2023 Sports / GT Range Upgrades

[Jon39]

At present we can only guess of course, but how far might the Mercedes Technology Agreement allow, Aston Martin to use MB interior features?


Video should appear here.

Edited by Jon39 on Sunday 20th March 11:31

[Ninja59]

In honesty, one of the reasons I am looking at the current vantage...it has buttons.

I HATE touch screens in cars, in addition I think most of the new tech is just a pointless waste of time.

If anything the only thing missing android auto/apple carplay, but overall the fact we cannot touch our phone screens at speed, but can touch a screen without physical buttons with sometimes multiple presses to do a anything is shocking. More so hvac controls being buried in menus.

[Wayne95]

I agree touch screens are not great, and don’t look as nice as some glass buttons.

The simple touch screens are ok, but as they get more complex I find driving on the right and having to use my left hand for swiping and scrolling is not easy .

My Taycan was unusable with the daft touch pad thingy , I’m sure it worked great with mouse on the software engineers PC mock up, and maybe if you use your right hand ( or left hand for those lucky enough to be left focussed ), bit on the road whilst driving, no.

Great for those left handed people , or you drive on the “wrong” side of the road ..

Bmw wheel works well though since you can hold it and twirl .

[LooneyTunes]

Personally I don’t understand the view apparently expressed by some that infotainment is going to be some major differentiator for AM.

If you put the following into decreasing order of importance…

Driving dynamics
Performance
Exterior styling
Interior styling
Infotainment

…does infotainment move off the bottom spot in the wish list of anyone looking to buy a high end sports/GT car (as opposed to say an S-class)?

Maybe I’m also in the old/cynical camp, but I’m not a fan of touchscreens in cars either, especially poorly integrated ones.

[AstonV]

LooneyTunes said:

Personally I don’t understand the view apparently expressed by some that infotainment is going to be some major differentiator for AM.

If you put the following into decreasing order of importance…

Driving dynamics
Performance
Exterior styling
Interior styling
Infotainment

…does infotainment move off the bottom spot in the wish list of anyone looking to buy a high end sports/GT car (as opposed to say an S-class)?

Maybe I’m also in the old/cynical camp, but I’m not a fan of touchscreens in cars either, especially poorly integrated ones.

I agree. Who cares about "infotainment" if the rest of the car looks like crap!

[Jon39]

LooneyTunes said:

Personally I don’t understand the view apparently expressed by some that infotainment is going to be some major differentiator for AM. ....

I agree with you, and I get the impression that many others here do as well.

Am fairly sure that it was Tobias Moers who first said, "infotainment is going to be a major differentiator for AM".

I bought my Aston Martin, because it is a beautiful car and was not bothered about whether it had tainment.
I do sometimes listen to the audio, but the sat nav is always kept folded down.

It now appears, that I am never going to be on Mr. Moers target customers list.

[Davil]

Ninja59 said:

In honesty, one of the reasons I am looking at the current vantage...it has buttons.

I HATE touch screens in cars, in addition I think most of the new tech is just a pointless waste of time.

If anything the only thing missing android auto/apple carplay, but overall the fact we cannot touch our phone screens at speed, but can touch a screen without physical buttons with sometimes multiple presses to do a anything is shocking. More so hvac controls being buried in menus.

Completely agree. I don’t use the touch screen in my BMW, just use the wheel thing, bonus is no smeared screen as well as being much safer when driving.

AMIIII and the final iteration of the waterfall dash as I have in my MY18 Vantage are perfect for me. It has a great implementation of CarPlay, is easy to use and doesn’t make the interior look like something from Blade Runner.

[Mr.Tremlini]

LooneyTunes said:

Personally I don’t understand the view apparently expressed by some that infotainment is going to be some major differentiator for AM.

Sign me up for the old/cynical camp as well!
It takes me back a month or so when this infotainment differentiator topic first reared it`s head and I wrote similar:

Mr.Tremlini said:

It`s a sad indictment on the future of the industry if infotainment will indeed be the key differentiator. Maybe it`s not so far from the truth if in a couple of decades cars are all self driving, electric whiteware, but we are not there yet, and hopefully never will be.
I was going to start this sentence with "maybe it`s just me being long in the tooth..." but I realised so too are many here on this forum, and how much do others care about infotainment currently? Personally I couldn`t care less. For me GPS is the main benefit of the screen in the front of a car, the rest I find little use for. We have smartphones, TV`s, computers, how much opportunity for screen interface do we need? I know as "pistonheads" we are in the minority, but much more basic and visceral things draw me to car than the electronics.

[LooneyTunes]

Davil said:

AMIIII and the final iteration of the waterfall dash as I have in my MY18 Vantage are perfect for me. It has a great implementation of CarPlay, is easy to use and doesn’t make the interior look like something from Blade Runner.

Agree with that! Decent, well integrated high resolution screen that doesn’t dominate the interior, CarPlay/AndroidAuto and you can let others do the proper app development work…whilst still being able to find genuinely important controls on switches/dials.

The other thing I think AM miss if they go touchscreen is that Astons are rarely people’s only cars and having to use a screen/menu system that you’re not totally familiar with detracts from the driving experience. It’s quite different to MB where I suspect most are people’s daily drivers or, sometimes at the higher end, cars they’re driven in.

[8Tech]

The whole idea of a screen in the car, offline from the line of sight from driving makes a mockery of losing concentration whilst using a mobile phone where you will lose concentration but at least (on a call) can still look where you are going.
Texting is much more dangerous and I would submit, the same as concentrating on a touch screen, selecting menus and settings whilst driving.
Of course the manufacturers get out of liability by making sure you select "agree" before using the system whilst driving.
However, with a button, slider or knob, once used to the car, you can generally locate the required "adjustment" without even looking, or at a quick glance, minimising or eliminating the time taken to decrease driving concentration.
These huge, complex screens are simply marketing ploys by people who sit behind a computer all day.

[Jon39]

Aston Martin Marketing Deoartment.

"I have just read Pistonheads. They are fully supportive of the fantastic car computer screens, the bigger the better. Confirmation of our focus group results. Great news, so we can now tell the designers to carry on with their new plan, to have every car function controlled by touchscreen. Sales will really take off."

[BiggaJ]

I'm firmly in the camp of not liking touchscreens.

I recall some years ago having an XF on loan and getting irrate at having to navigate menus to get the heated seats to work.

I thought manufacturers gained public opinion on these things from time to time. If looking at the replies on this thread were anything to go by, surely they would question putting everything on a touchscreen.

Edited by BiggaJ on Wednesday 23 March 08:52

[Jon39]

BiggaJ said:

.... I thought manufacturers gained public opinion on these things from time to time. If looking at the replies on this thread were anything to go by, surely they would question putting everything on a touchscreen.

That was my sattire Jon.

Some past AML history appears to show they have an idea, receive criticism about it, but ignore that and carry on anyway.
Think back to 2018. That cost them millions in lost revenue.

[dbs2000]

Jon39 said:

Am fairly sure that it was Tobias Moers who first said, "infotainment is going to be a major differentiator for AM".

Indeed... its interesting that collectors of older BMW's will try and find a car without any screens and satnavs. Yes Tesla have over the air upgrades and they will also fit out the later HW versions to older cars so they can run much newer software and features but I don't imagine anyone in 15 years time lusting after a Model 3, I imagine it'll evoke the same emotions that you have when you see an old iPhone

[WantSagaris]

Probably a lone voice here but I think TM is right. Infotainment is part of the interaction with the vehicle, much like the more traditional interactive traits of a car. If yours is lacking or isn't distinctive/unique then your product will most likely not feel premium or appeal to a wide enough audience.

It all sounds similar to some of the things Steve Balmer used to say about the future of tech when he was leading Microsoft. He couldn't fully understand the appeal of tablets/smart phones for business purposes as he (nor most likely his close colleagues) couldn't easily use it himself.

[p102768]

BiggaJ said:

I recall some years ago having an XF on loan and getting irrate at having to navigate menus to get the heated seats to work.

That may just be unfamiliarity then because the heated/cooled seat button is on the home screen on pre-facelift XFs and there is a physical button as well as touch screen control on the latest models.

[AlexT]

I never use touchscreens in cars. BMW got things right with iDrive which I find superior to the Benz system.

AM need not be known for their high-tech infotainment - leave the big screens to the likes of Tesla. By all means, upgrade the current system but do so in a subtle way fitting of an AM.

As a buyer of an AM, I personally would rather AM channel effort into sorting out a proper upgrade to the sound system from B&O in the new Vantage plus improving interior quality and luxury.

Edited by AlexT on Tuesday 22 March 03:16

[Jon39]

AlexT said:

I never use touchscreens in cars. BMW got things right with iDrive, which I find superior to the Benz system.

How do you rate the latest Mercedes-Benz system ?
Think it first appeared in 2021.
I understand they are now on their third version of touch screens (with AM using their first edition from about 2010).

Like you, I am not a fan of touch screens, but it does seem that the whole motor industry are adopting these devices.

[AlexT]

Jon39 said:

How do you rate the latest Mercedes-Benz system ?
Think it first appeared in 2021.
I understand they are now on their third version of touch screens (with AM using their first edition from about 2010).

Like you, I am not a fan of touch screens, but it does seem that the whole motor industry are adopting these devices.

Honestly Jon, I am not impressed with its presentation. In the latest S-Class they appear to my eye as two tablets simply stuck on for the sake of having screen real estate. As you maybe aware this is almost identical to the C-Class presentation! I do hope AM make a better effort integrating whatever screen(s) they decide to use in their updates of their range. I personally would expect a Bentley-like level of design & integration in the DB11.

To my mind the W204 range did everything you needed and was quite pleasantly integrated to boot.

Regarding the newer stuff, the positive is that the resolution and clarity are terrific.

[pbe624]

WantSagaris said:

Probably a lone voice here but I think TM is right. Infotainment is part of the interaction with the vehicle, much like the more traditional interactive traits of a car. If yours is lacking or isn't distinctive/unique then your product will most likely not feel premium or appeal to a wide enough audience.

It all sounds similar to some of the things Steve Balmer used to say about the future of tech when he was leading Microsoft. He couldn't fully understand the appeal of tablets/smart phones for business purposes as he (nor most likely his close colleagues) couldn't easily use it himself.

I think the appeal lies mostly with an audience that was born into smart phones, screens and tablets.... ie less than 45 years old. Most young people nowadays have more difficulties writing with a pen, than typing on a laptop, whereas the 'older' generation are used to writing manually and got special typing classes... .

What this means is that for the below 45 generation, Aston needs to keep up with the competition. However, the existing target market is actually more 45+, although the latest models no longer geared for that market.

Personally, I think that screens should be limited and not distractive, and certainly basic functions such as heater, radio, car settings should remain linked to physical buttons to remove the distractions.

When will we see some research data on car accidents being caused not by playing with your phone but with inbuilt screens?

F