These are your grievances with today’s auto industry – Jalopnik

No offense to Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other holiday in December, but Festivus has a certain appeal that cannot be replicated on any other occasion around the winter solstice. The nights may be long, but our frustrations with the companies that produce the cars we love are long.

Last Friday we asked our readers what complaints they had about the automotive industry today. The general theme from the comments section was that things are getting way too expensive. Respondents expressed complaints that car manufacturers are more concerned with producing as many luxury models as possible. Many believe that a truly affordable new car simply no longer exists. It’s not just the price on the window. Commentators want to tear down the entire dealer system and prevent possible feature subscriptions with the pass. We don’t need December to remember, because there’s Festivus for the rest of us. Without further ado, here are your biggest grievances:

I feel like I could write a “Ninety-Five Theses” and tape it to the doors of every car manufacturer in the world, but I’ll focus on one.

Over the past fifteen years there has been an acceleration of the idea that only the top of the market matters.

So we have very few small, cheap cars, but an absolute glut of expensive, over-the-top, bloated and leather-clad luxury vehicles. Because these vehicles are more profitable, these vehicles are easier to sell and look better on the lot, which in theory brings in more buyers.

And just like the real estate industry in the days before the 2007 crisis, times seem to be great for manufacturers. The market will only go up and the good times will never end. But just like the real estate bubble, cracks are starting to appear. Prices are too high, monthly payments are insane and defaults are starting to increase. And when the bubble bursts, you’ll be left with a whole bunch of $80,000 luxury trucks that no one can afford and that will have the same cache as an H3 Hummer in 2009.

I beg of you, car manufacturers, enough. Take it a step further and start building smaller, cheaper vehicles before it’s too late. Because if we have a crash in the next three years, your rescue plan will come with obligations that you won’t like, or may not happen at all because angry Peepaw thinks your trucks are awake. Ensure the right balance in your product lines.

Submitted by: Ridiculous

Lack of analog meters. It felt special to see something physical climbing with speed and revs. That and the lack of physical buttons. I have a 2024 BMW 230i coupe that I love, but I wouldn’t give for analog gauges and a well-integrated, simple screen, with a series of buttons underneath for volume, climate, etc.

Submitted by: Ryan Brenn

Connected cars that report your driving behavior to third-party data collectors, who then sell this information to your insurance company, who then raises your rates.

When you buy a car, you should have complete and total control over what data is shared, which should be minimal at best.

Submitted by: Robot impurity

The growing lack of options to change a car’s audio system. Between non-standard head units that control too many things other than audio, and digitally equalized speakers that mean higher quality replacements actually sound worse because the audio signal isn’t matched to them, you’re now stuck with stock in many vehicles. And you can only get the premium sound system in a vehicle with the higher equipment.

Submitted by: Jumbo jeep man

Restrictions on reselling popular cars. When I buy a car, it’s mine. I find it incredibly ironic that in a country where property rights are sacrosanct, manufacturers and dealers force people into contracts of six months to a year. And it’s not just supercars and special editions. A friend went to Edmonton to buy a new Rav4. When asked how she financed, she said no, that she paid in cash. The contract was torn up and the dealer told her she had to pay another $10,000. This was expressly to prevent her from reselling the car within six months. Her response was, “I’m a 62-year-old, gray-haired retired teacher trading in a 16-year-old Rav4 for a new one. Do you really think I’m driving a car that turns.” The dealer refused to back down, so she left. She headed to Subaru and bought a new Outback Wilderness for less.

Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy

Here in the US, the continued reliance on the dealer model to sell cars is so archaic. Over the past twenty years, every dealer I have contacted has done nothing but add time, expense and frustration to the car buying process. I wish more manufacturers would adopt direct sales models.

Submitted by: Stephen.

It’s not quite widespread yet, but I might as well get ahead of it while I can. Subscription-based in-vehicle services shouldn’t be a thing. I’m not talking about satellite radio or necessarily connected services (e.g. remote start from phone, door unlocking, vehicle analytics, etc.), but rather having to pay to use heated seats, heated steering wheel, remote start from remote, built-in navigation system). NY has already introduced a bill to ban this. If it is installed in the car, there is no additional charge for access.

Submitted by: Jef Meijer

Sean Duffy as Minister for Transport.

Submitted by: Video360

Red light and speed camera warnings that you can’t turn off. The 2025 Ioniq 5 had to turn the warning volume down to zero to stop the 40 seconds of warnings every time I drive through a school zone on a weekend. Now I only get the first beeps and a pop-up warning in the dashboard.

I drive through it at least 4 or 8 or 12 times every weekend when I go to the hardware store for parts to fix all my broken stuff every weekend. The warnings are stomping on my music. Not cool.

(school zones have flashing lights on weekdays, come on Hyundai, you need to know this).

Submitted by: DieselOx