[fizzynut]

Intel basically made the same CPU for about 6 years straight because of 10nm process issues.

They had to keep pretending the next gen "Lake" CPU was substantially different from the last, so they just took last gen product, made some minor tweaks to break compatibility and called it a new generation

[_the_inflator]

Same goes for most cars. No real revolution, tweaks or changes due to regulatory demands, but nothing groundbreaking.

[jeffhuys]

Still, when you’re due for a new car and look for the newest of the newest, would you go with manufacturer A, who released their latest car 8 years ago, or manufacturer B, who released it 1 year ago?

Incremental upgrades get so much hate around the internet (mostly about phones) by people having the version before it. Saying things like “ah they changed almost nothing! Why would I upgrade?!” While for instance me, only on my 3rd smartphone EVER, would love all the incremental updates over the years when I finally decide I need a new one, because I always get the latest and greatest. If a company then doesn’t release anything for a few years, I’d go somewhere else.

[settsu]

This is arguably exactly what most people actually need in a vehicle that you are spending thousands of dollars on: accumulated refinements seamlessly incorporated over time.

Year over year this typically results in good outcomes on a purely practical basis. However it just inherently makes for very boring publicity/promotional material.

Edit to add: it can also admittedly result in older solutions getting baked in which prevent larger beneficial changes. (Toyota's North American 4Runner and Tacoma models might be good real world examples of this approach resulting in generally high reliability but also larger, "riskier" changes being seemingly eventually necessary.)

[lazide]

Luckily it’s not common to need to replace your garage every time you get a new car.

[constantcrying]

Cars don't get a new model every year. They are even called "facelifts" to make it clear that it is essentially the same with minor modifications and upgrades.

Also there isn't much "groundbreaking" you can do in a car, except for the EV switch, the industry has existed on many small upgrades over time. (Like many other industries)

[BobaFloutist]

I mean I can't speak to ICE cars, but electric cars ranges seem to scale pretty dramatically with how new they are.