What's still to come ... or the cat
01/04/2026
When I recently needed a replacement car, I was given a Dongfeng Box. This is a compact Chinese four-door car with a length of just over four meters. I was a little curious, as my experience with Chinese cars is comparatively limited.
The Dongfeng Box costs from CHF 21,990 in Switzerland and EUR 27,490 in Germany, although a price of around EUR 23,000 had originally been announced. For this money, you get a fairly comprehensively equipped car with a non-circular steering wheel and a range of around 320 km. If you have a bit of experience with modern electric cars, you'll have no problem with it as long as you don't try to switch on the rear window wiper, as there is none on the hatchback.
What caught my eye, however, was the "home screen". Because there was a cat on it. If you tap it, it sits up and lolls around. I couldn't get any more functionality out of it straight away. But there are also words of wisdom to read. In any case, this "home screen" is not exactly a paragon of setting options, but there are other screens that can mostly be accessed with a click.
But back to the cat: in Beetle's day, we had a physical vase of flowers, and a little later the wobbly dachshund on the parcel shelf. Today, we apparently have an animated cat on the computer screen. We don't even dare to imagine what all this will look like in the classic car age. Brave new world ...
And while I'm complaining, perhaps I should add this: A modern car typically includes an app on your cell phone. Depending on the manufacturer and model, you can use it to open/close the car, pre-air-condition the interior, switch on the lights, check the range, control the charging process and much more.
So far so good. Once you have actually managed to pair your phone app with the car, it works for a while until you either have to update the app or change your phone. This transition can also be managed, but such software-based systems are certainly not "maintenance-free".
It becomes interesting when buying or selling a used car equipped in this way. The app is the last thing on your mind. But if, months after the sale, you still receive messages that the car is being reparked or opened, that the charging process has ended, etc., then you are reminded that something is still open, especially as you could still open and close your former vehicle with the app. Deregistration is at least as complicated as registration. You also have to ask yourself whether you will still be able to use such apps in 20 years' time (not to mention 20 iPhone generations later). As I said, it's a brave new world ...
