Daily driving a 4th gen
06-17-2024, 04:09 PM
#81
Every single time I've encountered a touch screen (such as a rental car or driving other folks' cars with this nonsense) it absolutely does drive me nuts. I dread having to ever buy a car with one of these, so I'm trying to keep my 2010 daily driver for as long as possible. I love buttons/*****/switches; once you're familiar with a given interior you never really need to take your eyes off the road to mess with them, you can just feel it out. I just don't see the appeal to the touch screens, other than being "flashy-blinky" tech to impress and satisfy the "flashy-blinky" types.
Not apple to apples, but my ESAB welder has a touch screen, I don't really do too much adjusting because you have to dig through menus, as opposed to something like a prime weld, where it's just a bunch of *****. On the face of it, literally, the ESAB looks simpler but it's actually the other way around.
Can your vehicle survive from an EMP? I think most would not which is why if you're someone with a car that runs on old school technology then you have a gem IMO.
Electronics..They're neat and all but do I really need them to roll my windows up and down or to control the volume and channels on my stereo or my personal #1 "engine and transmission"? With todays technology a vehicle can be quickly immobilized and I suppose that's a good thing.
Electronics..They're neat and all but do I really need them to roll my windows up and down or to control the volume and channels on my stereo or my personal #1 "engine and transmission"? With todays technology a vehicle can be quickly immobilized and I suppose that's a good thing.
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wannafbody (06-18-2024)
06-17-2024, 04:22 PM
#82
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The problem with gadgets is that they break, and they are often not easily serviceable, and when they fail they can cause functionality issues with more necessary features - to the point where you can't just ignore the failure. I guess that's not a problem if you don't plan to keep the car for decades, and I'm sure the OEMs would prefer that you don't.
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Nathan C (06-18-2024), wannafbody (06-18-2024)
06-17-2024, 07:01 PM
#83
Every single time I've encountered a touch screen (such as a rental car or driving other folks' cars with this nonsense) it absolutely does drive me nuts. I dread having to ever buy a car with one of these, so I'm trying to keep my 2010 daily driver for as long as possible. I love buttons/*****/switches; once you're familiar with a given interior you never really need to take your eyes off the road to mess with them, you can just feel it out. I just don't see the appeal to the touch screens, other than being "flashy-blinky" tech to impress and satisfy the "flashy-blinky" types.
06-17-2024, 07:16 PM
#84
To add insult to injury there really aren’t any “plug and play” speaker options. Damn you GM.
Last edited by Y2K_Frenzy; 06-17-2024 at 07:23 PM.
06-17-2024, 07:44 PM
#85
This is also becoming a problem with home appliances; tech overload that is supposed to "wow" shoppers, but sharp folks realize that making a vacuum cleaner or oven overly complicated doesn't make it a better product - just more likely to cause you hassles that you can't ignore as it ages. Keep it simple.
06-17-2024, 09:45 PM
#86
06-18-2024, 06:47 AM
#87
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jybravo70 (06-19-2024)
06-18-2024, 08:41 AM
#89
06-18-2024, 08:08 PM
#90
I resisted putting a touch screen in my car but when the 12 disc changer departed this world, I opted for a touchscreen with CD. Good thing as those models are getting a bit harder to find. So many people stream over compressed music through top of the line speakers.
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Y2K_Frenzy (06-19-2024)
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Nathan C (06-20-2024)
06-21-2024, 10:44 AM
#92
My wife's daily driver (2016 Acura MDX SH-AWD) needed to go in for a recall for the software update (auto start/stop) and I wanted some of the more demanding 100k+ mile service done too. The dealer provided a new (2024 MDX base) as a loaner we got to drive for 4 days including over the weekend. My wife's has everything on the touchscreen, AC controls, information, entertainment, vehicle settings, all of it. Oddly this thing has 2 screens but only 1 is touch screen. There are 2 ***** on the dash, one for radio volume and 1 for selecting the active screen items. The 2024 MDX loaner only has 1 screen and it is NOT a touchscreen (hold on it gets worse). The AC controls, seat heat/cool controls are now buttons On The Dash! No more touch screen to adjust temp up/down or to lock/unlock rear temp settings! The worse part is all the infotainment options are now controlled by a stupid 1990's style touch pad on the arm rest. One step forward and two steps back.
Touch screens are ok IF you have multiple ways of interacting with them, case in point are steering wheel controls. The touchscreen head unit in my TA is way more usable because I can change the volume, source, radio channel, skip or repeat all from the steering wheel. Without this I would prefer the OEM style or older large screens with a row of buttons/controls at the bottom/top. One of the things I didn't like about the newer Acura steering wheel controls, there were too may. You could change radio stations, but it was a sub menu you had to select then scroll through to activate, from the steering wheel controls and visible on a tiny section of the instrument cluster, not safe to use while driving. The steering wheel on the newer car had button and dial overload compared to the older one. Engineers seem to have lost sight of how to make things simple and intuitive. I think the peak of all this was in the mid to late 1980s. Sure there was button overload on some of those steering wheels too but they were just single function buttons, not like those today that you need a menu to get into first before using the button. I guess that is a good side effect of the steering wheel air-bag, reducing the real estate for buttons/switches on the steering wheels!
Touch screens are ok IF you have multiple ways of interacting with them, case in point are steering wheel controls. The touchscreen head unit in my TA is way more usable because I can change the volume, source, radio channel, skip or repeat all from the steering wheel. Without this I would prefer the OEM style or older large screens with a row of buttons/controls at the bottom/top. One of the things I didn't like about the newer Acura steering wheel controls, there were too may. You could change radio stations, but it was a sub menu you had to select then scroll through to activate, from the steering wheel controls and visible on a tiny section of the instrument cluster, not safe to use while driving. The steering wheel on the newer car had button and dial overload compared to the older one. Engineers seem to have lost sight of how to make things simple and intuitive. I think the peak of all this was in the mid to late 1980s. Sure there was button overload on some of those steering wheels too but they were just single function buttons, not like those today that you need a menu to get into first before using the button. I guess that is a good side effect of the steering wheel air-bag, reducing the real estate for buttons/switches on the steering wheels!
06-21-2024, 12:09 PM
#93
06-21-2024, 12:49 PM
#94
My wife's daily driver (2016 Acura MDX SH-AWD) needed to go in for a recall for the software update (auto start/stop) and I wanted some of the more demanding 100k+ mile service done too. The dealer provided a new (2024 MDX base) as a loaner we got to drive for 4 days including over the weekend. My wife's has everything on the touchscreen, AC controls, information, entertainment, vehicle settings, all of it. Oddly this thing has 2 screens but only 1 is touch screen. There are 2 ***** on the dash, one for radio volume and 1 for selecting the active screen items. The 2024 MDX loaner only has 1 screen and it is NOT a touchscreen (hold on it gets worse). The AC controls, seat heat/cool controls are now buttons On The Dash! No more touch screen to adjust temp up/down or to lock/unlock rear temp settings! The worse part is all the infotainment options are now controlled by a stupid 1990's style touch pad on the arm rest. One step forward and two steps back.
Touch screens are ok IF you have multiple ways of interacting with them, case in point are steering wheel controls. The touchscreen head unit in my TA is way more usable because I can change the volume, source, radio channel, skip or repeat all from the steering wheel. Without this I would prefer the OEM style or older large screens with a row of buttons/controls at the bottom/top. One of the things I didn't like about the newer Acura steering wheel controls, there were too may. You could change radio stations, but it was a sub menu you had to select then scroll through to activate, from the steering wheel controls and visible on a tiny section of the instrument cluster, not safe to use while driving. The steering wheel on the newer car had button and dial overload compared to the older one. Engineers seem to have lost sight of how to make things simple and intuitive. I think the peak of all this was in the mid to late 1980s. Sure there was button overload on some of those steering wheels too but they were just single function buttons, not like those today that you need a menu to get into first before using the button. I guess that is a good side effect of the steering wheel air-bag, reducing the real estate for buttons/switches on the steering wheels!
Touch screens are ok IF you have multiple ways of interacting with them, case in point are steering wheel controls. The touchscreen head unit in my TA is way more usable because I can change the volume, source, radio channel, skip or repeat all from the steering wheel. Without this I would prefer the OEM style or older large screens with a row of buttons/controls at the bottom/top. One of the things I didn't like about the newer Acura steering wheel controls, there were too may. You could change radio stations, but it was a sub menu you had to select then scroll through to activate, from the steering wheel controls and visible on a tiny section of the instrument cluster, not safe to use while driving. The steering wheel on the newer car had button and dial overload compared to the older one. Engineers seem to have lost sight of how to make things simple and intuitive. I think the peak of all this was in the mid to late 1980s. Sure there was button overload on some of those steering wheels too but they were just single function buttons, not like those today that you need a menu to get into first before using the button. I guess that is a good side effect of the steering wheel air-bag, reducing the real estate for buttons/switches on the steering wheels!