General > General Technical Chat

The Glorious Return of a Humble Car Feature

(1/10) > >>

Black Phoenix:
https://slate.com/business/2023/04/cars-buttons-touchscreens-vw-porsche-nissan-hyundai.html


--- Quote ---Automakers are starting to admit that drivers hate touchscreens. Buttons are back!
--- End quote ---


--- Quote ---You don’t see a lot of good news about road safety in the United States. Unlike in most peer countries, American roadway deaths surged during the pandemic and have barely receded since. Pedestrian and cyclist fatalities recently hit their highest levels in 40 years, but U.S. transportation officials continue to ignore key contributing factors. In a February interview with Fast Company, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that “further research” is needed before addressing the obvious risks that oversized SUVs and trucks pose to those not inside of them.

Happily, there is one area where we are making at least marginal progress: A growing number of automakers are backpedaling away from the huge, complex touchscreens that have infested dashboard design over the past 15 years. Buttons and knobs are coming back.

The touchscreen pullback is the result of consumer backlash, not the enactment of overdue regulations or an awakening of corporate responsibility. Many drivers want buttons, not screens, and they’ve given carmakers an earful about it. Auto executives have long brushed aside safety concerns about their complex displays—and all signs suggest they would have happily kept doing so. But their customers are revolting, which has forced them to pay attention.
--- End quote ---

Finally, it took their sweet time. I know that this is a issue who (including me) pisses me off. Nothing beats a button that I can press or a knob I can actuate without taking the eyes from the road.

Now let's address the oversize and size creep of Trucks and SUVs each new release...

JPortici:
What??
i though it was because carmakers can't get enough electronics to build the car.
Mercedes and peugeot had to remove led headlights ( :-DD ) and full screen dashboards from some catalogs to go back to halogen and needles

wilfred:
I drive older cars and I hate to think what will happen to a car if you break the screen or the electronics fail after spare parts are no longer readily available. You can't rely on the used one being any better and they'll be expensive. So many cars will have another expensive repair that relegates them to the scrap.

I particularly don't like headlights that cost a thousand dollars to repair/replace when I can just buy a bulb for  $50. It makes insurance premiums that much higher too when even a minor accident can irreparably damage one.

Stray Electron:
  I'm convinced that there would be a large market for cars and trucks that use simple standard parts such as headlights, taillights, standalone radios with knobs, standard size wheels and tires, etc instead of all of the expensive gimmickry that ties everything back to one central on-board computer and that are unique only that model car and that costs a small fortune to replace. A single replacement headlamp now cost over $1000 in many late model cars and some of the odd size tires are nearly as much. 

 Some of the auto manufacturers need to start building a modern and affordable People's Car instead of building a bunch of overly priced, impracticable car models that look like they were designed by some avant-garde Italian designer!

woody:
Yeah, driving a Tesla M3 for the last 4 years I can attest to the fact that touchscreens in cars to operate basic functions like wipers, temperature, fog lights et cetera is a stupid idea. The Tesla touchscreen is probably among the best but actual buttons that never move position are much better.

So good news that the buttons return. I will even swallow the price hike that will undoubtedly cause.

I will make a prediction though. It will not mean less accidents. In my country road accidents went down year after year, right up until 2013. Since then the number started increasing every year. It is not the cars that became unsafer since then. On the contrary, these get safer model after model. I blame the elephant in the room, the holy smartphone. But that is going to need its own thread  :)

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod