1937hd45 Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Had to drive my sister to the airport, first time to Bradley, not bad. We took her 2020 Dodge Durango, the newest car I've ever driven. No shift lever, just a knob like the load size selector on a washing machine. A to B and back again it did 80 to keep up with traffic, I'd rather have a low milage 20 year old van. 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL1630 Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Chrysler, always looking for easier ways to shift gears. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 I had a Chrysler rental car with that knob gear selector. Worst. Design. Ever. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 I've been doing my own laundry since I was twelve. Last year, our old (about 20 y o ) Maytag blew the transmission. We bought the only decent model new washer available under covid shortages. A really automated push button silly thing with no old style agitator. I dislike it greatly. It twists and ties my clothing into knots, doesn't dissolve soap properly. I want my twenty year old Maytag back! Last year, we had to upgrade our modern car. Got a 2006 low mileage very well cared for Jeep Grand Cherokee, with the full towing package. I hope I never have to replace it with anything newer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted April 15, 2022 Author Share Posted April 15, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, joe_padavano said: I had a Chrysler rental car with that knob gear selector. Worst. Design. Ever. I figure someone was handed a cup of hot coffee and it hit a shift lever, Chrysler got sued and the knob was the answer. Edited April 15, 2022 by 1937hd45 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, 1937hd45 said: I figure someone was handed a cup of hot coffee and it hit a shift lever, Chrysler got sued and the knob was the answer. I'm an aerospace engineer. I deal with human interfaces as part of my job. Any gear selector that requires me to stare at it to make sure I'm in the proper gear is a poor design. On that Chrysler, there was no indicator in the dash, only on the console. The detents for knob position were barely discernible, so you couldn't feel the number of "clicks" as you turned it. Normal AT shifters are pretty easy to tell what gear you're in without having to look at them. Why change something that works? Yeah, I realize that modern ATs with a bazillion gears require electronic gear control since everything is solenoid valve driven, but that still doesn't excuse a poor human factors design. Of course, I'm no fan of shift-by-wire, or throttle-by-wire, and definitely not brake-by-wire. Anyone remember the Hawaiian Air "convertible" 737 where a large chunk of the upper fuselage came off in flight? The cockpit lost all electrical contact to the rear of the plane, but since that early 737 still had real control cables to the control surfaces, they were able to fly and land the heavily damaged plane. Contrast that to the 737 MAX software fiasco. Edited April 15, 2022 by joe_padavano (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 And if its like my current washing machine it will need a circuit repaired well before the life of the machine! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Yes, our 3 yr old dishwasher had a computer board failure. Warranty was only for 1 year of course! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 I have held off on buying a kitchen range and a washing machine because of the electronic controls. When my current appliances will no longer work, I suppose I'll have to get one of the hateful things.😣 Stove is 47 y.o. and washer is 26. The day is coming. I read the stories some of y'all have posted about electronics in your newer vehicles and I cringe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne sheldon Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 14 hours ago, joe_padavano said: Anyone remember the Hawaiian Air "convertible" 737 where a large chunk of the upper fuselage came off in flight? The cockpit lost all electrical contact to the rear of the plane, but since that early 737 still had real control cables to the control surfaces, they were able to fly and land the heavily damaged plane. I do remember that one! And I remember reading excerpts from the final reports on the failures and successes of that flight and landing! Amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 9 hours ago, TerryB said: Yes, our 3 yr old dishwasher had a computer board failure. Warranty was only for 1 year of course! Consumer protection is pretty much non existent in the US, probably more aptly called lawsuit protection. Here in red tape land, things must last a “reasonable” amount of time e.g your expensive dishwasher must last longer than an el cheapo - companies have been sued and lost for trying to enforce things like 1 year warranties or selling junk extended warranties My VW golf still has a traditional shifter and the dashboard tell you what mode and gear you’re in. Everything you want still has a physical button as well. The new golf looks like they glued a screen on a wheely bin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 (edited) On 4/14/2022 at 9:36 PM, wayne sheldon said: I want my twenty year old Maytag back! So did we but that wasn't happening. We ended up with a Speed Queen set with old fashion knobs and really like them. They are commercial duty and no digital stuff. They make the same set with digital controls and those actually have a longer warranty. Both my wife and I decided to stick with knobs for ease of use and repair. No regrets. Edited April 17, 2022 by Fossil (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobinVirginia Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 It sucks accidentally changing the radio station instead of shifting into reverse! Lol 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Just hope it's never the other way around...🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobinVirginia Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 6 minutes ago, rocketraider said: Just hope it's never the other way around...🙂 That could make for a bad day quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John348 Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 (edited) On 4/14/2022 at 9:48 PM, joe_padavano said: I had a Chrysler rental car with that knob gear selector. Worst. Design. Ever. Joe, I think the Edsel might have been the worst design with it in the middle of the steering column where the horn button normally would be Edited April 16, 2022 by John348 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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