Volkswagen Is Debugging The Mk.8 Golf, Due For October Debut And Production

As cars become more and more connected, you can expect the on-board systems to become exponentially more complicated as layers upon layers of code are piled on in order for the systems to interact with everything from the engine to (potentially) traffic lights and a greater connected city. It's this complexity that is in turn making development of next-gen vehicles a little tricky, especially as standards and protocols are being decided upon and developed in-the-now.

Volkswagen is facing this particular problem with their up and coming eighth generation Volkswagen Golf. Originally planned for debut at Frankfurt in September, Volkswagen decided they wouldn't rush out an unfinished product and postponed the global debut to October - around the same time it is slated to begin series production, according to Automotive News Europe.

When you package smartphone functionality and connectivity with a vehicle, you can imagine that software engineers will have to spend as much time to develop and test compatibility with devices as there are devices on the market. As some of you may know, just because two phones run on Android, it doesn't mean that they will behave the same way in all situations.

To make matters more frustrating, the connectivity with the outside world is only the beginning of the problems. Individual control units within the car have to react to inputs and produce outputs based on these systems, and debugging the problems can be difficult as trying to isolate which particular control unit is throwing up problems can be a very time consuming task.

Ultimately, this is the price you pay for a car that appeals to the modern consumer - one that treats a car more as an appliance than a vehicle. It's also worrying in a way as cars may soon be developed with as much planned obsolescence as your smart devices, and you may find yourself driving an outdated vehicle in as little as three years.

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