RE: Mercedes SL mule spied with new 2 2 base
Discussion
Burwood said:
No doubt the screen is needed for autonomous driving. I can't think why exactly
Anyone who needs to do anything on it, trying to keep their finger in one place, try and see what they are doing and taking their eyes off the road for more than a few seconds is going to need autonomous driving. It's the screens that need it, not the other way around 
Burwood said:
This is a spy shop of the 2020 S class. The screen looks even bigger and it would appear the stick on driver panel is real. I don't like that at all. Integrated is better
My take is that these screens are necessary for two main reasons. The first being the need to future proof, as cars become ever more reliant on networks for certain functions already alluded to, i.e autonomous driving. Tesla were the first to kick this sort of thing off; the benefit being that if you move all the buttons to a screen all thats needed is an over the air software update to change what they do, rather than having to rip out and replace physical hardware. Second being that there are so many functions on modern cars from massage seats to radar cruise control that it becomes impractical to have a button for each so you end up having to go with a big screen.
Personally I agree that buttons are better and I'm a big fan of certain OEMs 'one button, one function' philosophy (Porsche seem to be rigidly sticking to this despite the current trend). Sadly as cars become ever more complex this sort of thing seems to be an inevitability.
Sensibleboy said:
Would be a great job hacking chunks out of saloon cars to shorten them to fit an SL floorpan.
As close as we’ll ever get to a German sense of humor. “Ja Heinrich ve will put ze saloon body on zis new SL, zey vill all be puzzled HAHAHAHA”
Edited by Nerdherder on Wednesday 24th April 20:58
Mercedes really need to get this right. Sales are very low apparently for the SL, with many flocking to the much newer S-Class convertible (which is very nice actually), so they will really need to up the ante and produce the Jekyll and Hyde car that they are trying to develop to get it right. SL's are known for very high comfort with smooth rides, so it will be interesting to see whether they can maintain most, if not all of the current SL 'comfy' formula whilst making a car that handles well in the bends. Most of BMW's cars handle very well, but the tradeoff of 'slightly jiggly' and 'rough at low speed' suspension is more or less present all the time.
Well I have the a35 with the two 10 inch screens and I can say they are fantastic, no input problems, very clear. Lots of options that take getting used to but I like tech so it’s a go for me. Plus you can use touch , voice or touch pad so do not need to take eyes off road or even use the heads up display.
DartyBistard said:
My take is that these screens are necessary for two main reasons. The first being the need to future proof, as cars become ever more reliant on networks for certain functions already alluded to, i.e autonomous driving. Tesla were the first to kick this sort of thing off; the benefit being that if you move all the buttons to a screen all thats needed is an over the air software update to change what they do, rather than having to rip out and replace physical hardware.
Second being that there are so many functions on modern cars from massage seats to radar cruise control that it becomes impractical to have a button for each so you end up having to go with a big screen.
Personally I agree that buttons are better and I'm a big fan of certain OEMs 'one button, one function' philosophy (Porsche seem to be rigidly sticking to this despite the current trend). Sadly as cars become ever more complex this sort of thing seems to be an inevitability.
I agree that a (touch)display in a modern car is necessary to control some functions and settings (NOT climate control, this should be always controlled by buttons). But why do they have glue 32 inch TVs to the dashboard? If i still have to drive, the display should not be the main feature of the interiour. In many cases it looks like a horrible aftertought.Second being that there are so many functions on modern cars from massage seats to radar cruise control that it becomes impractical to have a button for each so you end up having to go with a big screen.
Personally I agree that buttons are better and I'm a big fan of certain OEMs 'one button, one function' philosophy (Porsche seem to be rigidly sticking to this despite the current trend). Sadly as cars become ever more complex this sort of thing seems to be an inevitability.
But the most annoying thing are not the touchscreens but the OEMs and what seems to be their current mindset on new cars:
"Hey CEO, we have to develop the new interiour of our future luxury car, what should we do?"
"Ahhh, just make it cheap. Fit a digital dash and put a giant touchscreen somewhere, that will do. Tesla already did it and we can do that aswell. Joe Average will still buy it. You can reuse a dashboard design from 2010 for this, and put some RGB LEDs somewhere."
I rather like the way they've integrated the screens there, personally. I'm not keen on touch screens for major functions in cars from a practical point of view, but aesthetically I think they've done a really good job if it looks like that. I guess time will tell whether reflections are an issue on the up-turned central screen with the roof down.
The move to screens is in part to do with software updates, but mainly its cost.
Just think about the cost of tooling every single button on a dash board, and its mechanism, applying any painting or finish, and making sure it has the right feel, doesn't fall off, label doesn't rub off etc.
All solved by fitting a relatively cheap screen, and it looks "futuristic".
Just think about the cost of tooling every single button on a dash board, and its mechanism, applying any painting or finish, and making sure it has the right feel, doesn't fall off, label doesn't rub off etc.
All solved by fitting a relatively cheap screen, and it looks "futuristic".
jakesmith said:
How is that different to the C Class
Do you mean the E class mule they have cobbled together to disguise the SL underneath creating a 4 door that is not a real car or do you mean the SL convertible possibly being a 2+2 and comparing it to the full 4 seater C class convertible?Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff