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Comment by protomyth | Hacker News Reader

I'm fine with a touch screen for things like rear camera and plugging in a smart phone, but I want actual volume, temperature, and fan speed knobs.

I also want all of the information about the car I can get. For example, I don't want a "tire low light", I want an air pressure in each tire with an flashing indicator that its out of safe range. I don't want an "overheat", I want the temperature and big flashing when its out of range.

I do wish for a HUD just because I want my eyes on the road, but I think that's a lost dream.

I dearly wish someone would design a car for easy repairs, but we all know that isn't a profit positive thing.

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My 1992 Miata came with an honest-to-god oil pressure gauge in it, that gave you real oil pressure readings. The pressure gauge moves back and forth with engine RPMs, because the oil pump is driven off of the engine. More RPM = more oil pressure. That's how cars work.

In 1994, Mazda removed it, and put in a "Dumb" gauge. It looks like a gauge, but really is either on above a certain PSI or off below that. They did this because so many people were bringing in their cars for service because they didn't understand how the real pressure gauge worked, and thought something was wrong.

There are actually lots of cars like this. My Ford Explorer has a dumb oil pressure gauge. My Honda Fit doesn't even have a coolant temp gauge. So I only know when the thing gets too hot, or if the coolant is too cold. Can't tell if the car starts running hotter than normal to catch a problem before it destroys something.

I have a 93 Miata and I love those kinds of things about it. Even the odometer is mechanical. I love how real and direct cars from that era feel. In contrast, I’m always discouraged when for example I try to figure out how to even make the radio work in my girlfriend’s 2017 Odyssey.

The dummy gauge in the 1993 Miata is part of the reason I ended up buying a '92. Having a real oil pressure gauge just makes the car feel so much more accessible and 'real'.

As an aside, the 'dummy gauge' is arguably worse than a lamp because it's much easier to overlook a needle being out of range than it is a light that's always off suddenly being on.

The first generation Miata is an amazingly fun car to drive - it's not fast, but it feels 100% mechanical (even though there are a few computers in the engine).

Lexus has models with a HUD. It was far less useful than I expected. It displays just a compass, digital speedometer, and indicators for cruise control and lane assist.

No directions for the route finder? That sounds really lame. The BMW HUD is much more useful, if you have a route going on, the turn instructions appear on the windshield.

If it does, then only with the built-in map. No CarPlay support.

My 2016 Honda CR-V has everything in your first paragraph. I think Honda and Mazda are doing a good job of balancing physical controls versus touchscreen.

Checkout Mazda3. Hud with navigation is awesome to use.

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