{"id":33880,"date":"2024-12-28T18:45:53","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T22:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/?p=33880"},"modified":"2024-12-28T18:45:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T22:45:53","slug":"big-screens-stick-shifts-and-hands-free-driving-the-best-auto-features-of-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/big-screens-stick-shifts-and-hands-free-driving-the-best-auto-features-of-2024","title":{"rendered":"Big screens, stick shifts and hands-free driving: The best auto features of 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gizmos, whirligigs, whatsits. Engineers solve problems with new gadgets, and automobiles are rolling toy chests.<\/p>\n

Cars, trucks and SUVs have long played a game of one-upmanship with multi-cylinder engines and multifunction seats. Now, in the electronics age, they also impress with big screens and apps. Here are my favorite features of the past year.<\/p>\n

Hoodless screens<\/strong>: Steve Jobs wowed with the iPad\u2019s intro in 2010, and now hoodless tablet screens are common in autos. There are twin tablets like the instrument and dash displays in the VW ID.Buzz. Or curved screens found in Cadillacs like the Lyriq. Even an affordable sedan like the Kia K4 features a hoodless 29-inch display stretching across the dash.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
The 2024 Lincoln Nautilus introduces the Lincoln Digital Experience with a 48-inch A-pillar to A-pillar screen.” data-c-credit=”Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/div>\n

Lincoln jumbotron:<\/strong>\u00a0Tesla changed the game with its big 17-inch Model S center screen a decade ago, and now Lincoln is first to market with a 48-inch jumbotron that stretches from A-pillar to A-pillar.<\/p>\n

Hands-free driving<\/strong>: Tesla has also inspired self-driving cars, and 2024 was the year drive assist became available to the masses. Mainstream, three-row family vehicles like the Chevy Traverse (GM\u2019s Super Cruise) and Ford\u2019s Explorer (Blue Cruise) are now available to be driven hands-free for miles on divided highways. If mom and dad are hands-free in the family bus, the autonomous future doesn\u2019t seem so sci-fi anymore.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n<\/div>
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The Waymo One app plots a course in San Francisco during a visit by Detroit News Auto Critic Henry Payne. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Waymo app:<\/strong>\u00a0Coming soon to a city near you. Download the Waymo app to your phone in Phoenix, San Francisco and Los Angeles and you can hail a rideshare vehicle just as you would with Uber and Lyft apps. Except the car that arrives is an autonomous Jaguar I-Pace with no driver behind the wheel. The app expands its reach to Austin, Miami and Atlanta in 2025.<\/p>\n

NACS adapter:<\/strong>\u00a0Tesla\u2019s comprehensive Supercharger network is the nation\u2019s most reliable, and non-Tesla electric vehicles began getting access in \u201824. There\u2019s one little detail you need to use it: a charge port adapter. In order to mate their bigger, so-called CCS charge ports to Tesla\u2019s smaller, NACS-style plug, non-Tesla EV owners have to purchase the adapter from a manufacturer or third party. Cost? About $200.<\/p>\n

\"Tesla<\/figure>\n
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Tesla Superchargers give drivers of the Ford Mustang Mach-E an option compared to less reliable Electrify America chargers like this one in Novi. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

EV engine sounds:<\/strong>\u00a0Call it ICE withdrawal. To attract buyers to EVs, some automakers are giving battery-powered, performance cars internal combustion engine-like sounds. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N offers an IGNITION mode that mimics the sound of a turbo-4 engine, including the ability to shift through multiple gears (with rev matching) like a gas car. The Dodge Charger Daytona EV, meanwhile, hangs its \u201cFratzonic Chambered Exhaust\u201d out back to mimic sounds of a Hemi V-8 engine. Vroom.<\/p>\n

All-terrain tires:<\/strong>\u00a0Off-road rubber was once the fetish of hardcore off-roaders in Jeep Rubicons. No more. Spurred by America\u2019s obsession with SUVs and overlanding, most mainstream SUVs now come with off-road packages that include lifted suspension and knobby tires. Family rides joining the club are the Subaru Wilderness models, Ford Explorer Timberline, Ford Bronco Sport, Chevy Traverse Z71, Honda Pilot Trailsport and so on. As an added bonus, they make Detroit\u2019s oxcart roads more bearable, too.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
The 2024 Chevy Traverse Z71 comes standard with suspension lift and all-terrain tires. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/figure>\n

Mid-headlights:<\/strong>\u00a0The 2014 Jeep Cherokee was one of the first mainstream vehicles to experiment with a mid-fascia headlight, and now the design element is trendy. As headlights have shrunk in size, designers have more flexibility on where to place them. Look closely and that upper light may be a wide, horizontal LED design element where headlights traditionally resided. Interestingly, Jeep canned the idea, but brands like Chevrolet and Hyundai use the mid-light extensively on SUV models. Even the Hyundai Sonata sedan features a mid-headlight.<\/p>\n

Midgate:<\/strong>\u00a0Forget tailgates \u2014 the midgate is back. The Chevy Avalanche brought the midgate to market in 2002 \u2014 extending the pickup\u2019s bed space into the rear seats. The GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado EVs have brought the concept back, extending the 6-foot bed to 9 feet with the tailgate up (almost 11 feet with tailgate down).<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
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The 2025 GMC Sierra Denali EV bed can be lengthened by employing the midgate and MultiPro tailgate. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Custom displays:<\/strong>\u00a0Auto infotainment screens have become connected to the cloud like our phones. That means apps for games, music and so on can be downloaded to our cars. It also means we can customize the look of our screens. Kia, the official auto partner of the NBA, offers custom screens depending on your favorite team.<\/p>\n

Google Built-in:<\/strong>\u00a0Speaking of smartphones, many automakers are ditching their internal infotainment systems to adopt the Google Built-in OS. The system echoes that of an Android phone, and Honda and GM products are among the first to adopt it. Scan Google Built-in\u2019s QR code with your smartphone and the car will sync with your Google content in the cloud.<\/p>\n

Dodge Charger STLA Large platform:<\/strong>\u00a0Building separate EV and ICE platforms can be expensive for carmakers, especially when they\u2019re uncertain of EV demand. So Dodge is putting both its ICE and EV models on one platform, the STLA Large chassis. They can choose battery or engine powertrains, depending on market need.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
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The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona comes in lots of colors, including Destroyer Grey, Diamond Black, Peel Out, Redeye, Triple Nickel and White Knuckle. While the EV version is first, buyers eventually will be able to choose a Charger powered by a turbocharged inline-6. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Manual shifter<\/strong>: The ol\u2019 stick shift has been reborn as a premium feature. Manual boxes used to be the standard-model offering but have slowly disappeared as automatic transmissions proved more efficient and easier to operate. Now sticks are back as a performance trim for enthusiasts in models like the Mazda3 Premium, Honda Civic Si, Acura Integra A-Spec and Porsche 911T.<\/p>\n

Moving console:<\/strong>\u00a0There\u2019s nothing quite like the ID.Buzz in the market: VW\u2019s reimagining of its 1960s microbus as an EV for the 21st<\/sup>\u00a0century. It most closely resembles Chrysler\u2019s innovative Pacifica minivan with a creative interior, including auto-open sliding doors and removable seats. New is a movable center console that can be uprooted from the front of the car and moved to the second row if preferred.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n
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The center console of the 2025 VW ID-Buzz can be moved to the second row – and its dividers double as an ice scraper and bottle opener. Henry Payne, The Detroit News<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gizmos, whirligigs, whatsits. Engineers solve problems with new gadgets, and automobiles are rolling toy chests. Cars, trucks and SUVs have long played a game of one-upmanship with multi-cylinder engines and multifunction seats. Now, in the electronics age, they also impress with big screens and apps. Here are my favorite features of the past year. Hoodless […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33881,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33880\/revisions\/33881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/henrypayne.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}