The software situation is what it is and we can only hope it improves with time - that's the good side of software, it's much easier to update and improve than pinion angles and CV joints. I feel that IA put the touch screen tech as they did to help justify the price of the truck; same with the "auto" HVAC system (although I wonder if their hands were tied by the B58), the leather, etc. The centre digital info screen, from a practical view, made the effort of configuring left hand/right hand versions easier and cheaper.
Part of the overall issue for many of us (including me) is having to make excuses to explain the, ahem, "quirks" our vehicles have and, albeit publicly or privately, asking things like this: "for $85,000 dollars it shouldn't...!" and an equal number of " for $87,000 it shoulds" too.
I think that SJR's original vision would have come to pass much truer if there were less restrictive mandates that new vehicles must adhere to (emissions, crash testing, etc.). The technology crap most of us do not want isn't there by choice, but what is frustrating is the execution of these requirements is unrefined in many ways (I'm talking to you low-fuel "warning"). Part of this is also to make the vehicle compelling to people who are essentially "not us." Does the lack of true analog info dials bother me - a bit but it was nowhere near being a dealbreaker. But would I really want a new truck in 2026 at any price point with manual windows - truthfully no - but this would also not be a deal breaker for ME. (FWIW, my little purple $16,000 Honda Fit/Jazz has PW and power mirrors and I'm glad it does).
Stateside, there has long been a call for the 70-series LCs from the enthusiast community but for average folks even a top trim 76 wouldn't sell well in America. Lots of you have pointed out its many shortcomings that would push US buyers away. Work vehicles in the US are pickups and Sprinter-sized commercial vans. Not Jeeps (wouldn't be Defenders if we had them), not Broncos, not G-Wagons...there's a reason why Ford sells a million full-size pickups A YEAR (I think the total annual market is nearly two million). Yes, those numbers have risen as trucks became more car like inside with all the bells and whistles, but Americans aren't widely using SUV/wagon-type vehicles (ie IG, LC76, etc.) for work. We haven't for decades.
Jeeze. I'll stop here. I'm passive-aggressively venting. Sorry.
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. It’s probably not the mechanical engineering teams fault there are tons of bugs.
