The 2020 Defender thread and my perpetual search for a new car got me thinking. What's missing? Why isn't this new stuff exciting and fun, instead of something to gripe about?
I started considering Mercedes a bit after years of being disappointed with their offerings, and I think they've figured it out.
Their new SUV leans into corners. Think about that for a second. You've got all the air suspension and computers in the world, and it took someone this long to turn a drive into a theme park. If you're going to have this stuff on the car, let the engineers have fun with it. I'm really looking forward to trying one of those. It also bounces, and you all know damned well that would never get old.
Hey, Land Rover: This is what you should be letting people do with air suspension! It's a toy, so let drivers play with the thing. I know that's for sand (and it's probably the single best sand feature I've ever seen in my fucking life), but barring motion sickness, I'd be forever doing that in parking lots and at stop lights. I can't wait to see if Clarkson and crew get hold of that thing.
The same goes with their ambient lighting. It's not infinite, but you do get 64 colors, and it's full of little tricks. Fuck it. Go full RGB.
If the car is full of computers and screens, and they all control various features that in the past were just mechanical parts that you forgot about... Let the owner play around with them. Let it be fun.
Now, the only question is, can that Renntech suspension module get the AMG wagon doing that... I've already sent them an e-mail.
Cheers,
Kennith
I started considering Mercedes a bit after years of being disappointed with their offerings, and I think they've figured it out.
Their new SUV leans into corners. Think about that for a second. You've got all the air suspension and computers in the world, and it took someone this long to turn a drive into a theme park. If you're going to have this stuff on the car, let the engineers have fun with it. I'm really looking forward to trying one of those. It also bounces, and you all know damned well that would never get old.
Hey, Land Rover: This is what you should be letting people do with air suspension! It's a toy, so let drivers play with the thing. I know that's for sand (and it's probably the single best sand feature I've ever seen in my fucking life), but barring motion sickness, I'd be forever doing that in parking lots and at stop lights. I can't wait to see if Clarkson and crew get hold of that thing.
The same goes with their ambient lighting. It's not infinite, but you do get 64 colors, and it's full of little tricks. Fuck it. Go full RGB.
If the car is full of computers and screens, and they all control various features that in the past were just mechanical parts that you forgot about... Let the owner play around with them. Let it be fun.
Now, the only question is, can that Renntech suspension module get the AMG wagon doing that... I've already sent them an e-mail.
Cheers,
Kennith