Having to look down at a center-mounted console to see your current speed seems dangerous.
Really, the whole "remove all tactile console controls and slap in an iPad" thing seems lazy and tacky.
Really, the whole "remove all tactile console controls and slap in an iPad" thing seems lazy and tacky.
- find and tap "vehicle settings"
- find the "autopilot" text label and tap it
- now find the "+" and "-" buttons and tap them to adjust
When it's raining I usually adjust the speed of the windshield wipers very often depending on precipitation level and spray of the car in front of me, the last thing I want to do in a reduced visibility situation is to have to futz around with a touch tablet to do so: I want a rotating dial on the stalk so I can change things without having to look anywhere else. Apparently on the model-3 this setting is also part of the tablet interface.
I cannot believe that when you have tons of "distracted driving" laws to prevent people from texting while driving, manufacturers are allowed to produce cars where you more or less need to text to actually control the car.
I am all for technological advancement, but having a tablet-driven car makes as much sense as having a tablet as your desktop keyboard where you'd have to look down all the time to figure out where the keys are.
Voice control is a good things for services but not for driving related controls, it's a QOL increase to be able to tell your car "set the a/c to 67 degrees", but let's leave the driving related functions (lights, wipers, cruise, ...) to hardware buttons/dials on the stem where they belong.
I don't know if that was a new zealand thing, or a campervan thing. However from what I've googled, it's becoming a more common feature. https://www.buyacar.co.uk/cars/459/what-is-a-speed-limiter
I know Mercedes often have that extra resistance level, since I've relatives' Mercedes some (I don't know if it function in cruise control or speed limiting in any way). I always found it annoying, because it came with what felt like a lagged and softened engine response until you utilized it. That just made the cars feel like they had two modes when starting from a stop sign, too slow or too fast, depending on how hard you pressed. :/ Perhaps I would have adjusted better if I drove one for more than a couple days.
Edit: Good points about the emergency cutoff being feasible, I stand corrected.
I personally never even look at the car with speedometer in the middle, just cannot stand the looks of it. Maybe by the time I will be able to afford Model 3 I'll grow not to mind their interior looks, but at this moment it's the most horrible looking interior I have seen. Seems more like something what hobbyist would do rather then automaker. Sad really.
They are usually set up to mitigate shift from far to near focus and how far you have to look from the road; they actually keep your eye closer to the road than traditional behind the wheel instruments.
The Model 3 megatablet isn't like those displays.
IMO, most automakers put too much crap on the dash and it eventually breaks or becomes outdated. I have two cars with built-in navigation systems that are essentially useless to me because they don't include traffic information.
I have this problem all the time. Often the top is cut off by the steering wheel. I adjust the seat and the steering wheel to fix it though, not a big deal.
I like Mazda's HUD system (think some luxury cars have had such solutions for awhile) which allows you not even change the focus of your eyes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcZdisJihI8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dr02z6tgss
What would be cool would be a long thin OLED screen where the instrumentation normally goes. And physical controls with a Taptic-style feedback mechanism for navigating dynamic interfaces.
This would allow for a more fluid, updateable UI while still keeping important info in the eyeline.
More expensive than just slapping an off-the-shelf LCD panel wherever it’ll fit I guess...
Once you have speed & navigation on the windshield you don't look elsewhere for that information. It's easier and safer, so it feels like a new standard. When I drive other cars it's something that I really miss.
remove every single tactile element. have convenient touch interface. have usable voice control. that's the future. that's also an exaggeration, but i'd like the pendulum to swing there and see where it stabilizes.
Edit: what is it with people not reading the message before commenting on it? that's also an exaggeration, but i'd like the pendulum to swing there and see where it stabilizes. that's also an exaggeration, but i'd like the pendulum to swing there and see where it stabilizes. that's also an exaggeration, but i'd like the pendulum to swing there and see where it stabilizes. that's also an exaggeration, but i'd like the pendulum to swing there and see where it stabilizes. that's also an exaggeration, but i'd like the pendulum to swing there and see where it stabilizes.
What about having buttons and knobs just because you can use them without looking at them? Because that's what makes them extraordinarily useful when compared to a touchscreen.
> remove every single tactile element. have convenient touch interface. have usable voice control.
Just to imagine out loud: you want to change lanes. In order to activate your indicator, you have to look down at a touchscreen, or say "Car, activate left indicator!". I struggle to see how either of those could be an improvement on the current controls. Now I come to think of it, the wheel is a tactile element! Maybe we could implement a left-to-right slider on a touchscreen you could use to control car direction?
I get that you're not actually advocating for that, but I also don't think we really need to test out the hypothesis to know that it's a bad idea.
In practice, the inability to do things without looking over to make sure your finger is in the right place is a big problem.
It’s far too easy to hit the wrong thing or hit nothing. There’s no good way to judge how much you’re adjusting something without looking at it.
It’s infuriating. If it wasn’t for the tactile controls on my steering wheel I wouldn’t have bought he car. It’s that bad.
Voice control. No thanks. Optional for the stereo perhaps, but I absolutely do not want a car that's voice controlled where I can travel with 4 other humans. Kids are noisy. Teen friends might find it comical to shout out "handbrake!". Need I go on?
Yes, I know tactile switches and knobs are so last century, but they look like actually the best tool for the job.
obviously not for anything driving related. there's still plenty left: radio/music, ac, navigation, phone interactions.
i don't really know where people got the idea i was talking about driving related instruments. they are almost never "buttons and knobs".
This being a french car maker they obviously skimp on having adequate performance - interface is slow as hell. Just increasing ventilation is a 30s process.
It actually made me rethink my purchase an go for a different brand.
I know buttons are expensive if you want good looking + ergonomic ones (a tablet is a great cost saving measure), but its worse for todays cars.
For cars in 5 yr time touch will be the norm and not a problem since full autonomy vehicles remove the worry of keeping your eyes on the road.
I would really count touch as a minus for tesla, but it sure is visionary. Kindof like we hated iphone for going with touch and no physical keyboard. It's stkll shitty bur we addpyed. Sort-off ;)
How often do you look at your car's thermometer, clock, compass, stereo, HVAC controls, or seat warmer switch? I would say 2 or more at least 2 times per car ride.
In my experience I am either on small roads where the person in front of me or the windiness of the road artificially limit my speed to something around the speed limit. Or I am on a busy road where I am traveling close to the speed of traffic regardless of the speed limit.
About the only time I check my speed is when I feel in danger and I want to rule myself out as the cause or when I see a cop car and I want to avoid getting pulled over.
From what I have heard in reviews, the speed is displayed in the top right corner of the display and is no harder to see than a regular speedometer.
In particular when you drop from 60km/h to 40km/h during a school zone. These are often continuously monitored by speed cameras and subject to excessive fines and often loss of license. And if you've ever been in a high end car this drop in speed is often hard to notice.
So yes, a lot of the population are constantly checking their speeds. Otherwise you at risk of losing your license and if you cause an accident going to jail.
My point is that where I'm from I typically don't get to decide my speed because it's dictated by externalities like traffic or road conditions. I also have a pretty good idea of the speed I'm travel and when moving through speed control zones I know if I need to slow down without watching my speedometer like a hawk.
Most people I know would get between 5 and 10 fines per ride if they did not check their speed.