And personally, I've never been on the highway, with a semi-truck barrelling down on me from behind, needing to get over to make an exit, and thought to myself, "gee, I really wish I had less acceleration right now".
Acceleration is great, but I don't think in your scenario it matters whether you have a 3 second 0-60 car or a 5 second one. Both of them are probably going to out-accelerate whatever truck that is coming down (unless the truck is trying to rear-end you).
there isn't much difference between a tesla fanboy/fangirl and ... say, for example, a GT-R fanboy/girl.
Why is this a bad thing?
Touchscreens, on the other hand, are just bad for this. You have to look at them the entire time you're operating them, or else your hand might change position and not press what you intended to press. You also need to look at the screen to see that your press registered what you wanted to do. All of this looking at the screen means your eyes aren't on the road where they belong.
We have a car made in 2000, it has knobs and dials for everything, you can configure the AC/heat completely without looking at it after some familiarity with the controls. The radio you can configure the station and volume without looking.
We also own a Prius made in 2014. They've either turned everything into a flat button, or worse it requires the touch screen to configure. And while the Prius does many more things than the 2000 car, the 2000 remains more configurable while driving by a mile.
The Prius largely tries to not have you configure the AC/heat at all while driving by having an automatic mode and you can set the target temp', but this completely ignores other scenarios where people want to be hit with hot/cold and don't care what the actual temp is, or that the temp doesn't measure the sun hitting you on your bare arm constantly making you feel hotter than you actually are.
Ultimately cars were better ergonomically designed pre-touchscreen, when they did less. Maybe in a few years I'll be able to voice control the AC/heat, but until then it is a step backwards.
Exactly! I hate the ubiquity of automatic climate control systems these days. Everyone that has a car equipped with one just uses the "set point" knob like regular manual controls. It's full cold, full hot, or off with "in-between" settings managed via fan speed. They don't work for the reason you've stated even when used "properly".
I've also noticed that most systems refuse to switch off the A/C compressor unless you choose a set point several degrees above ambient. It's a waste of gas, especially when it's 68-70F with low humidity outside.
They're worse, for sure, but they've actually tried to minimize the problems, contrast ratio is high, buttons are clear, and feedback is as good as it gets without being tactile. Some buttons are also located on the edges, which allows you to feel out their position.
One could probably have integrated this into Glass as well, but given the snail's pace of Android Auto (and the raging quality issues of Android in general), no yet again.
I would have loved a HUD manipulated through steering wheel controls. From what I've heard, this was too overwhelming for the previous generation of American drivers. I wonder if the next generation would fare better.
... which is why the HUD (for velocity, navigation) in my 6 years old BMW is my favourite feature. I don't understand why so few manufacturers offer one.
I can see that a HUD for showing animals detected by infrared is something you can't show on a dashboard.
Cadillac Cue is rage-inducingly bad, I would love to see your reactions to that if you think IDrive is an abomination. :-)
There are four buttons and two "scroll wheel buttons" on the steering wheel that control music, the sunroof, climate, etc. The feedback for those buttons is provided on the second digital screen that is behind the steer column, so your eyes just move up/down not towards the center console.
Just saying :)
Source: Just completed my second Portland <-> Yosemite trip in my "legacy" P85 that is 2+ years old now. I love it, but I'm jealous of the goodies in the new cars!
I won't argue that the setup is less convenient than it could be. On the other hand, I always found reaching over to some center console to fiddle with buttons and knobs to be extremely cumbersome even if I learned to find them all by feel.
Yes, but you have to program them to what you want in that moment or have to click a dozen times to reach what you are looking for. You don't have the ONE button at the roof that opens the sunroof every time you press it.
I had the same concerns initially, but they disappeared after trying it out. It's really well done and not a problem in practice.
With touch buttons I need to look at the screen which takes my eyes off the road. Even if it's for 1/2 a second.
1/2 a second is the cause of many accidents. I'd prefer having physical buttons. Ironically, you lose your sense of touch on a touch screen.
First, what functions do you actually need to manipulate while driving? Most of that can be done from the steering wheel.
Second, when positions on a touchscreen are consistent you can learn to touch them without staring at them. I often adjust the interior temperature on the touchscreen even though it can be done on the steering wheel, just because I find it to be easier. It can be done out of the corner of my eye with practice.
The trouble starts when the UI is designed poorly enough to require more than just a glance.
You can also preheat the car before you go, which helps a lot in the winter. And if you're in Canada you should definitely get the cold weather package, which includes a heated steering wheel, so gloves aren't as necessary.
Disclaimer: I've lived in cold climates (Wisconsin gets pretty brutal) but haven't had my Model S in a bad winter.
A physical knob, too, can be sufficiently illuminated with just a tiny sliver of light on the knob to indicate its position.
I (the parent) agree with all of this ... that is, except for preferring the 7 series.
I think the 17" screen is a real abomination - it's a stylistic void, in fact - there's a big black hole in the middle of the dash that has no styling since it's just a screen.
I also really don't like the Tesla interior - specifically the surprisingly lack of seat adjustments.