Return of Physical Button controls

those mustangs were light because much of the body was rusted away

 

Author Andrea Nepori, writing in domusweb.it suggests that auto manufacturers are slowly starting to realize something may be wrong, and that maybe they should fix it:

Goodbye, Tesla-style giant touchscreens: cars return to physical buttons - Domus

 

It's a more than "physical buttons"; think it's back to square one for dashboard design.

Perhaps a standard needs to be set, and a team of certified testers established, to try a dashboard mock-up and either approve it, or send them back for redesign. Criteria is simple as heck: can these controls be safely, quickly and reliably operated, without taking eyes off the road. Today that's virtually never the case. Twenty years back, it was the norm. Attached is an example of acceptable heat/vent controls:

 

It would be nice to have a button for everything, but there just isn't any practical way to do it.
I think we will still have touch screen buttons for the foreseeable future.

 

Disagree with andrea, manufacturers are winners in this scenario, there’s no going back

 

I'm good, thanks.
When GMC goes over to touch screens I will start seeing other dealers.

I might anyway.....
I told my CFO this morning that I want something inexpensive and practical for my 'retirement car.'

 

I thought jeeps were expensive

 

Dangit!
Forgot to use the sarcasm font AGAIN!

 

Not the old-skool analog ones. Why they don't even have infotainment systems!

 

Analog buttons have a lot of overhead, at least for modern engineers with options.

First you must design them to match your interior (WMMV, depending on mfr). Then must pass under engineering and mfg eyes (at least for those who give a damn past their minimum hours) in order to pass muster for safety standards in country of sale. This also means if the model is to be a global one, has to conform to the strictest regs, so they can sold in all desired countries. This may or may not have anything to do with ergonomic concerns, but will always conform to cost ones.

Then they have to be mfr'd for spares, and stocked as long as the factory wants to spend the money to keep them in inventory. Typically this has been 10y in the past, but who knows how much each mfr wants to cut costs on models that are on their third owner in 7y?

Then one must consider what the buttons / switches are made of. Is it expensive to mfr? Does it turn colour or crumble in storage, due to being made of cheap grades of more biodegradable plastics? Is this for a near-luxury model whose btns / sws were lambasted in the automotive rags for being difficult to find and unusable whilst driving? Is it for a limited-run model where they contracted an outside specialist to make them... and that American / British / German contractor now wants triple the amt to mfr it, 10y later?

I do not know. Being raised on analogue buttons & switchgear... no reason a modern mfr couldn't make appropriate controls strictly tactile and analogue (radio power / volume / presets; A/C and all HVAC controls; headlamps; four-way-flashers; drive modes), and put all the rest of the BS behind a menu on a mounted tablet -- because as we all know, that effing tablet isn't going away. B / S for window lifts, mirrors, and seat settings have been reliably electric since the '60s - '80s, and should remain so. But tablets are the cheapest way to cram a bunch of functions into a car that uses CAN busses anyway.

Shifters must remain haptic and 100% tactile, none of this push-button crap (Acura and Honda's in love with them). Having driven a 5G almost 2y now, a PRNDL shifter w/ all the drive mode selectors on the goddamned shifter grip, would be f***ing peachy If I gotta look at the shifter (or any control) to use it, you are a no-go at this station and should be forced to drive Kia K4s w/ one bougie lead pulled for life (the SKs are the worst offenders for everything-on-the-tablet, and will only get worse as we transition to an all-BEV future)

 

Not sure why pure-electric propulsion vehicles are “leading” the pack in nothing-but-tablet, but they are. And yup, the manufacturer’s rush to the touch-screen railing of the boat is motivated by one thing: money. I’d love to see that boat capsize; might actually see something that interests me.

 

I think it just goes along with the ev technology, people expect it.
Still a lot of buttons on some cars, but all have some screen required adjustments

 

I do and don't like the overall control ergonomics in the 5G Prius. All the HVAC controls are in the chiclet bar in the center console area under my lo-rent LE's 8" tablet (size which I personally think is a better fit for the 5G interior, tho mine's a miniority opinion). However they're all the same shape and size and still require a glance to hit say, front defrost vs. rear defrost button... but having test driven late-model Hyundais and KIAs of all sizes... inspires a bit of gratitude they're there at all

(more upmarket in BMW and M-B sportier trims, you're out of luck but for mirror, window lift and seat buttons -- even some launch control settings in German marques, are buried in the tablet -- when on earth are you going to need launch control and have the time to pull over [can't be set in motion], set it, then challenge your opponent before the light turns? Ludicrous and CYA for the mfr -- 'well you wanted it so we gave it to you, but can't be held responsible for using it for shens, say our lawyers)

That said... really liked the setup in the new HEV Camrys. PRNDL shifter, no Lamborghini-like A-pillar blocking my view at my seat height, and very similar ergos to the 5G, taken one notch further towards married-one-kid-only -- way more room, way more cushiness, way more practicality. At the expense of 5 mpg and some M25A-FXS seal leakage and other QA problems, of course -- make and sell 5x the volume in one calendar year, not in Japan -- what does one expect

But I digress. The Camry haptics aren't any better than the Prius, but no worse. Didn't buy a 5G for its manual interior / HVAC controls... but do miss the days when I could keep eyes on road and still complete these functions 100% by feel. Get ready to memorise your exact limb positions in space, just to do this with a goddamned tablet as the sole interface with your HVAC, just like with smutphones (if you're of a generation raised on tapping commands quickly thru a virtual keyboard displayed in a glass shingle -- certainly not mine)

 

The most recent part to break on my 2019 Model 3 is the driver side switch to raise the passenger window. It goes down fine but I can’t raise it while driving:

• Too far to reach from a belted driver seat.
• No screen control of any windows
• To close:
  • Put car in park and use App climate menu to close all windows
  • Park car and go to passenger side door to close window

Bought the $150 part to replace the whole switch assembly wiith my labor.

Bob Wilson