical, nor is improving a map for someone else.

You misunderstand: it's critical to the OEM, not the end user. How else will it monetize you?

Yep. That's the bottom line. It's about recording your driving behavior and location, and selling that data.

That's why we don't want it.

 

[Snark218]

It's funny. Most commenters here are coming across as so tech-averse you have to wonder how they convinced themselves to get online and post. To the point of apparently making things up as they go along.

My vehicle has a SIM from the manufacturer. I do not have to use it or pay a monthly fee. It's there if I want it; and yeah - cars can be more than what gets you from point "A" to point "B". They most certainly do not have to be "just" anything.

Assistant empowered vehicles with the ability to set up routines seems like a technology enthusiasts dream. I would love the ability to set up routines based on location, outside conditions, season, driver, passengers, etc...and probably far more possibilities than I'm creative enough to imagine.

I hate to break this to you, but unless the OEM sold the car to you at a loss, you paid for every piece of it, regardless of what you actually use.

Granted, adding a SIM probably isn't much in the grand total, but the "adverse" point is that those added costs are simply needless. You do not use the SIM, yet you paid for it to be there. All these little things add up to the point where the car becomes much more expensive and complex for no real actual gain in terms of performance or ease of use.

That is what I have a problem with.

Adjusted for inflation, a 3-series isn't much more expensive than it was 20 years ago. The physical SIM card is cheap as hell. The minimal data service, amortized over lots of cars, is also negligible.

Where BMW needs to work is the ease of use component.

 

[Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer]

It's funny. Most commenters here are coming across as so tech-averse you have to wonder how they convinced themselves to get online and post. To the point of apparently making things up as they go along.

My vehicle has a SIM from the manufacturer. I do not have to use it or pay a monthly fee. It's there if I want it; and yeah - cars can be more than what gets you from point "A" to point "B". They most certainly do not have to be "just" anything.

Assistant empowered vehicles with the ability to set up routines seems like a technology enthusiasts dream. I would love the ability to set up routines based on location, outside conditions, season, driver, passengers, etc...and probably far more possibilities than I'm creative enough to imagine.

Computers with cellular connections built in can be remotely hacked. Computers with cellular connections built in and which have access to the high-speed CAN bus can be remotely hacked to do some pretty deadly things.

IIRC, the only thing these guys didn't get access to was steering while the car was moving forward (but they could steer it moving backwards)...but add lane assist to the mix and even that becomes potentially possible:

https://www.wired.com/2015/07/jeep-hack ... s-bug-fix/

 

[sadsteve]

I have to hand it to the auto industry: they're doing a fantastic job of making me maintain my older vehicles, and hang onto them for much longer than I would otherwise.

Heh, yeah. I mostly ride a motorcycle so my 2003 Civic (123k miles so far) is going to last for quite a while.

 

[pastoralchicken]

A.I.? No freaking way.

The marketing droids at these companies would *love* for all the data they'd get from systems like this. Just ask GM:

Unless the Data Connection to your Vehicle is deactivated, data about your Vehicle will continue to be collected even if you do not have a Plan. It is important that you convey this to other drivers, occupants, or subsequent owners of your Vehicle. You may deactivate the Data Connection to your Vehicle at any time by contacting an OnStar Advisor.

Do you trust your car manufacturer with all of your data?

 

[AllYourBase]

I hate to break this to you, but unless the OEM sold the car to you at a loss, you paid for every piece of it, regardless of what you actually use.

Granted, adding a SIM probably isn't much in the grand total, but the "adverse" point is that those added costs are simply needless. You do not use the SIM, yet you paid for it to be there. All these little things add up to the point where the car becomes much more expensive and complex for no real actual gain in terms of performance or ease of use.

That is what I have a problem with.

As I said to the other guy...I never claimed one did not pay for the equipment or installation of it.

It's almost like you folks are so hell-bent on making a point, you don't bother reading the entire comment you decide to "respond" to.

As to your point:

Nearly every single piece of tech anyone buys has something in it they won't use. We are constantly subsidizing the costs of functionality we don't use for those that do. It's a fact of life, and a necessity of manufacturing processes. They aren't making cars just for you.

Sure, you didn't pay monthly, but you paid none the less for something useless. That was the point. The payment structure does not make the cost-for-nothing equation any more attractive. (Although if I misinterpreted your post when you meant to suggest OEM's wouldn't charge you for "services" you don't use, I stand corrected and apologize for my assumption.)

And sure, I understand that manufacturers can't possibly make a car that is 100% use-case efficient for everyone, but the general concept of them investing in "AI" and other tech that does not really do anything is a problem in search of a solution. It is fine for consumers to complain about a company heading in a bad direction, if nothing else but to emphasize what they value about the product or service.

Self-Driving capabilities, better engine efficiency, more comfortable seats, phone NAV sync, etc. are an attractive innovations. Implementing "AI" to negotiate cabin temperature and the like does nothing but make it more difficult and expensive to operate the car (not to mention the sudden privacy risk). They might as well have the up-charge going to solid gold A/C switches.

 

[Old_Fogie_Late_Bloomer]

Even at a cheap price like $5/month that’s still thousands of dollars added to the upfront cost of the car.

How long do your cars last? 10 years * 12 months * $5 = $600. There are IOT data plans which are as low as $0.50 a month per device.

I mean Tesla already has cellular connectivity in every car sold. I am not sure we need all this but the infrastructure to do it exists and will only get cheaper and ubiquitous as time goes on.

I don't believe you can buy any GM car now that doesn't have an embedded LTE modem. In fact, I'm not sure there are that many cars from any OEM you can buy that aren't connected.

2019 Subaru WRX base or Premium. Unfortunately, if you want LED headlights, you have to go up to the Limited, which has STARLINK Safety and Security (as do both tiers of the WRX STI).

 

[Fatesrider]

I have to hand it to the auto industry: they're doing a fantastic job of making me maintain my older vehicles, and hang onto them for much longer than I would otherwise.

Not so ironically, the new car market is shrinking (largely due to the increased prices of new cars) while the used car market is EXPLODING (with more than twice as many used cars being sold annually than new ones), also largely due to higher new car prices.

The way I see it, bullshit add-ons like connected cars and AI's in them ain't gonna do the new car market much good going forward. Added cost with almost zero (if not negative) added value.

I'm thinking of having my 03 Honda Civic overhauled and just keeping it til I die.

 

[pehash]

Apparently there's nothing new with these "assistants". We've got it all covered by smartphones. Sure, the smartphone can't control my car air-con, but that's just an app away. A smartphone cradle on a fixed hub steering wheel would be interesting.
There are so many apparent new ways the car market is developing that it's a bit confusing to figure out what I should do next. Should I buy a new car (for another 10 years..)? surely they'll be all autonomous in 3! Or not?.. Then should I buy an expensive EV now or wait a bit more? Maybe a PHEV? There's also the option of an honest diesel (I don't drive in town anyway.. I'm not afraid of bicycles). Maybe a diesel hybrid? A long range FCV SUV?.. Do I want the full driving assist suite? Nice to have, but one gets lazy soon and then.. dead. Maybe just the basics? like emergency break assist.
On top of it all there's still no electric MX-5!

 

[pehash]

Even at a cheap price like $5/month that’s still thousands of dollars added to the upfront cost of the car.

How long do your cars last? 10 years * 12 months * $5 = $600. There are IOT data plans which are as low as $0.50 a month per device.

I mean Tesla already has cellular connectivity in every car sold. I am not sure we need all this but the infrastructure to do it exists and will only get cheaper and ubiquitous as time goes on.

I don't believe you can buy any GM car now that doesn't have an embedded LTE modem. In fact, I'm not sure there are that many cars from any OEM you can buy that aren't connected.

Dacia Sandero!

 

[a nonny moose]

it takes a hell of a lot to make me feel ok about the impending end, but this article is what the doctor ordered.

 

[Alpluto]

Leveraging some rather good voice recognition (take a bow, Nuance), you can give the car instructions like, "Hey BMW, I'm cold," at which point it will increase the cabin temperature for you. "We expect much higher engagement with voice interaction," said Dieter May, BMW's SVP for digital products and services.

I registered just to lol at this. Mr May must be deluded or has never driven a Honda Accord. My 2010 model let me do this without any "advanced'' AI system, anything heating related, you could give an instruction. And not just "I'm cold", you could say exactly what temp you wanted. That said, it was not something I used frequently and don't miss much now that I've changed cars

 

[Wolvenmoon]

What if what I want in a car involves being able to crank the music to the volume I pick, skip songs I dislike, crank the heater all the way up, roll down the windows, and not deal with anything talking or texting at me demanding my attention and interaction for a bit?

If I get into my car and it starts off with "Good evening, Wolvenmoon. I've adjusted the temperature to be +4 degrees above ambient as per your demonstrated preferences and the seat and steering wheel warmers are on medium. The fastest route to home is presented. Would you like me to turn on your music?" I'm going to lose my mind over not only being accosted by an AI when I likely want some isolated introvert time after dealing with people all day, but also over being railroaded by a computer.

I also don't like the thought of dealing with a mic when my windows are down and my music's cranked.

 

[MilanKraft]

Fuck off to all of this.

If you want it, great. You should be able to pay extra for it and get it.

If you don't want your damn car watching and listening to you (like every other square foot of real estate in urban and suburban America these days) you shouldn't be forced into it. No the AI won't be evil or whatever but the point is it's just another connected data point like your phone or a bunch of other crap that corporations and govts can use to track your behavior.

I say again F U C K OFF. This stuff is not being used to solve real-world problems that can't easily be solved in other ways, it's being used as a gimmick and most likely will be crammed down our throats by big auto eventually.

The same way these assholes are already starting to force you into a screen-based console instead of dials and buttons. More and more uncommon to find dealer options without the console now. It's crap.

 

[AxMi-24]

Yea no.

I'm not paying to BMW or anyone else to track my every move and have my car live in the cloud with all the security issues with come with that idiocy. If they can't produce a car that respects the owner I'll just stick to something else. At least in Europe owning a car is becoming less and less of a necessity and being treated like a piece of shit that should be monetised is hardly going to increase the allure of cars.

 

[ridgeguy]

I *so* don't want this "progress".

I agree with others who predict it will become yet another advertising and monetizing channel.

It completes the transformation of my car into yet one more device I have to admin and that has 1000 ways to fail rather than 50 or so.

I do like newer safety features - lane keeping, blind spot alerts, collision avoidance, etc. They give me real utility (maybe saving some lives), for which I'm willing to incur admin overhead and added failure modes.

But good heavens - I don't want to talk to my car. I want a media volume knob. I want a temperature and fan speed knob. I want to change basic functions of my car without having to take my eyes off the forward sight picture.

Dumb car reversion services - sounds like a startup opportunity to me.

 

[Zaragon]

There are plenty of sources for OEM and after-market parts for darn near any vehicle on the road today.

As someone who has worked in the auto parts industry for many years, this is absolutely untrue.

Had a customer come to me a few months ago with a 1993(?) GMC Pickup. Had 61,000 miles on it, burns no oil. Smog pump seized.

Couldn't get one from any supplier. Called Cardone (largest reman supplier), all out of cores.

They are all gone, even the remans. Vehicle still sits because it can't be registered without one, and there are none left, until he gets lucky on ebay or sway meet.

Or a catalytic converter for an 2006 Toyota Prius I had come to me. Can't get one. Period.

It's getting nothing but worse.

The guy with the pickup doesn't want it bad enough, or doesn't want to spend enough money. Most modern catalysts will do a perfectly adequate job removing pollutants without AIR injection.

Replace the catalytic converter, gut the AIR injection pump and turn it into an idler pulley (this may or may not require fabrication, but is required because of jurisdictions that requrie visual inspection). Typically, the pump itself doesn't have any electronics in it, so the system won't be able to even tell.

I don't know if you still require a reason to be allowed to replace a catalytic converter, but "AIR injection system nonfunctional and repair impossible as parts have not been available for years" is a sufficient enough reason. Some states even allow PERMANENT exemptions for non-repairable emissions controls, depending on the age of the car.

This should all be aboveboard; in some jurisdictions you can even have the car run through an exhaust sniffer to prove that the exhaust tailpipe emissions still meet the standards for the vehicle's model year. I did it with a Camaro a few years older than the GMC, back when my state still HAD exhaust sniffers, and it actually more than met the emissions standards of the time.

I'm not going to touch the Prius, though. Newer cars are so sensitive to everything it could probably tell that the converter didn't have a Toyota part number.

 

[valkyriebiker]

The term AI is really being abused here. So far, all the things I read in this article about car tech is just relatively simple IFTTT conditionals. I mean, does it really require "AI" to know that a car is moving and to not commit software updates?

True AI is my car knowing that I'm hungry for Neapolitan-style pizza, plotting a course to such a pizzeria only if it's open, ordering said pie while on the way (Margherita, please, with a Peroni) -- all without me saying a single word.

 

[Echoplexse]

I see a huge market for dumb-car conversion kits.

There are already tons of forum posts about ripping the 4G out of new Ford and toyota cars, and replacing the radios with simpler units. Dumb-car conversions cant be far away at this point.

I'd buy one. If I ever get a new car, all the wireless radios are coming out ASAP. If the radio wont work without it, I'll replace it with one that will. Software as a service is a royal PITA, and has no place in an automobile.

This is one of the things I love and actually was a factor in me getting the car I did when I was shopping around summer of '17. I ended up with a WRX, I put a Sony CarPlay unit in and was even able to retain the steering wheel controls without having to buy an adapter. So fantastic

 

[Xrobins]

An alien race of machines sentient and immortal that evolved from an ancient biological race of humans. Traversing the universe in search of new life and new civilizations. Seeking its purpose and reason for being alive. That's just my car it evolved one day and started calling me its buddy.

 

[xXxSqueakxXx]

Hey BMW, I'm cold

Already looking forward to videos of scottish and irish and others, having arguments with their cars.

joke aside though, there are some privacy concerns here with a car always listening and the car industry's notoriously bad security.

 

[georgedarroch]

Open the passenger door, HAL.

 

[wxid]

If done right, AI will monitor your manual adjustments and be able to do them for you as needed.

Machine learning is great at drawing specific conclusions based on a large number of discrete inputs. So if you always turn the temperature up at 6 PM in the evening when the outside temperature is 10F and you're a bit slower than usual on the accelerator, AI can recognize this and automatically adjust the temperature for you before you realize you want to.

This sounds dreadful and is definitely something I don't want my car doing. It will be making wrong guesses probably 90% of the time and will become an infuriating distraction.

I'm all for improving tech in cars - better HUDs, improving the Volvo-style animal recognition systems, and so forth - but please keep the worthless "assistants" out of my car. I don't want them, won't use them, and will be saddened when the day inevitably comes that I can no longer buy a car without one.

 

[Dr Gitlin]

I have to hand it to the auto industry: they're doing a fantastic job of making me maintain my older vehicles, and hang onto them for much longer than I would otherwise.

Not so ironically, the new car market is shrinking (largely due to the increased prices of new cars) while the used car market is EXPLODING (with more than twice as many used cars being sold annually than new ones), also largely due to higher new car prices.

The way I see it, bullshit add-ons like connected cars and AI's in them ain't gonna do the new car market much good going forward. Added cost with almost zero (if not negative) added value.

I'm thinking of having my 03 Honda Civic overhauled and just keeping it til I die.

New car sales were almost exactly flat from 2017 to 2018. Unless 0.3% YoY growth is now considered “shrinking”?

 

[raxadian]

The most important question is, do all of them hve easy ways to be turned off?

 

[Fritzr]

I see a huge market for dumb-car conversion kits.

Are you referring to after market upgrades for smart cars?

 

[Fritzr]

Get off my lawn, “tech” car companies. Nobody needs or wants this.
You want to make some useful tech? How about better integration with mobile devices? Why does my car have to switch Bluetooth profiles to send microphone data? Don’t give me that “not enough bandwidth” BS when we have multi-gigabit wireless links. Just standardize access on things like speakers, microphone, buttons, hardware mounts, etc so we can mount a mobile device that *does* get updated frequently.
Or, go ahead and fragment the market with crap nobody cares about so you can pitch “unique value.”

It works for Apple.

 

[Fritzr]

No offense, Jonathan, but this made me laugh.

I got my first glimpse of this brave new world in 2016 when Audi showed me its concept called PIA (for Personal Intelligent Assistant). Since then, I've heard talk of such AI helpers from more and more car makers, and the technology is getting closer to production.

I got my first glimpse of AI's in cars here.

Then, as now, I didn't think it was a very good idea...

Available for viewing on YouTube.
Episode 1 (More episodes available)

 

[Gunman]

Things car makers are good at :
- Making engines
- Making mechanical parts
- Making embedded software that minds its own business

Things car makers are not good at :
- Making user-facing software

Seriously, I have a Toyota Yaris hybrid from 2018, and it's ridiculous. The car itself is quite a marvel, very smooth, very reliable, a true pleasure to drive.
On the other hand, all the user-facing stuff that's not directly related to driving looks like it has been designed by a senile chimpanzee with a fetish for early 2000s aesthetics. The multimedia part is a disaster that does not make any sense. I don't think the team behind it has heard of unit testing or UX, or even knew that it was supposed to be used inside a car by human beings. Some gadgets like an automatic road-sign recognition is so useless and unreliable I had to disable it. I don't have the GPS option ("Touch and Go"), but the fact that it's nicknamed "Touch and Die" by some users should give you a clue on the quality.
I am glad this system cannot talk because its first request would be euthanasia.

So no, thank you, I don't want any AI in my car

 

[Entkoffeiniert]

I'm with the Luddites on this one. I have no desire to talk to my car. If the car companies want to get into being connected and smart, I'd rather they started with cast iron security.

Can't help feeling this is a bit of: "Ok, well this autonomous driving thing isn't coming along too well, but to make up for it, your car can talk to you".

Ironic that many of us probably had dreams about KITT in our youth

 

[sdean7855]

Repeat after me:
"Anything that isn't in a design won't break"
(One of Augustine's Laws)

The operation that delivers a simple car whose most complicated accessory is remote locking will clean up. The Simple Car: $15K.
I have an '03 diesel Diesel Jetta VW. 50MPG, 250K miles, no rust. And remote locking. Paid for, * cents a mile for fuel.

 

[RoninX]

I can imagine some useful applications for AI in cars. For example, an AI that can self-diagnose mechanical problems based on sensor data (sound, vibration, temperature, etc.). If it could identify the problem, schedule a maintenance appointment that fits into your schedule, order the necessary parts, and eliminate the need for repeat visits to the dealership, that would actually be useful.

On the other hand, a lot of the CES stuff seems pretty pointless -- and reading my mood would be high on my list of things I don't need my car to do.

 

[fferitt25]

Jonathan confirmed KITT is will be here soon !!

Yes. All the future tech from the 80s is finally arriving. We just need Pizza Hut to work on dehydrated pizza.

 

[...m...]

...my car has electronic fuel injection, antilock brakes, and that's it, thank goodness: still equipped with a mechanical throttle and manual windows, even...

...i have zero patience with tools which second-guess my intentions and UI which attempt to supersede agency in their application; reads like i'll be limited to used vehicles for quite awhile, at least until someone markets a minimalist EV...

Ironic that many of us probably had dreams about KITT in our youth

...my wife revels in the contradiction between my love of fictional robots versus my absolute intolerance of AI in real life...

 

[NCG_Mike]

Sounds like a problem that can be fixed by wirecutters and a decent pair of pliers.

A hammer would be my tool of choice. It's a car not a living room.

 

[jaberg]

That or you have to pay for yet another data connection. which is what onstar and other providers do. yet another $20 a month bill

The gateway drug (or if you prefer, killer app) for that is "auto start via the phone app." I don't have this feature myself and as a result when my friend and I get together for $5 movie night she inevitably drives. "My car is already started. And warm. And the heated seats are on." Who am I to argue. Bonus feature, the car can report it's location to you. Again, not a problem that I have (I solve this by always parking in the "same place" in any shopping area regardless of my destination, but one I've observed. "No, honest, we parked over by the Nordstroms tonight."

This will likely be a feature I look for in my next lease. I used to be play tough, now I'm just old and cold here in the midst of the polar vortex.

Have you ever tried to use the hands free phone system? We've got 2012, 2013, and 2014 Outbacks...its infuriating and distracting trying to place a call and having it incorrectly guess who to call. Much less distracting to pick up my phone for 2 seconds, tap the phone-app, key in 1 or 2 letters and tap the person's name.

Voice dial via CarPlay works nearly flawlessly in my car. My experience is that success is largely based on the quality of the microphones and the soundproofing in the cabin. The occasional misdial is easily corrected — infuriating is a mindset I reserve for people who pass when I am pulled over to allow an emergency vehicle to go by. And if you have to look at your phone, even for "1 or 2 seconds" you are more distracted despite what you believe. (My car isn't a Subaru but I've had a couple as rentals in the past year and haven't had any particular issue with them either — but I wasn't using the feature heavily while I was away either.)

I feel lucky that at 42, my 2013 Nissan Xterra and my 2011 Toyota Corolla will likely last me the rest of my life, given that I keep both maintained to the letter of their manuals.

The highest tech in either of them are their aftermarket head unit radios with Bluetooth.

From my cold, dead fingers.

do you intend to die just after retirement ? Maintaining a car over 30 years will be quite a challenge

1967 Land-Rover here. No longer a daily driver, but it could be. Plan to add a CarPlay compatible stereo one of these days — now that the price on those has come down to the point where I won't cry when it drowns (as they all do in this rig.) Heated seats are also on the list because I’m old, soft, and cold.