4 ms·

This is a pretty sparse article/video that doesn't quite back up the premise of the headline, which is "the only people who will buy one are Tesla people". Basi

This is a pretty sparse article/video that doesn't quite back up the premise of the headline, which is "the only people who will buy one are Tesla people". Basically the single complaint is "the gauges and controls are on a touchscreen". There's a side complaint of "the one I drove was really expensive" but those are options, which every vehicle has. Everything else is "it's fast and exciting and fun" which sounds pretty appealing.

sathackr 9y ago
At the end I was scrolling down looking for the rest of the article.
conception 9y ago
I have the new Prius Prime that uses a giant touchscreen as well and not using mechanical controls for things like AC and Radio at least partially is a terrible trend. It's so distracting being unable to adjust things without looking away from the road.
- koolba 9y ago
  You’re not alone. My favorite interfaces on cars for the AC are the simple two analog dials, one for temperature and one for fan strength. Ditto for radio ... nothing beats an analog spinner with discrete clicks.
  - prklmn 9y ago
    Totally agree. The car manufacturers threw some of the principles of car evolution out the window when things went digital.
- westoque 9y ago
  I believe NOT using mechanical controls is a step in the right direction for UI/UX in cars. Eventually this will lead to voice controls which will ultimately be safer.
  - TheSmiddy 9y ago
    Why not both? I don't want to be doing voice commands while I have a baby sleeping in the back seat for example.
  - mixmax 9y ago
    ah yes, voice control.... In your tesla all you might have to do is say "left driver seat window down" and the window opens. If you only want it halfway down you will have to say "stop" at the right point. Of course if your aunt borrows your car she will have no idea how to roll down the window because she doesn't know the proper voice control. Of course it won't work when the window is open and you're driving fast because of the noise. Of course you won't be able to remember all of the voice controls, and will inevitably end up screaming at your car to open the hood because you don't remember exactly which words to use. Of course, before you go on your first ride you should read the manual and memorise all the voice controls. Of course you should never say the words "open hood" while driving for obvious reasons. Do you still think voice control is a great idea in a car?
    - westoque 9y ago
      True. Thanks for enlightening me. Maybe a combination of a more seamless UI like Star Trek along voice with control then?
  - nitrogen 9y ago
    Eventually this will lead to voice controls... Voice controls as imagined by science fiction like Star Trek and implemented by Apple, Amazon, some cars, etc. are one of the worst UI designs imaginable. Vocal communication is a Hollywood trope to make up for the fact that flipping a light switch doesn't make for compelling television. Vocal communication is slow, ambiguous, leaky, and distracting, whereas mechanical interfaces can be operated almost subconsciously. How long does it take you to depress the brake pedal in a car, versus, "Okay Google, [long pause, waiting for enough cell bandwidth] please stop before you hit that car in front of me!" Sure, you might say cars will take care of stopping automatically. But that just proves the point that voice is an unsuitable UI medium. And cars don't yet stop autonomously with 100% reliability, and there are a thousand less critical but more common interactions with everyday systems that are just ridiculous for voice: turning on lights, adjusting the volume of a stereo, locking a door, etc. The last holiday party I went to the hosts were using an Echo for music, and the entire conversation had to pause for 30 seconds every time someone wanted to change the volume. Give me sensor-based automation, give me switches and knobs, give me anything but a voice interface.
- ridgeguy 9y ago
  Totally with you. My next "new" car will be something used that has physical dials and switches. I'll spend the differential $ on rebuilding engine/trannie and other wearable components. I do not ever want to look away from my driver's sight picture to adjust something like AC or radio.
  - __david__ 9y ago
    So I like physical controls too but I'm thinking of my current car that has them and I'm sure that I end up looking at them when I use them. If it doesn't involve digging around in menus then it's probably about the same, distraction-wise.
    - ridgeguy 9y ago
      I've found that after about 6 months I find the controls by touch with no need to look at them. Touch screens more than one level deep never have worked as well for me in that respect.
cma 9y ago
>but those are options, which every vehicle has. > Everything else is "it's fast and exciting and fun" which sounds pretty appealing. These two are in conflict. The main expensive option was the range option, which also makes it accelerate faster.
- freehunter 9y ago
  Are you saying the base model is slower than a comparable gasoline car? Are you also claiming that most cars don't have options that include items that make the car faster? Like turbos, bigger engines, etc?
  - cma 9y ago
    Nope. I'm claiming the reviewer's stuff about the car's feeling was also based on the options, though he did say he would try to "mentally subtract them". Seems like it would be better to just get a review from someone who tried the base model, rather than someone trying to mentally subtract them. Especially when they are as tactile as drive feel.
zzzzzzzza 9y ago
"But compared to similarly priced cars it's not worth it"
- freehunter 9y ago
  Similarly priced $50,000 cars. But what about similarly priced $30,000 cars?

sathackr 9y ago

At the end I was scrolling down looking for the rest of the article.

conception 9y ago

I have the new Prius Prime that uses a giant touchscreen as well and not using mechanical controls for things like AC and Radio at least partially is a terrible trend. It's so distracting being unable to adjust things without looking away from the road.

koolba 9y ago
You’re not alone. My favorite interfaces on cars for the AC are the simple two analog dials, one for temperature and one for fan strength. Ditto for radio ... nothing beats an analog spinner with discrete clicks.
- prklmn 9y ago
  Totally agree. The car manufacturers threw some of the principles of car evolution out the window when things went digital.
westoque 9y ago
I believe NOT using mechanical controls is a step in the right direction for UI/UX in cars. Eventually this will lead to voice controls which will ultimately be safer.
- TheSmiddy 9y ago
  Why not both? I don't want to be doing voice commands while I have a baby sleeping in the back seat for example.
- mixmax 9y ago
  ah yes, voice control.... In your tesla all you might have to do is say "left driver seat window down" and the window opens. If you only want it halfway down you will have to say "stop" at the right point. Of course if your aunt borrows your car she will have no idea how to roll down the window because she doesn't know the proper voice control. Of course it won't work when the window is open and you're driving fast because of the noise. Of course you won't be able to remember all of the voice controls, and will inevitably end up screaming at your car to open the hood because you don't remember exactly which words to use. Of course, before you go on your first ride you should read the manual and memorise all the voice controls. Of course you should never say the words "open hood" while driving for obvious reasons. Do you still think voice control is a great idea in a car?
  - westoque 9y ago
    True. Thanks for enlightening me. Maybe a combination of a more seamless UI like Star Trek along voice with control then?
- nitrogen 9y ago
  Eventually this will lead to voice controls... Voice controls as imagined by science fiction like Star Trek and implemented by Apple, Amazon, some cars, etc. are one of the worst UI designs imaginable. Vocal communication is a Hollywood trope to make up for the fact that flipping a light switch doesn't make for compelling television. Vocal communication is slow, ambiguous, leaky, and distracting, whereas mechanical interfaces can be operated almost subconsciously. How long does it take you to depress the brake pedal in a car, versus, "Okay Google, [long pause, waiting for enough cell bandwidth] please stop before you hit that car in front of me!" Sure, you might say cars will take care of stopping automatically. But that just proves the point that voice is an unsuitable UI medium. And cars don't yet stop autonomously with 100% reliability, and there are a thousand less critical but more common interactions with everyday systems that are just ridiculous for voice: turning on lights, adjusting the volume of a stereo, locking a door, etc. The last holiday party I went to the hosts were using an Echo for music, and the entire conversation had to pause for 30 seconds every time someone wanted to change the volume. Give me sensor-based automation, give me switches and knobs, give me anything but a voice interface.
ridgeguy 9y ago
Totally with you. My next "new" car will be something used that has physical dials and switches. I'll spend the differential $ on rebuilding engine/trannie and other wearable components. I do not ever want to look away from my driver's sight picture to adjust something like AC or radio.
- __david__ 9y ago
  So I like physical controls too but I'm thinking of my current car that has them and I'm sure that I end up looking at them when I use them. If it doesn't involve digging around in menus then it's probably about the same, distraction-wise.
  - ridgeguy 9y ago
    I've found that after about 6 months I find the controls by touch with no need to look at them. Touch screens more than one level deep never have worked as well for me in that respect.

cma 9y ago

>but those are options, which every vehicle has. > Everything else is "it's fast and exciting and fun" which sounds pretty appealing. These two are in conflict. The main expensive option was the range option, which also makes it accelerate faster.

freehunter 9y ago
Are you saying the base model is slower than a comparable gasoline car? Are you also claiming that most cars don't have options that include items that make the car faster? Like turbos, bigger engines, etc?
- cma 9y ago
  Nope. I'm claiming the reviewer's stuff about the car's feeling was also based on the options, though he did say he would try to "mentally subtract them". Seems like it would be better to just get a review from someone who tried the base model, rather than someone trying to mentally subtract them. Especially when they are as tactile as drive feel.

zzzzzzzza 9y ago

"But compared to similarly priced cars it's not worth it"

freehunter 9y ago
Similarly priced $50,000 cars. But what about similarly priced $30,000 cars?