An Old-School Car Feature Returns

[Crusty Trucker]

A growing number of automakers are backpedaling away from the huge, complex touchscreens that have infested dashboard design over the last 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. 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/the-glorious-return-of-an-old-school-car-feature/ar-AA1anYAl?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBnb7Kz

[1937hd45]

That is great news. I'll never buy a new car, but hope to be able to still drive a rental car without all the whistles and bells that I'm clueless to operate. Still know how to open and neatly fold a road map. 

[rocketraider]

I find it incongruous that that article insists that I download its app before I can read it. Especially considering it's about a BACKLASH toward fripperous technology.

[Reynard]

5 hours ago, rocketraider said:

I find it incongruous that that article insists that I download its app before I can read it. Especially considering it's about a BACKLASH toward fripperous technology.

It must be your computer or service provider's requirement. The article pops right up when I access the link without asking for an app to be downloaded.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

That is great news. I'll never buy a new car, but hope to be able to still drive a rental car without all the whistles and bells that I'm clueless to operate. Still know how to open and neatly fold a road map. 

I hear you on never buying a new car again.  I have what will keep me happy and its new enough to be comfortable but something I can still work on.  As far as rental cars a friend of mine nearly got in an accident with a rental car.  Seems it has this lane correct feature, well someone tried to merge in so he went to give them room and the car nearly steered him into the merging car trying to keep it in the lane.  Either have a driver drive or ride as a passenger, this fighting for control is dangerous in my opinion.

[rocketraider]

This morning it gave me an "expand article" option which it didn't give last night. 

 

I still had to navigate a touchscreen on my phone! 🤪

 

When the powerplant switched from analog control with buttons, switches and gages to digital control with touchscreens, I realized then that touchscreens were going to make life more difficult. We had to navigate our way thru HUNDREDS of screens (some obscure and very well hidden) to get to the one we needed in that moment, and by the time we'd found it we usually ended up having to write an event report for equipment failure/damage, unit scram or forced offline, on and on. Conditions that could have been corrected in a couple of seconds with analog took minutes with the touchscreens, and believe me a lot can go to hell in minutes while you're trying to find the screen that controls what's rapidly going downhill.

 

Nope. No fan of touchscreens here.

[Curti]

I have a 2020 Infinity. I hate the map feature. The names assigned of hiways have changed the program needs to be updated. I like Google Maps on my cell. The Google lady knows of which she speaks.  She also warns of radar ahead. Nice feature.

[Farmallregular]

It's not so much the touchscreen itself that's the problem...it's the software behind it.  Too often the human interface seems to be designed by some software engineer who has absolutely no understanding of how people actually use  the product.  To the designer who's intimately familiar with the interface it'll seem intuitive, to everybody else it's confusing.

 

Being able to operate controls by feel is a real advantage while you're driving.

 

Keith

 

[1937hd45]

3 hours ago, rocketraider said:

This morning it gave me an "expand article" option which it didn't give last night. 

 

I still had to navigate a touchscreen on my phone! 🤪

 

When the powerplant switched from analog control with buttons, switches and gages to digital control with touchscreens, I realized then that touchscreens were going to make life more difficult. We had to navigate our way thru HUNDREDS of screens (some obscure and very well hidden) to get to the one we needed in that moment, and by the time we'd found it we usually ended up having to write an event report for equipment failure/damage, unit scram or forced offline, on and on. Conditions that could have been corrected in a couple of seconds with analog took minutes with the touchscreens, and believe me a lot can go to hell in minutes while you're trying to find the screen that controls what's rapidly going downhill.

 

Nope. No fan of touchscreens here.

Never mind the car controls I need a dictionary to understand what you just wrote. Analog, unit scram, event report are terms I just don't use in my daily use of the English language. Still haven't owned a car manufactured in this century. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[DonMicheletti]

I dont have to "look" for a knob, I can feel for it without looking.

You cant really do the with a touchscreen - you have to look away from the road to "interface"

[Reynard]

 

Every designer should be forced to complete courses in cybernetics. The simple definition is "fitting technology into the human environment". If this were to be required, things like touchscreens in automobiles might have been prevented.

 

Cybernetics looks at the intended and unintended consequences of technology for people and the planet. It aims to ensure humans and the environment are at the forefront of technological innovation and that new systems are safe in a changing world.

[f.f.jones]

1 hour ago, Reynard said:

 

Every designer should be forced to complete courses in cybernetics. The simple definition is "fitting technology into the human environment". If this were to be required, things like touchscreens in automobiles might have been prevented.

 

Cybernetics looks at the intended and unintended consequences of technology for people and the planet. It aims to ensure humans and the environment are at the forefront of technological innovation and that new systems are safe in a changing world.

 

I agree...if it were a perfect world.

Unfortunately, if the automotive accountants think a $50. screen is "better" than $100. worth of buttons and knobs, and they convince the marketeers to hype and sell the newest technology for even more money, the designers are powerless. 

Remember the history of the Pinto and the cheap brace that could have saved lives. There are more examples, but you get the point.

[sftamx1]

The best infotainment interface I have used recently is the "no touch da screen" system in the newest Mazdas. The well designed and functional rotary controls are very handy for your right hand, and the screen is up on top of the dash, so no taking your eyes off the road. 

On another note,  I see some of the newest Caddys have a 33" 9K screen!

[1937hd45]

A sheet of black construction paper and a roll of electrical tape is a handy fix on rental cars with the television in the dash. 

[EmTee]

Properly designed, the knobs or buttons should be identifiable without having to look at them.

 

[Akstraw]

7 hours ago, DonMicheletti said:

I dont have to "look" for a knob, I can feel for it without looking.

You cant really do the with a touchscreen - you have to look away from the road to "interface"

I agree fully.  We caution about the dangers of distracted driving, but yet distractions are built into new cars.  I wish the touchscreens would be outlawed.

 

 I think that touchscreens have been pushed upon us by manufacturers for cost reasons, not because consumers really want them.  I suspect that one printed screen is way cheaper to make than all the moving parts of several knob assemblies.

[mark graber]

My daily driver is a '06 Toyota Tundra 4x4.  It has all the safety features I want, airbags and anit-lock brakes.  But, its more truck than I need and I have thought about getting a new, smaller truck.  Thing is, I absolutely hate touchscreens and therefore will drive the Toyota, probably forever.  I wonder how many folks hold off on new vehicles for the same reason. 

[erichill]

Bring back vent windows and I will get excited. Knobs? Not so much.

[ted sweet]

yes i want old school buttons and knobs that fail when car is 5 years old

[Zimm63]

I am a knob guy.  When I was in drivers ed, 50 years ago, one of the things we had to learn was to be able to touch all the controls for the radio, heater, lights, etc with our eyes shut.   I can still do so in my 93 F150 and 94 Volvo as well as my older cars.  Not so much in my wife's 14 Edge.   The screen is a distraction.  Either you try and look at it when driving to adjust whatever, or you have to find a safe place to stop if you don't have a passenger to take care of things.

 

Of course, I am also a fan of roll up windows and manually adjustable seats.

 

[oldford]

I love my new Chevy truck and the 9" touch screen is not a problem, except once in a while I get a message on the screen that says something like, "Taking your eyes off the road is dangerous and should be avoided." Only problem, in order to remove the message, you have to look down at the screen and touch the button that says, "OK." 

 

On my wife's Subaru, there is a button for the heated seats. It is a 2019 that we bought in 2020. We bought this one because the 2020 required you to go through three layers of touch screen to turn on the heated seats.

 

Frank

Edited April 29, 2023 by oldford (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

My newest vehicle has a small screen in the dash for the radio and information. I hate to say I like it, but I am a passenger more than driver. I was in a rental Denali Yukon and it had a bigger screen that was really cool, only being a rental half of the features were disabled. I am on the fence with tech stuff, I like it, but hate that most of it is over my head, LOL. I just got a dash cam and one cannot simply plug it in and go. Once you turn it on you must go to the internet to get it working properly.

[60FlatTop]

"Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that “further research” is needed before addressing the obvious risks" 

 

Huh?

[DonMicheletti]

Old Ford,

 

The simple fact tht it warns you about the issue of taking your eyes off the road to aknowledge the screen shows thet they recognize it as a hazard!!

[rocketraider]

17 hours ago, ted sweet said:

yes i want old school buttons and knobs that fail when car is 5 years old

I'd rather have those, that can usually be replaced individually at low cost, than a touch screen and modules that you have to replace the whole works at great expense to repair one malfunctioning component.

 

Touch screens may be cheap for the carmaker to produce and install, but I can promise if it has to be replaced out of warranty you'll bend over and grab your ankles and not even get a kiss for your trouble.

 

Technology. A useful servant and a fearsome master.

[charlier]

When one is thinking about a modern vehicle purchase one should not assume that they all have touch screens and few/no buttons/knobs.

 

Case in point, the 2022 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid I purchased last year has buttons/knobs for heat & A/C settings, the heated seats, front & rear window defrosters, heated steering wheel, automatic high/low beam headlights among other things. There are also buttons on the steering wheel for the radio channels, volume etc. Yes, there is a 9 inch touch screen infotainment/information center as well as a radio on/off/volume knob.

 

Other than the infotainment/information center it has the same number of buttons/knobs as my 2012 Toyota Tundra for the same functions/features.

 

BTW, not one of the old school buttons & knobs on my 11 year old Tundra have failed yet.

 

Bottom line, research potential new vehicle candidates before making assumptions, you might be surprised at what you find.