Shifter, "D" should be forward motion and "R" should be backward motion

But the Prius is not like every other car out there.
Having said that, to make the car more mainstream and attractive to more buyers in the UK, where the majority of cars have a manual transmission (stick shift), it would make sense to put the D forward and R backwards to make it more intiutive for the drivers who have never driven an automatic and hence tempt them out of their manuals.
BTW the new Auris Hybrid in the UK has the left hand drive gear selector on it, how confusing is that for us UK prius owners if we got one as a courtesy car. I'm used to pulling the stick toward me and back to go forward, the Auris driver pushes it away and back and he has a reverse position exactly where first gear was on a manual.

 

I think reverse should be an R button, and it's located on the side of the passenger seat, so you're forced to turn around to push it. Then you're ready to look backwards before you back up.

But then the people who shelled out money for the backup camera would complain.

The other option is to have the steering wheel click forward to go forward, and click back (pull it towards yourself) to go in reverse. That would be intuitive and get rid of the whole shift thing. Just don't get the hiccups while you're driving.

 

I've never seen three speeds on the floor. I thought it was always 'three on the tree' and 'four on the floor'. Then with the oil embargo of the late 70's we got 5-speed transmissions (on the floor).

If people think this is bad though, they need to go to a Ford (or maybe any domestic, but of the domestics I've only driven Ford) and try to use the wipers or turn on the headlights. Always a challenge for somebody used to the Japanese layout.

Growing up on a farm, there were a lot of variations in driving controls. Tractors have the gas lever (accelerator) as a hand control and it's got notches to keep it in place (their version of cruise control) as you rarely change it. Many tractors you can brake the left side and right side separately (with the right foot), swathers can have two levers for controlling each side and is used for making 90 turns (at the end of the field) but also a steering wheel for fine-tuning it while you're driving straight. Two levers are also how bobcats and bulldozers work. Push both forward to go forward, pull both back to go back, push one and pull the other to spin in place. And then my uncle had modified a tractor so you could put the seat in front of the steering wheel and drive it backwards (he added a haylift, and the physics meant you could lift more if the weight was close to the big back wheels instead of in front of the tractor). But then the clutch and brake pedals were on the wrong sides.

 

Three speed floor shifts were fairly common. They used the same pattern as the "three on the tree" configuration: R and 1 on the left, 2 and 3 on the right.

At the time our Jeep was made, 5 speed transmissions were unheard of, except on tractors and maybe exotic sports cars.

Tom

 

I saw this today on Jalopnik and figured I'd post it here. It also refers to US Department of Transportation Standard No. 102.

Why PRNDL?

 

I agree with the manuel shift guys my first several cars floor shift. Reverse left then forward. forward or first gear left then back. It still makes sense to me and you can cheat and look at the dash.

 

I remember when my dad bought a Toyota Corona new, back in 1966. The pattern was PNDLR, just like his old Chevy Powerglide.

 

Jimbo posted the same thing about a year and four months ago post #33. You even thanked him then you post the same thing today although it is newer.

 

I know... that's why I said also.

I was more interested in pointing to what the Jalopnik article had to say. The vehicles they refer to are from before my time. There also some interesting links in there like to [ame]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teletouch[/ame] and How To Tow A Jaguar Equipped With An Electronic Shift Lever.

 

My bad I did not even realize that was a link in the bottom of your post, sorry.

 

My analysis, valid for me alone:

1. It would be best if arranged the same as other cars I drive, even those I drive infrequently.

2. However, it is already different: I must move it to the left, and let it bounce back. That makes it significantly different than the console shifter on another vehicle I drive. It is very different from my third vehicle, which has a column-mount shifter.

3. After driving my Prius for a month or two, I still have to think about it, or feel that I ought to think about it. My motor muscle circuits have never been easily trained, though I am not otherwise stupid. The thinking I must do is "pull the lever in the opposite direction that you want to go, not the same direction".

4. I believe that, for me, the shifting mechanism automatically triggers a "this is odd" alert, so if the motions were reversed, it would be OK, and better: I could cut short the thinking to "Just push it the way you want to go."

5. But would this be OK for my wife? I don't know. Would I have to warn a "guest" driver about it? Not something I'd want to do, although the guest driver will require instruction on other matters.

6. In conclusion, I think I should accept the vestigial nature of this arrangement, as exists in many modern things (the QWERTY keyboard layout, for example, with the keys arranged so the hammers don't jam).

 

Thanks for the memories three on the floor chatters. Had a 1975 gremlin and a 1979 jeep cj5 both three on the floor. If those vehicle's could tell talk the stories they would tell ........

 

I had a Corvair with a 3 speed floor shift. There was a neighbor with a 3 speed manual trans stripped 1968 Corvette. He said the dealer ordered it with no options so they could advertise a Vette with a real cheap price to get you in the door. He said they weren't too happy when he bought it.

 

lol. I don't think I ever have been in a manual with less than 5 speeds, but knew they once made 4 speeds. What was the purpose of only having 3? Were they really inexpensive?

on the shifter - there should be a park, and it makes more sense to be D forward and R back to me. All the manuals I have driven had R to the right. It just makes sense to me to push it forward, pull it back. Without position holding the pattern makes even less sense, but it is what it is. Toyota did put a more intuitive throw back on the prius c/aqua.

 

I have to preface my remarks by saying that I am a part-time Prius driver; I drive other cars most of the time. That said, I have twice now pushed the Prius shifter all the way forward, instinctively reaching for the park position as I parked the Prius in the garage. Of course I engaged reverse instead, but in both cases I immediately saw what I had done and then just turned the car off. But with something like 90% of the drivers in the US driving automatic transmission cars with the PRNDL sequence, it would really seem prudent if Prius just conformed. I cannot see any value to having the park function separate.

 

Ah, the good old days.

 

Are you old enough to remember telephones with dials, not pushbuttons?

At one time, 4 speeds were a luxury.

 

On my old Jeep CJ5, it had a 3 speed transmission because of the V8 engine. The existing 4 speed at the time couldn't take the torque of the V8, but then with all that torque you didn't really need more speeds.

For a given amount of volume, more gears means smaller and weaker gears. Space limitations and cost were the main reasons for three speeds.

It would make more sense from an intuitive sense, but then it would be backward from all of the "standard" automatic shift levers. I suspect Toyota's lawyers had something to say about keeping it standard.

Tom