RE: Out of touch: Speed Matters
Discussion
Nik Attard said:
One thing I have noticed with some of the modern cars, especially the 570GT and the Alfa Giulia is that you can't actually see them properly when wearing polarised sunglasses. I know, I know just take off the sunglasses right!
Audi same problem; virtual cockpit is otherwise excellent. I tend to find myself twiddling the brightness dial (luckily easily accessible) from max (daytime) to min (night time) on a daily basis.Using the basis of the current laws in place for driving on the phone (not hands free) or texting it seem incredulous that touch screens have taken off as they have...
By and large it is not a solution to a issue/problem that existed. It is pandering to a fashion trend and in a lot of cases it is infinitely more difficult to actually carry out the command you wish to; not to mention dangerous.
IMHO I would feel happier and safer sitting in a car with the driver driving on the phone (not hands free) than i would sitting in a car when the driver was trying to set the massage function to vibrate or their A/C to recirculate; especially as the bumpy roads make the tapping small icons hard.
Around the corner is the first attempted prosecution for a driver mowing down pedestrians/crashing into another vehicle whilst distracted/adjusting a touch screen setting.
Mark my words, this day will come and is not far away. Then where do we go?
Never underestimate human stupidity or the power of the H&S bods!!!!!
By and large it is not a solution to a issue/problem that existed. It is pandering to a fashion trend and in a lot of cases it is infinitely more difficult to actually carry out the command you wish to; not to mention dangerous.
IMHO I would feel happier and safer sitting in a car with the driver driving on the phone (not hands free) than i would sitting in a car when the driver was trying to set the massage function to vibrate or their A/C to recirculate; especially as the bumpy roads make the tapping small icons hard.
Around the corner is the first attempted prosecution for a driver mowing down pedestrians/crashing into another vehicle whilst distracted/adjusting a touch screen setting.
Mark my words, this day will come and is not far away. Then where do we go?
Never underestimate human stupidity or the power of the H&S bods!!!!!
monty158 said:
People THAT bothered about in-car tech need to either:
A) Buy faster, more entertaining cars
B) Spend more time talking to Women and less time talking to their car
I couldn't care less about any of it, it's all just extra weight
I couldn't agree more.A) Buy faster, more entertaining cars
B) Spend more time talking to Women and less time talking to their car
I couldn't care less about any of it, it's all just extra weight
I don't need any electronic systems to help me drive or park. I don't want them either. I don't want a touch screen, or a sat nav (inbuilt, anyway), or multiple driving modes.
I want a simple, uncomplicated, light car with enough power to be entertaining. The fewer gadgets, the less there is to go wrong.
My car has a stereo that I don't use, and buttons for lights. That's about all I can cope with.
It does have a traction control button, but I'm too scared to press that...
monty158 said:
People THAT bothered about in-car tech need to either:
A) Buy faster, more entertaining cars
B) Spend more time talking to Women and less time talking to their car
I couldn't care less about any of it, it's all just extra weight
That is a very narrow minded viewpoint. For those that do drive quite a lot, especially trundling up and down motorways, it is nice to have a well equipped car. A) Buy faster, more entertaining cars
B) Spend more time talking to Women and less time talking to their car
I couldn't care less about any of it, it's all just extra weight
If your car is only for B - Road blasts, then yes by all means it is a waste.
I recently bought one of those Amazon Dot things on Prime Day. The voice recognition on that is pretty durned good. Even though I have an accent from the frozen wastelands of the North of England I have no problem getting understood and the only times it struggles seems to be when I ask it to do something it cannot.
Cortana on a PC/Windows is similarly excellent. By contrast I have struggled with Siri (or perhaps she with me?)
I'd say we need voice recognition in cars. So much easier to say "Toyota, play BBC Six Music" than wander through the menus of a DAB radio on a touch screen. "Toyota, set destination 42 Grove Terrace Stratford Upon Avon". That's got to be the best way to set a sat nav?
"Toyota, close the pod bay doors"...
Cortana on a PC/Windows is similarly excellent. By contrast I have struggled with Siri (or perhaps she with me?)
I'd say we need voice recognition in cars. So much easier to say "Toyota, play BBC Six Music" than wander through the menus of a DAB radio on a touch screen. "Toyota, set destination 42 Grove Terrace Stratford Upon Avon". That's got to be the best way to set a sat nav?
"Toyota, close the pod bay doors"...
I find them annoying, the worst are the ones which are full touchscreen but then slow to respond
I can put up with ones like in my focus, where there's still buttons for the most used stuff like next track etc.
I'm not sure I would love one with full touch sceeen of heating etc.
The question is why? Most cars with a touch screen then just have a sea of black plastic around them where the buttons used to be, like the current clio
I can put up with ones like in my focus, where there's still buttons for the most used stuff like next track etc.
I'm not sure I would love one with full touch sceeen of heating etc.
The question is why? Most cars with a touch screen then just have a sea of black plastic around them where the buttons used to be, like the current clio
griffgrog said:
My 2015 Range Rover had the In Car tech from the 1980's. It was both woefully slow and really hard to use. Whoever thought that it would be a good idea to bury the heated seat function in a menu system....Grrrrr.
Whilst I agree that the Range Rover interface is slow and hard to use, the heated seat is just a push of the centre of the temperature dial. You can then turn the dial to raise or lower the temperature...Freelander and Discovery are the same!generationx said:
My last car was a Golf Mk7 with a touch screen interface, and it's only now I have an iDrive-type control that I realise just how difficult it used to be to operate safely at speed.
One Big Knob
to do everything soon becomes second nature and only requires occasional glances away from the road ahead to use.
I have a pre facelift SEAT Leon MK3 & personally think it's the best mix of old & new - proper controls for the climate control & head windscreen etc & a touch screen SAT NAV & stereo (I hate the term infotainment) which is fitted up high in the dash (unlike the Golf) meaning you need to move your eye off the road less. One Big Knob
to do everything soon becomes second nature and only requires occasional glances away from the road ahead to use.Also the SAT NAV has hard menu keys & a zoom wheel - unlike the new ones in the facelifted Leon & Golf.
I was a steering wheel mounted control sceptic but I now wish the Leon had a BMW M style mode change button on the wheel too (or just one fine throttle & steering set up like my old Škoda).
I understand why Porsche & Peugeot have gone in the directions they have from a design prospective just I'm not sure from an user point.
Nickbrapp said:
The question is why? Most cars with a touch screen then just have a sea of black plastic around them where the buttons used to be, like the current clio
Cheap innit? Easy to fit, single component simple connector no bits of wobbly plastic that will vibrate or drop off (yes I'm thinking of you La Regie)Nik Attard said:
One thing I have noticed with some of the modern cars, especially the 570GT and the Alfa Giulia is that you can't actually see them properly when wearing polarised sunglasses. I know, I know just take off the sunglasses right!
One thing I can see happening is manufacturers moving back to plug and play options. Have the ability to update your in car tech by swapping out the screen much like it was done by swapping head units out. A lot easier said than done but if Android and Apple push deeper into car tech it could work.
Nik
This is agood point. I have the same problem in my Subaru. Its not a good idea to take the glasses off if they are corrected specifically for driving. Car makers need to sort this. One thing I can see happening is manufacturers moving back to plug and play options. Have the ability to update your in car tech by swapping out the screen much like it was done by swapping head units out. A lot easier said than done but if Android and Apple push deeper into car tech it could work.
Nik
monty158 said:
People THAT bothered about in-car tech need to either:
A) Buy faster, more entertaining cars
B) Spend more time talking to Women and less time talking to their car
I couldn't care less about any of it, it's all just extra weight
In general, I like a bit of tech, stuff in the home etc.. In my car though, I'm just not bothered. I hear people moaning that their maps are a bit slow, the graphics aren't as nice as blah blah... I get it, some of the stuff is amazing to look at but as long as it gets me there I'm not fussed.A) Buy faster, more entertaining cars
B) Spend more time talking to Women and less time talking to their car
I couldn't care less about any of it, it's all just extra weight
Self parking, wouldn't want it. I enjoy driving, parking is part of that too. Getting in that space I wasn't sure about, an achievement. I'll have plenty of time to admire the in-car tech when I'm forced out of my smelly, noisy, polluting, gas guzzling car and into autonomous monotony.
I wonder how may people I'll see nose mining then.
I think I posted this on another thread recently but it's amazing how much of the sense of luxury you get from a Rolls-Royce is down to the lack of visible instruments and controls.
Audi have it utterly nailed in the TT. Virtual dash, no central screen, essential controls on rotaries and buttons. They make some s
t cars, but that set-up works.
Touch screens in cars are very, very stupid indeed. If you are not tired you can adjust the heated seats on, say, a Jag, in about 5 hectic seconds with your eyes off the road. If you're tired though...
It's absolute fking madness. It'll last a design generation, tops, because it will kill people.
Audi have it utterly nailed in the TT. Virtual dash, no central screen, essential controls on rotaries and buttons. They make some s
t cars, but that set-up works. Touch screens in cars are very, very stupid indeed. If you are not tired you can adjust the heated seats on, say, a Jag, in about 5 hectic seconds with your eyes off the road. If you're tired though...
It's absolute f
king madness. It'll last a design generation, tops, because it will kill people. 
The uconnect system that the fiat group fit in most of their cars works well, touchscreen which I barely use because you can use a scroll wheel and enter button if you wish. Plus changing between radio and CD for example uses proper buttons, change radio stations or skipping songs you can do with either the scroll wheel, the screen, or buttons on the steering wheels which (dare I say it) I quite like
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