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Physical knobs are here again!

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by Prodigyplace, Jan 15, 2018.

  1. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    @alanclarkeau @Mendel Leisk @bisco take note.

    Apparently Honda is bringing back real physical controls!(y)
    Lane Keep Assist too.

    @Prius Team are you taking notes?

    From Honda Accord wins North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    my prius has all manual buttons for hvac, but still too small for heavy gloves, i'm constantly pushing two at the same time, especially the steering wheel controls.

    hopefully toyota is paying attention. i'm sure touch screen controls are a big yen saver, and toyota is more about price discounting than honda.
     
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  3. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    If I'm not mistaken, the Prime's 11.6" is the only one without knobs. Toyota has volume and tune knobs on all other vehicles. (Gen 4 Prius sold elsewhere do not have a volume knob on the 6.1" or 7" screen FYI... so Toyota gave us volume/tune knobs on our versions)
     
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  5. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    True, sadly- this is our button-less, knob-less piece of black glass:
    upload_2018-1-16_15-36-15.png
     
  6. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    Those old cars before seat belts had the whole dash filled with knobs. I wonder how many people cussed those knobs in a wreck?
     
  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Yeah that's what I mean. Toyota made the effort to put knobs on NA cars (while Honda didn't and faced.. not really backlash but displeasure from owners and journalists so Honda is starting to put them back in after 4 years)

    You assumed they survived?
     
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  8. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    I had an older cousin driving drunk back in the day ate one of those big chrome horn rings cars used to have.

    He survived but his chest was all cut up.

    Padded dashes, padded steering wheel covers, seat belts, seat belts with sholder harness, padded steering wheel covers, air bags, etc then all the knobs went. I don't know if the younger generation would miss the knobs as much though?

    We can get rid of knobs and save money too.
     
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  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    My guess is no since they never grew up with volume knobs (I'm talking about those after the boombox generation lol. So... I guess those born in the 2000s?)

    Recall that the early 2000s were all about buttons too (and the 90s for luxury cars). Heck, MB, Volvo and Saab had a full number pad on their dashboard, competing with buttons for the radio and climate control. Any rotary knob (aside from vol) was related to the heated seats or the rheostat. They certainly didn't grow up with the bass/fader built into the tuning knob ("PULL FADE") or a second ring around the tuner haha.

    But yeah ever since the invention of the smartphone, it's been touchscreen only. It works well when you're concentrating on the screen but not if you have to do something else while accessing said screen.
     
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  10. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I remember the TAXIs of the '50s - they had a grab bar across the top of the back seat. No seatbelts. Many (at least here) kids rode inside who didn't have cars, so stood up to the grab bar - and some lost teeth at the first hard braking. The dashboard wasn't so bad - at least it was sort-of flat with some buttons, knobs etc.
    upload_2018-1-16_16-4-16.png

    My Mum was paranoid about our teeth - she lost her front tooth as a child when the Morris Cowley Flatnose she was in (parked) decided to disobey the handbrake and go flying down the hill to hit a lamp-post:
    upload_2018-1-16_16-7-8.png
    (supposed to look like this
    upload_2018-1-16_16-8-17.png
     
  11. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Now those grab handles are for something else. Hanging your walking stick and getting in/out of the car! (Toyota Crown pictured below)

    [​IMG]
     
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  12. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Buttons are not that good either. Tactile, substantial dials with detents, and few enough positions that you don't lose count, or similar sliders, I'd be all over that. The lower level Honda Fit has such.
     
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  13. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Sadly, as noted in another thread, you cannot read the gray on black control labels in poor light and they are not illuminated.
     
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    What are these labels on?

    If you need to take eyes off the road and read small labels, that's a fail.
     
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  15. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Above the knobs. All that is lit is an arc above the knob lit through the knob opening

    Perhaps the passenger could read the labels. If they are not needed why print them on the panel?
     
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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Yeah a decent sized HVAC mode dial, with say 5 options, one at each extreme and 3 intermediate positions with tangible detents: no need for labels, once you've memorized it. And no need to take eyes off the road.

    You do need the labels at the outset, before you've memorized them, and/or to refresh. And then yeah: it'd be kinda nice if you could see them at night.
     
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  17. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Specifically:

    Vent
    High/Low
    Heat
    Heat/Defog
    Defog

    The latter is missing in our 3rd Gen Prius modes, no defog for you. Yeah, I know: there's the dedicated windshield defog button, but that thing's a beast, not really meant for regular use.
     
  18. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    Please explain about the dedicated button.
     
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  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    There's vent, high/low, heat and heat/defog (defog only is missing) in the "Modes" button. It's flush, indistinguishable from the rest of the row of buttons without looking down, and requires you to to keep your eyes off the road as you repeatedly push that button, to watch the tiny LCD display above. Go too fast,, you'll overshoot and have to repeat the process.

    The dedicated front and rear defog buttons are to the right. The front defog does direct air only to the windshield, but also activates AC, and ramps up fan speed markedly. It's really not for regular use, just temporarily, say at start up. The rear button activates the rear window heater wires.

    upload_2018-1-16_8-39-44.png
     
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  20. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    The front defog works the same in Gen 4. Otherwise, with climate control on Auto, the fan does not run until the engine is warmed up.
    Using the front defog button is easier and faster than manually configuring the climate control. To set it manually, you would need to look at the screen to see the various modes for air dispersion.