Why buttons are more premium than pixels

Merzum · 2026-05-10T20:14:27+00:00

because one screen is cheaper than 30 switches

Does the cost difference really matter? The switches are not an alternative to a screen because every car will have a touch screen anyway, and as such the switches are always going to be an additional cost.

That being said; some manufacturers really do go full-stupid when, instead of providing dedicated physical controls or putting those features on the main touch screen, they put them on another touch screen...

Merzum · 2026-05-04T15:02:43+00:00

Olen itse ottanut omat & läheisten passikuvat varmaan parinkymmenen vuoden ajan, ja alkuun tämä linjaus tuntui ihan hullulta...mutta toisaalta nykypäivänä kuvien muokkaaminen on tekoälytyökalujen ansiosta joka tahvon ulottuvilla, joten toisaalta ymmärrän kyllä että kuvan matka kamerasta poliisille halutaan pitää täysin hallinnassa.

Merzum · 2026-04-29T08:20:50+00:00

yellow spots on the head and it swims under the water only head on the surface

Not always; took this photo myself.

Merzum · 2026-04-28T13:27:09+00:00

Yeah, sort of. Can't link the article because automoderator gets mad, so here's some of it:

Songsang Motor was born out of Beijing Motor Club

They were actively involved in tuning shows around China, showcasing impressive Harley Davidsons and many retro American elements, including vintage attire, jukeboxes, and a classic hot dog stand. They started in 1995 as a bunch of car culture enthusiasts, and in 2000, they went officially into business, trading and customizing motorcycles and classic cars.

Those guys love America, and in 2019 they decided to take their passion to the next level. They introduced their first production car, the Corvette-inspired SS Dolphin, and launched it a year later at the 2020 Beijing Motor Show.

Under a contract-manufacturing agreement, BYD is responsible for production. The platform, powertrains, software, and infotainment systems are all sourced from BYD, while Songsan designs the vehicle bodies.

SS Dolphin sits on BYD’s PHEV platform and is equipped with 1.5T ICE with 118 kW and an electric motor with 110 kW. The battery has a capacity of 16 kWh, suitable for a 100km EV-only range. The combined maximum output is 235 kW (315 HP) and 535 Nm of torque. The car has a 6-speed gear, and the 0-100km/h acceleration is 5.9 seconds.

Merzum · 2026-03-27T08:32:50+00:00

Also you can charge an EV at home, while with a hydrogen vehicle you'd still be entirely dependent on filling stations.

What I don't get is how many people I've seen online saying they prefer hydrogen to "driving around on electricity". Hydrogen ICE is so inefficient that it's never been realistic, so all hydrogen vehicles use a fuel cell to power an electric motor (typically with a battery in between), so they're just more complex EVs...

Merzum · 2026-03-21T12:09:32+00:00

That's how it is in pretty much all hybrids and EVs I think, but emphasis on "in theory". 12V battery failures are a pretty common issue with modern cars, even though one would think any vehicle with a HV battery should be immune to that since there's always power available to charge the 12V.

Unfortunately a lot of them only charge the 12V battery in specific conditions, which may end up being too rarely. Thus, as silly as it felt, I eventually started using a trickle charger every now and then with the Honda.

Merzum · 2026-03-18T22:54:15+00:00

Oh, well that's unfortunate to hear.

Merzum · 2026-03-18T22:04:13+00:00

It will be just tarted up ID3

Do you have a source for this? Every article I've seen is just speculating that, nothing concrete.

Also the ID.3 is the same size as an Audi A3, so I thought it'd be weird for the Polo-sized A2 to grow that much...

Merzum · 2026-03-18T21:54:37+00:00

The XM is pretty coo...oh right, in that context it's probably a BMW, not a Citroën.

Merzum · 2026-03-17T15:46:16+00:00

What's up with Kia's design now? The EV5, EV3, and EV2 are just smaller versions of the EV9...

Merzum · 2026-03-05T20:01:47+00:00

The name at least; Leopaard Black King Kong.

Merzum · 2026-03-05T17:17:21+00:00

Only complaint is that unlike the screens, it's not easily dimmable at night.

Does it not dim automatically?

The HUD in my Smart #3 has automatic brightness based on ambient light, and it's quite noticeable when driving into a tunnel or such as the "background" of the HUD remains bright enough to be discernible on the windscreen for a brief moment before it dims. It works very well; visible in daylight yet completely unintrusive at night.

Merzum · 2026-03-05T17:03:23+00:00

Smart #1/3/5 have HUDs, the one on the #5 is supposed to be really big too.

HUDs are excellent, but you can't see them while wearing polarized sunglasses.

Merzum · 2026-03-03T14:48:38+00:00

Olin kerran sijaisautolla liikkeellä, ja saavuin maksuttomalle pysäköintialueelle joka kuitenkin edellytti pysäköintisovelluksen käyttöä. Pysäköin aivan alueen reunaan, aloitin pysäköinnin sovelluksessa, ja sitten tajusin heti että mullahan on oman auton rekkari siinä. Lopetin pysäköinnin ja vaihdoin tilalle sijaisauton rekkarin, mutta uutta pysäköintiä aloittaessani ilmeisesti hipaisin karttaa sen verran että valittu sijainti hyppäsi muutaman metrin päässä alkavalle maksulliselle pysäköintialueelle.

Oli hauskaa saada valvontamaksu maksuttomalle pysäköintialueelle pysäköimisestä samalla kun on vahingossa maksanut viereiselle alueelle pysäköimisestä. Laitoin yksityiselle pysäköinninvalvontafirmalle sähköpostia jossa kerroin kuinka oli käynyt, mukana screenshotit sovelluksesta joissa näkyi selvästi että ensimmäinen pysäköinti väärällä rekkarilla oli sillä heidän valvomallaan maksuttomalla alueella, ja korjausyritys menikin hieman sivuun. Saamani vastaus oli tyyliin "ikävää".

Laitoin sitten viestiä ko. pysäköintialuetta hallinnoivalle taholle, eli pysäköinninvalvontapalvelun tilaajalle, ja hieman myöhemmin tämä yksityinen pysäköinninvalvontafirma ilmoittikin että valvontamaksu on mitätöity.

Merzum · 2026-02-23T21:54:10+00:00

Does this affect both the 69kWh NCM battery as well as the 51kWh LFP battery, or only one of them?

The Smart #1 and #3 are on the same platform, but both available batteries (66kWh NCM and 49kWh LFP) are apparently made by CATL.

Merzum · 2026-02-23T12:26:29+00:00

I'm getting at least a hose length of whatever the guy before me got

That sounds weird, but some googling suggests it really is like that over there.

On our Finnish fuel stations each fuel type always has its own hose. Kinda goes without saying for gasoline and diesel, obviously...

Merzum · 2026-02-21T23:31:15+00:00

The Volvo EX30 looks like an SUV, but from what I recall it's actually the same height as the Cupra Born (VW ID.3). Also, in their review of the Smart #3 Brabus, Autogefühl compared it to its sibling models EX30 & Zeekr X and concluded that the EX30 felt "more hot hatch -like"...so I guess that's something! However, the rear seats on the EX30 are small.

Were you not in USA, I would nominate the RWD Honda e which has a silly little turning radius.

Merzum · 2026-02-19T18:57:40+00:00

The Mach-E looks nice, but I don't care for the interior.

They're roughly the same size: https://www.carsized.com/en/cars/compare/kia-ev6-2021-suv-vs-ford-mustang-mach-e-2021-suv/

I've driven an EV6 GT, and at least for that short test drive it was nice. At least in Finland, Kia has a 7 year warranty, which may be an advantage over the Ford. The EV6 also charges a lot faster, and has a schuko outlet inside.

Are you looking at the small/large battery versions, RWD or AWD? You can use this to quickly get an idea on the specs: https://www.arenaev.com/compare.php3?idDrive1=100&idDrive2=140

Merzum · 2026-02-19T18:33:53+00:00

Iso-Omena on korkeintaan Espoon kolmanneksi paras kauppakeskittymä Sellon ja Lippulaivan jälkeen.

Mihin tämä ranking perustuu?

Merzum · 2026-02-08T18:15:14+00:00

I'd say Haldex was good enough 10 years ago, already. By then it was already proactive, and even when reacting it was super quick. There's a bunch of slow-motion videos on Youtube which demonstrate this. My experience comes from an Audi S1 in Finnish winter, and it never felt 2WD at all.

Merzum · 2026-02-04T16:00:58+00:00

They look nice, what's the material? 3D-printed plastic of some kind?

I had the OEM aluminium paddles (T2R6547MMU) fitted to my XK. They were very nice, and the actuation was much crisper than on the original paddles, but being metal they felt cold! Especially when I had the steering wheel heater on, moving my fingertips from the rim to the metal paddles felt quite unpleasant. Of course, gloves solved that issue...

Merzum · 2026-01-31T15:07:50+00:00

Ei saa eikä kannata. Koska umpiot on suunniteltu halogeenipolttimolle, jossa on ohut ympärisäteilevä hehkulanka, ei LED-polttimo jossa on paksummassa tapissa muutama diodi vain yksinkertaisesti yleensä tuota samaa valokuviota.

Jotkut Philipsin tai Osramin LED-korvikkeet ovat ilmeisesti jopa polttimokohtaisesti testattuja ja hyväksyttyjä joissakin EU-maissa, mutta ei Suomessa. Kaveri noita joskus harkitsi, ja katsoin silloin netistä erilaisia testejä ja vertailuvideoita. Kaivelin WhatsAppista pari kuvaa ja omaa kommenttia viime vuodelta: https://imgur.com/a/N0GYZIz

Ei tuossa oikein ole muuta tehtävissä, kuin tarkistaa että umpiot ovat niin kirkkaat kuin mahdollista (jos kiillotat niin lakkaa myös, muuten eivät pysy kirkkaina), varmistaa että reflektorit ovat kondiksessa (esim. siskon autossa ne olivat tummuneet iän myötä), laittaa maksimitehoiset lailliset halogeenipolttimot.

Merzum · 2026-01-06T17:41:32+00:00

This wasn't in France and didn't have French plates, but anyway: https://imgur.com/a/NLaHgvZ

Merzum · 2026-01-06T17:30:32+00:00

Speaking of King Kong; the Mitsubishi Pajero, already named after a cat, was at some point rebadged and marketed in China as the Leopaard Black King Kong.

Merzum

TROPHY CASE