So much about: they don't know about software.
BTW: The difference between IT and automotive aka embedded is that embedded should work even without DevOps. Well, IT we know.
They had a huge smalltalk program that created embedded C code (AUTOSAR/MISRA if I remember correctly). Tests only ran manually and the coverage wasn't particularly high. I don't recall any automations that would have stopped you from saving new code that breaks tests to the smalltalk image.
Even though it 'worked', I wouldn't say this whole system excelled at what it did. Lots of manual QA.
So technically it worked, but it certainly was in poor shape from an automation perspective. It was my job as the mostly unsupervised intern to fix that. Granted, that was 10 years ago, but talking to some of my friends around Stuttgart, things move at a glacial pace :)
Stuttgart/Baden-Württemberg is quite conservative. The real mystery for me was why their engineering pride of doing things correctly doesn't translate to the tech industry. I don't have experience in Berlin/Hamburg/Munich, but it'd be interesting to compare.
Bit the the opposite is true as well isn't it? You cannot treat automotive manufacturing like software development. I'd say the first company to successfully blend the two has a huge advantage.
I would totally not have the same level of confidence driving a more modern German car with more electronics and software included. As such, how much of today's value of a car is comprised of its software is orthogonal to how good or bad that software actually is.
Because of software and electronics combined, yes.
> What do you envision going wrong?
One of my closest friends purchased a VW Tiguan last year and not two weeks into his ownership the car left him stranded at the side of the read because of a coolant hose or something similar. If VW cannot make a simple hose not break after only two weeks in a 30,000 euros car I cannot trust their software verification processes and I'm not willing to spend that much money in order to find out. In other words, if they cannot properly verify a simple hose I cannot trust them with properly verifying software.
Below the details for an Alfa Romeo Giulia, which is interesting because it was a complete new design when introduced in 2016, not a rework of a previous platform:
3 networks run in parallel: These networks and their subnetworks are protected by a Security Gateway Module (SGW).
- CAN-C (high-speed 500 kb/s)
- CAN-CH (high-speed 500 kb/s)
- CAN-IHS (medium-speed 125 kb/s)
- Body Control Module (BCM)
- Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC)
- Occupant Restraint Control (ORC)
- Radio Frequency Hub (RFH) Module
- Antilock Brake System Module (ABS)
- Adaptive Cruise Control Module (ACC)
- Emergency Assistance Module (EAM)
- Primary Powertrain Control Module 2.9 V6 (PCM - P)
- Powertrain Control Module 2.0 I4 DI (PCM)
- ABS Module
- BCM
- Electric Steering Lock (ESL)
- Park Assist Module (PAM)
- Electric Power Steering (EPS)
- FFCM - Haptic Lane Feedback (FFCM - HALF)
- Occupant Restraint Control (ORC)
- Active Aerodynamic Module Left – Front left Splitter actuator (AAML)
- Active Aerodynamic Module Right – Front right Splitter actuator (AAMR)
- Adaptive Front Light System (AFLS)
- Chassis Domain Control Module (CDCM)
- Torque Vectoring Module (TVM)
- Instrument Panel Cluster (IPC)
- Comfort Seat Wheel Module (CSWM)
- Left Blind Spot Sensor (LBSS)
- Right Blind Spot Sensor (RBSS)
- Amplifier (AMP)
- Trailer Tow Module (TTM)
- Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
- Entertainment Telematic Module VP2, VP4 (ETM)
- BCM
- Entertainment Multimedia Control Module (EMCM)
- Secondary Powertrain Control Module 2.9 V6 (PCM - S)