Oddbean

Sadly, most people will crave the moron features. Same reason they want the flagship personal device with the cutting edge technologies they never use. It's Conspicuous Consumption generationally ingrained as a malignancy.

Well said. I do think there is a market for people who don't want their lives invaded by technology. Not in a Luddite way; though in a "I enjoy being in the present moment, and don't need to distract myself from it" way. There are companies out there getting to that market and seems that it is doing pretty well. I believe you are right, some type of hedonic treadmill keeps certain people hooked for life. I wonder if they will ever ask themselves "Does this actually solve my problems"?

Doubt it. Most people will just enjoy the shadows on the cave wall. The regular dopamine squirts of their constant, gamed experiences please them just enough to remain hooked and thoughtless. (Just walk around the slot machines at a casino. Same mechanism at work.) That's not to say that there isn't a market for stripped out or minimalist electronic device design in automotive. (Just look at the "Locost" movement) It's far enough off the bell-curve to be quite an outlier. Worth it with the right business model. Tangent warning- Luddites were primarily concerned with reduced pay, decreasing product quality, and worsening work environments than the technology itself.

Diy sports cars on student budgets. Early Lotus design principals ( "simplify, then add in lightness.") applied to easily obtainable components. Some of that approach can be applied to invasive/unnecessary technologies In modern consumer grade vehicles.