The chip crisis is expected to continue into 2023 and the situation has gotten so bad that Ford recently announced a strategic collaboration to help secure much needed semiconductors.
Of course, the Blue Oval isn’t the only company facing this challenge as we’ve already seen a number of automakers cut production and eliminate popular options due to a shortage of chips. That brings us to our question of the day, what equipment wouldn’t you be willing to give up?
It’s hard to know where to draw your line in the sand, but most people can probably live without the heated and ventilated seats that are being eliminated from a number of GM vehicles. That’s especially true now that the company has plans to retrofit them in the future.
Also Read: Chip Shortage 101 – Why Car Makers Can’t Keep Up With Demand
However, driver assistance technology is an entirely different story as going from a vehicle with adaptive cruise control to one with just cruise control feels like a trip back to the horse and buggy era. That’s being overly dramatic, but adaptive cruise control is hard to give up especially if your typical commute involves long stretches of highway driving.
Speaking of driver assistance tech, even Super Cruise wasn’t spared from the wrath of the chip crisis. While the hands-free system works well, it’s probably not a make or break feature for most people. However, GM has previously pointed out 85% of Cadillac CT6 owners would “prefer” or “only consider” another vehicle equipped with Super Cruise in the future.
If there’s one thing most people can agree on, it’s touchscreens are vital in modern automobiles. However, that didn’t stop BMW from axing them on a number of different models including everything from the 3-Series to the X7.
This feels a bit like taking someone’s iPhone or Android and then handing them a Blackberry from the turn of the century. It can still make calls and accomplish other tasks, but the experience certainly won’t be the same.
With all that being said, let us know where you’d draw the line.