https://caranddriver.com/features/a38529546/2021-in-review-automotive/
New Car Inventory on December 1, 2021:
Ford dealers have full lots (37 day supply of new cars/trucks/SUVs).
Subaru dealers have just 4 to 5 days supply of new vehicles.
Subaru dealers have the lowest supply of new vehicles, followed by Mazda.
Finally drove our new vehicle yesterday. It had been sitting untouched in our garage for over a month. Well built, but too much technology for my taste & needs. I hope that I can shut off all the ridiculous technology.
I need to find a basic, stripped down new SUV. Hopefully, the Ford Bronco offers an automatic transmission without a dial or push-button gear selector and only minimal/necessary technology.
Weâve had a CR-V since 2012. There is more road noise than other cars but I do not find it annoying. I think they have improved since then. Mazda dealer told me recently the 2022s are not going to get to their lot until March or April. They had one 2021 CX-9 and after it was gone they were not getting anything else until the 2022s arrived.
My 2022 BMW X3 has now been built and I am scheduled to pick it up at the South Carolina factory in late January. Ordered it Dec 7.
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The problem I found was that to get the level of ride and quiet I wanted, I had to upgrade all the other features also.
My kids really want the safety features the new cars have. But they are more familiar with technology than I am
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We bought our 2017 Bolt new and it now has 77000k miles on it. Love that car. Hasnât caught fire yet 
. They sent us a new note about the recall and seem to be making progress with it. They will effectively give us a new battery when all is said and done so the car will probably last twice as long. A used Bolt might not be a bad idea with that battery replacement in the future. They are expensive right now though.
We bought our oldest kid (20) a car last year right before used car prices went crazy and got a plug in Ford C-Max for under $10k. Now our younger daughter is 18 and I have started thinking about cars for her but prices are so high. She may just have to wait awhile. Weâve also thought about giving her our 2017 Bolt and buying something new/used for ourselves, but so much $$$
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@Publisher you might want to test drive some EVs if you are concerned about quickness. They are amazingly nimble and quick. By far the quickest vehicles I have ever driven but I havenât had the pleasure of a Porsche or anything. We did have a âhot hatchâ VW Golf and while that was fun, the EVs weâve had since just zoom. Even if youâre not in the market for an EV right now it might be fun and informative for your next vehicle purchase. We love them.
If anybody has questions about EVs I am happy to take a stab at them. We have had our current 2017 Bolt since year end of 2017 and had a Nissan Leaf before that. For me and H I donât think we will ever buy a gas vehicle again (might help the 18 yr old w one but I think she wants an EV too). We road trip in it too.
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Subarus seem to have their CVTs set up for initial quickness. Their non turbo charged engines seem almost quicker off the line than the higher horse powered turbo engines (in my opinion its gearing and itâs larger displacement and a bit of turbo lag in the turbo engine). The big difference shows up on the highway or when passing. The normally aspirated engine can lack the mid range acceleration of the turbo engine. The turbo engine will definitely feel (and are) faster when passing. Most of the turbo charged Subarus are higher end vehicles and will feel more substantial though the safety aspects of the vehicles and crash performance is the same.
What technology do you consider ridiculous in that car?
Or is it controls and ergonomics? If you are bothered by a different automatic transmission shifter that you use a few times per drive, then you may find controls that you use more often more annoying if they are different.
My SUV beeps at me. A lot.
I was satisfied with the creation of brakes, steering wheel, & blinkers. Windshield was also a good idea.
I am concerned about automatic braking as I have read that some detection systems misunderstood tunnels & highway underpasses which caused unnecessary braking.
Cruise control. No need for it. If keeping oneâs foot on a gas pedal is too much, then it is time to pull over for a break. And I have driven up to 33 hours straight with just 5 minute breaks. Commonly drove 10 to 13 hours without any problems.
P.S. Plus, I do not like the automatic stop/start feature. It can be turned off, but has to be done each time the car is in use.
I plan to test drive a Toyota RAV4. Thank you.
The two âridiculousâ things we miss in our X are rain-sensing windshield wipers and adaptive headlights. Neither beeped at us though. 
Toyota perfected both of those features even back in 2004! Tesla tried to fix the wiper issue (lack of) by a software patch⊠nope. Need a physical sensor for that.
Adaptive headlights seems like a smart idea. Not sure as to whether or not I have them. The dealership person tried to explain all of the tech features to my wife & I. Said it would take more than a half hour. I got bored & left.
I can live without the 64 position electric seat adjusters. All I need is front to back & up & down manual controls.
I pray that the new vehicle does not have heated seats or a heated steering wheel. Maybe I would value such features if I lived in Minnesota or further north. But I donât. I have endured below zero weather hundreds of times without the need or desire for heated seats or steering wheel.
I am beginning to understand why used vehicles are more expensive than new ones. To me, simpler is better.
I live in Ohio and I like the heated seats (or rear defrosters as I like to call them though I guess thatâs taken).
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Test drove a couple of vehicles (small SUVs) today.
Was disappointed by the engine noise from the gas powered Toyota RAV4.
The dealership did not have any Toyota RAV4 Primes available. When available, this dealership adds a $15,000 market adjustment surcharge to the MSRP for the Toyota RAV4 Prime. The same Toyota dealership had unconscionable mark-ups on used Toyota RAV4s.
Also test drove a Mazda CX-5. Was fine except my wife said that I looked uncomfortable in such a small, cramped vehicle.
Fell in love with the VW Atlas SUV parked in a dealerâs showroom. Great interior. Both first row of seats and second row of captainâs chairs were very comfortable. In pearl white, the VW Atlas is very attractive. Unfortunately, none were available for a test drive. Even worse, Consumer Reports writes that the VW Atlas is not reliable and that acceleration is inferior when compared to its competitors.
@BunsenBurner my favorite feature of my Volvo is those windshield wipers that self adjust to the rain. Followed by the heated seats.
But back to the thread topic. Our kid bought an off lease Crosstrek with only 17,000 miles on itâŠcertified preowned. Top of the line with all the bells and whistlesâŠ.at the beginning of June. Yes, he paid top dollar for it, but he says itâs exactly what he wantedâŠand we are 
He has it for a long time.
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Apparently my problem may not be as much with technology as it is with the controls for âin-car electronicsâ.
Consumer Reports magazine gives 17 separate ratings under the category of âReliability Historyâ. Our new vehicle had excellent scores for 16 of the 17 categories, but received the lowest score for âin-car electronicsâ which includes audio systems, back-up/parking camera, entertainment systems, navigation system, & communication system.
Difficulty navigating the âin-car electronicsâ lead to my frustration with the technology.
Difficulty of use is different from it being unreliable. The CR reliability survey result you mention suggests that the in-car electronics have problems like software bugs, crashes, etc⊠That does not preclude the design being difficult to use (though they may comment on it in their own review of the vehicle).
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Totally agree w/ Publisher about too many bells and whistles on new cars. Wonder if it is possible to reduce the number of necessary chips, by reducing some of the extra perks. Basic. Simple. Comfortable. Safe. The more technology, the more that will fail.
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Consumer Reports states:
âModels that receive the lowest score are not necessarily unreliable, but have a higher rate of problems than the average model.â
The salesperson explained that many, including himself, had experienced frustration trying to turn off the radio. The radio & the audio system work fine, but turning the radio off is a not intuitive. In this case, the problem was learning to use the system, not that the system was broken or breaks.