radio suggestion

[jlsoaz]

I made a suggestion at gm-volt.com, and to OnStar directly, that may have fallen on deaf ears, and as I revisit the Leaf forum and revisit the question of Nissan's open-ness to suggestions, I wonder if it might be worth making here. It is simply that, as I listen to the conventional radio, we be able to participate in a program that would allow the vehicle to track what stations and songs and programs we are listening to. When I drive a car and hear a station or song or talk or news show that I love, it sometimes kind of makes me want to "vote" for that, and instead of having to wait for some constrained polling place to call or arrange with me once every 20 years if I am randomly selected, an program like this might really be fun for me and some other drivers to participate in. I assume other drivers might not want it at all, and so maybe there is a way to manage privacy concerns, such as by making it opt-in. The results don't have to be declared "scientific" but might be of interest to radio and music industry and others. I mostly have conventional radio in mind. I don't know if tracking of satellite radio is already done.

[baustin]

Since radio is designed as receive only, getting the results from the driver 'voting' is a definite issue that will prevent your idea from being taken seriously.

[LeftieBiker]

If Richard Blade gets enough down-votes, will he finally be kicked off of satellite radio?

[WetEV]

If Richard Blade gets enough down-votes, will he finally be kicked off of satellite radio?

Sometimes I feel lucky I never use satellite radio...

[Nubo]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_People_Meter

[jlsoaz]

Since radio is designed as receive only, getting the results from the driver 'voting' is a definite issue that will prevent your idea from being taken seriously.

Hi - Radio is receive-only, but as far as I know, a Nissan Leaf is not. It can upload data on a variety of things, and in theory this could include granular data on what radio stations have been listened to, on the radio in the Leaf.

[jlsoaz]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_People_Meter

Interesting, thanks for posting. I suppose it helps me emphasize that the Leaf, the Volt and all other modern vehicles with decent data upload capability could become de facto competitors to this type of portable meter, for the time when the vehicle radio is used, though not outside the vehicle.

I want to add that at some point I was chosen preliminarily possibly to participate in Nielsen (I think it was) but ultimately couldn't do it because of a work affiliation. Ok, they have to follow their rules to maintain their reputation and to do their work in a way that is scientific as possible. However, I think it leaves the door open for a company like any major auto company to offer drivers the chance to participate in something which may or may not be as useful as Nielsen data, but which could have access to a much larger sample set (by number of units) and whose data might be valuable to some even if the collecting of data is not useful for some rigorous scientific purposes. It also might be fun for some drivers and their families and thus add (in a low cost way) to the overall enjoyment of features of the vehicle.

[jlsoaz]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portable_People_Meter

Interesting, thanks for posting. I suppose it helps me emphasize that the Leaf, the Volt and all other modern vehicles with decent data upload capability could become de facto competitors to this type of portable meter, for the time when the vehicle radio is used, though not outside the vehicle.

I want to add that at some point I was chosen preliminarily possibly to participate in a round of Nielsen (I think it was) radio data, but ultimately couldn't do it because of a work affiliation. Ok, sure, they have to follow their rules to maintain their reputation and to do their work in a way that is scientific as possible. I get that. However, I think it leaves the door open for a company like any major auto company to offer drivers the chance to participate in something which may or may not be as useful as Nielsen data, but which could have access to a much larger sample set (by number of units) and whose data might be valuable to some even if the collecting of data is not useful for some rigorous scientific purposes. It also might be fun for some drivers and their families and thus add (in a low cost way) to the overall enjoyment of features of the vehicle.

[jlsoaz]

I suggest Nissan and the other automakers consider allowing vehicle riders to opt-in to having their conventional and satellite radio listening monitored. Maybe this is already done for satellite? I see this as a way that folks can be part of ratings without having to participate in a method like Nielsen, though to be sure it would not be as scientific in some way, since the sampling group selection would be different.

As well, maybe include some sort of "polling" options directly on the dashboard of the vehicle? Could be just about voting for things the riders would like to see (more range, more fast public charging stations near where they live, etc.) or it could be broader societal stuff (where do you stand on thus-and-such issue, what foods do you like, etc?)

I would imagine that both of these might
1) have some minor revenue stream potential for an automaker that implements them, and
2) might amount to an included vehicle infotainment option that could count favorably in some minor way for some vehicle shoppers in weighing their decisions.

it's been a few years since I've been in a Leaf, and so acknowledging that some of these may already be implemented there.

[baustin]

You have already posted about this: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=27931

On top of the fact that radio in the car is receive only, there are distracted driving laws that would interfere with implementation of this. The Leaf already limits interaction with the NAV system when the vehicle is moving, due to safety concerns.