J.D. Power released its rankings from the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Tech Experience Index (TXI) Study today. Genesis took top honors for the fourth year in a row. Hyundai won for the fifth year in a row. Not GM with its giant digital screens and interfaces (although the GMC brand ranked 3rd). Not Jeep with its cabin-wide digital dash in the Wagoneer. And not Tesla with its push into self-driving and intuitive software. Instead, the annual J.D. Power results confirm that many global automakers that are sinking billions into software and technology to solve problems that the majority of drivers don’t have and don’t want. And we consumers pay the price in higher sticker prices on new vehicles.
The results come from a survey of new car buyers’ first 90 days of ownership. Now, some might think three months is too short a period to get a good feel for how a car works, but the limited time window does zero in on how intuitive a vehicle’s feature are, and whether or not they’re being used. The J.D. Power survey went granular as well, parsing the survey results to zero in on two of the most useless pieces of expensive tech in vehicles today.
Useless Car Tech #1 – Hands-Free Anything
Advanced Driver Assist Systems, which includes everything from hands-free driving, lane-keeping assist, facial recognition, motion-controlled systems that involve your hands were viewed as unnecessary and perceived as adding zero value to the driver’s experience. Tech that addresses very specific benefits, such as backup cameras and alerts do score high. The takeaway: Stop making driving more complicated than it should be with tech that adds zero benefit other than a “gee-whiz” factor.
Useless Car Tech #2 – Digital Screens for Passengers
The majority of respondents thought that those pricey displays for passengers were a useless waste of money and space. And it makes sense when you figure that the front passenger seat is only occupied 10% of the time according to J.D. Power. J.D. Power also made a point that many dealership salespeople have enough trouble guiding new buyers through the complexity of one screen, let alone two. The takeaway: The addition of a digital screen for passengers makes that first experience of operating the vehicle way more complex than it should be, and could even be a turn-off to a potential buyer/owner.
TFL’s Take – Just Drive!
Back in 2018 Nissan was experimenting with “Brain-to-Car” technology, and we were having none of it. “Keep It Simple, Stupid” is an adage that’s made perfect sense forever, yet in the chase for better margins and higher stock prices, automakers keep adding solutions to driving problems that don’t really exist, which is why both Genesis and Hyundai keep winning these tech awards. Industry-leading in-cabin tech is usually not top of mind with either brand, and that’s likely because they see what tech people actually use and want, and focus on delivering just that.
If you want a deep dive on the topic, check out TFLtalk’s video below:
