[jkheit]

http://9to5mac.com/2013/07/12/there...s-e-scooters-your-iphone-will-be-the-console/

I'm all for this kind of making the infotainment/nav part-of-the-car something you can have on your phone and move from car to car. Then the car manufacturer only needs to provide some basic connectivity (FM radio, satellite, navigation antennae--all just antennae for improved reception). And a nice touch screen that will act as a big "projector" for your phone. The phone can do the rest.

And as we've seen, the Mac is very forward thinking on this:
http://www.mclarenlife.com/forums/mclaren-mp4-12c/2561-official-mclaren-iphone-holder.html

 

[noone1]

I've been saying this forever. For whatever reason, it's taking forever for it to happen. Maybe because they'd rather charge you thousands of dollars for cheap shit instead.

 

[jkheit]

I would pay thousands to have this connection and keep the manufacturer's stuff out.

What is odd is I suppose their fear is someone else will "control" the infotainment experience instead of them. However, if they adopted this approach, theyd likely have more control.

Right now, they make some PoS infotainment system, and it's largely frozen in time. Tesla and McLaren, perhaps being the exceptions with their updates.

But then it's frozen. They're not controlling, or communicating with their customer base, except to say we designed a crappy system that you're stuck with.

If they went to this new model they could update their "App" for the infotainment for the car's systems easily and frequently. And the Nav/Music other stuff could be supplied by better providers. Whereas the car makers could make car preference/control panels/dashboard apps for the car.

 

[Russell996]

I vote the other way, get this shit out of the cars, put analogue dials back and let's just drive without flashing lights, sat nav etc etc, it's all fluff.

 

[noone1]

I vote the other way, get this shit out of the cars, put analogue dials back and let's just drive without flashing lights, sat nav etc etc, it's all fluff.

Get off my lawn!

 

[jkheit]

I vote the other way, get this shit out of the cars, put analogue dials back and let's just drive without flashing lights, sat nav etc etc, it's all fluff.

That's what's great about this idea. You don't have to plug in a phone at all.

 

[Russell996]

Get off my lawn!

LOL. Perhaps McLaren think like me and secretly decided the 12C didn't need sat nav! After all, it would work by now if they wanted it to.
While I'm on the soap box, remove parking sensors and cruise control, they have no place either.

 

[MarkNC]

LOL. Perhaps McLaren think like me and secretly decided the 12C didn't need sat nav! After all, it would work by now if they wanted it to.

I thought McLaren fixed their sat nav problems with the 2013 upgrades?

I wish they'd also add satellite radio for North American customers.

Heading to work this morning the nav in my car prevented me from getting stuck in some horrible traffic. Thanks to the Sirius XM traffic integration on my nav, I was able to look at the map and see that traffic was backed up on the route I was about to take and able to choose an alternative route that made for a far more enjoyable drive to the office. Being stuck in traffic isn't any fun no matter what kind of car you're driving!

BTW the nav that saved me this morning was the one in my 458 Spider. So to be competitive with Ferrari on all fronts and attractive Ferrari owners, McLaren needs to get on the ball technologies like these.

While I'm on the soap box, remove parking sensors and cruise control, they have no place either.

No, please no! These are cost-saving issues for supercar owners that don't reduce the enjoyment on limit in any way. Parking sensors keep you from making expensive parking mistakes and cruise control keeps you some getting too many speeding tickets. McLaren also desperately needs backup cameras!

I was shocked to find out that McLaren didn't offer a backup camera as an option! When you have a car this expensive you want to keep it safe. An inexpensive parking camera is a good way to ensure you don't accidentally hit a barrier when you're trying to park your car. I realize the 12C has parking sensors but adding a camera should also be an option.

If I had my choice I'd have them put cameras on the front AND back like the Ferrari FF has. These are inexpensive devices that keep you from making expensive mistakes and increase your piece of mind and confidence in your car. Plus these cameras weigh very little.

You can't always be on a race track so when you're stuck on public highways and streets, or trying to navigate parking spaces & traffic devices like these really increase the enjoyment and safety of your car and add completely negligible amounts of weight and complexity.

I urge McLaren to get up to speed on all of these types of technologies. They'll sell more cars this way and have happier customers.

 

[Markjayw]

LOL. Perhaps McLaren think like me and secretly decided the 12C didn't need sat nav! After all, it would work by now if they wanted it to.
While I'm on the soap box, remove parking sensors and cruise control, they have no place either.

Remove cruise control?? No freaking way, not at the distances I have to cover to get to a dealer.