Featured Next-Gen Toyotas Will Now Last for Almost a Decade

or nanocad? or any one of several other freebies?

 

I think they're just trying to keep up with other automakers and please their investors.

People buying new cars expect to see tablets screens and apps. Cars are literally becoming iPhones. That's what the customer wants, that's what Toyota will deliver.

 

Customers may not want the screen.

Mandated reverse cameras require a screen.
Moving controls to it reduces production costs.
Something that increases the manufacturer profit is sold as stylish.

 

Not all customers. But I would suspect the majority do.

One thing I wished were an option would be to put the reverse camera on part of the rearview mirror. It can be made wide enough to have both. I was in a car once that had this feature. I think it was a Cadillac. With the reverse camera screen down low often the sun hits it and it becomes difficult to see. Plus it adds another place to look at while backing up.

 

This move from Toyota guarantees that the new software defined vehicles will, at the very least, get 10 years of software support. This is more than the current generation of toyota's with software in them get now. So long as the software isn't so deeply integrated that in 10 years time you can't bleed brakes because the software is outdated, I don't see the issue.

It reminds me of how cell phones had next to no guarantees on software update lifecycles for a very long time. But now they have long guaranteed security updates and updates for supported hardware features. Makes the usable life of the software side much longer, and guarantees security for a while at least. Better than a software glitch or security issue *never* getting fixed even just 2 years after buying the car, for example, because they don't want to do it.

 

Seems like production costs trump safety in some instances. They have some great aftermarket front & rear camera capability built right into rear view mirrors nowadays.

 

I would find such a screen too small. It is a wide angle camera that views more than the mirror. Smaller screen is the same as zooming the image, making it harder to spot details.

When the mandating talk started, I was hoping for just sensors would meet the requirement. That way a screen won't be a must have.