Like it or not, connected cars aren’t going away, and as cars get smarter and more connected, the automotive industry is going to find more ways to use the data they collect on your driving habits to make cars safer — and also to make more money.
I know that sounds kind of grim, but it’s not so bad. While some enthusiasts might chafe at the thought of more monitoring and safety systems that get in between them and the road, the fact is that most people just want to get from A to B safely, and there are tons of people working behind the scenes to make that happen.
Jalopnik contributor Derek Powell wanted to put a face to these people and explore just how the automotive industry has changed and is still changing, so he created a fantastic short documentary film called Coding the Car, which premiered this week.
Arguably the most interesting part of the film is the look forward — not at the tech itself, but at the people who are now needed to make the automotive industry function, as well as how the industry shift from mechanical to software engineering is making a career in cars more attractive to those folks.
All in all, it’s a great way to spend 20 minutes. Particularly if you want to understand the thinking behind why, for example, BMW keeps trying to make feature subscriptions a thing, and what kinds of changes you can expect to see going forward. It’s a brave new world out there, Jalops. You might as well learn about it.