6 ms·

Is this a US thing? I recently bought a reasonably high end Skoda (which I think would be made in the same factory as VW, SEAT etc). It has a big touch screen i

by thorin 3y ago

Is this a US thing? I recently bought a reasonably high end Skoda (which I think would be made in the same factory as VW, SEAT etc). It has a big touch screen in the centre console, but that's really only used for the radio / media / phone calls etc. This is all non essential stuff and so I can deal with it being on a screen. Everything relating to driving is an old skool analogue control. A couple of things I don't like is the pull switch for parking brake, it's the first car I've had without an old skool handbreak, it feels unnecessary, but ergonomically it's fine. Also it's a key less ignition with a button to start. Again I don't see why this benefits me, but I can deal with it. I do worry about having a smart key though as I'm often on the water kayaking/surfing but it's been ok in a waterproof case so far.

Loughla 3y ago
No, it's the same. You can control hidden things from the touch screen (like light length when opening the door for example) but most cars still have tactile nobs for everything outside of radio/bluetooth/media. There are some cars that have touchscreen for essential things like climate control, but those are absolutely in the minority.
- brewdad 3y ago
  Thing is, those cars with touch screen climate controls will let you set a temperature target much like your home thermostat. Once you figure out the right temperature, you don't really ever have to change it. I haven't changed the temperature in my car for months. I'll probably adjust it as summer turns to fall but it will be a one or two degree change one time and then I won't touch it again unless my kid drove the car and messed with it. Putting things like windshield wipers or headlights on a touch screen would be a nightmare though.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    My newish car does have buttons to control the temperature and fan. But, yeah, I don't really change it. I do use defroster settings in the winter.
  - calfuris 3y ago
    My current car (like all of the cars I've had since 2008) allows you to set a temperature target with physical controls. I don't change it as often as I changed the older direct controls, but I do change it often enough that I would hate to use a touchscreen for it.
gumballindie 3y ago
For me controlling the radio using a touch screen is an issue - i cant take my eyes off the road, and using driving wheel buttons that require fiddling is not great either. I need buttons and dials that leverage muscle memory.
- ghaff 3y ago
  Volume should absolutely be a knob or, less ideally, a pair of buttons. But does anyone have a physical radio dial any longer? (Even my 1998 Toyota with no touchscreen I sold last year didn't.) I think at least one manufacturer was considering eliminating FM radio all together.
  - dylan604 3y ago
    >I think at least one manufacturer was considering eliminating FM radio all together. Are you sure it wasn't the elimination of AM radio? I have not heard of anyone suggesting to kill the FM radio, but I'm not that dialed in
    - ghaff 3y ago
      Actually I guess it's both. https://musictech.com/news/industry/ford-tesla-bmw-am-fm-radio/ https://musictech.com/news/industry/ford-tesla-bmw-am-fm-rad... AM radio is sometimes used for information updates on roads etc. but I'm sure very few people use it.
      - dylan604 3y ago
        interesting. maybe i blocked the FM part out, but i was distinctly remember AM. removing radio entirely makes sense, as i didn't really think that an FM only radio would be any cheaper than AM/FM would be. >but I'm sure very few people use it. The conservative side of the spectrum loves the AM band
        ghaff 3y ago
        I guess Ford at least is going to keep AM radio after all https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177847361/ford-changes-direction-and-will-keep-am-radio-in-its-2024-vehicles https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177847361/ford-changes-direc... with the justification being it's an emergency alert system. I assume AM and FM antenna requirements are different and that's probably where the cost is.
throwaway1777 3y ago
It’s the same in the US, you just correctly identified that it’s not an issue for the vast majority of people outside of the data collection concerns (which most people also don’t care about)
ghaff 3y ago
Handbrakes were mostly necessary for stickshifts starting on a hill but were kept around on a fair number of automatics even after they were unnecessary. (Though my emergency/parking brake has been a left foot pedal on my automatics for decades.)

by thorin 3y ago

Loughla 3y ago

No, it's the same. You can control hidden things from the touch screen (like light length when opening the door for example) but most cars still have tactile nobs for everything outside of radio/bluetooth/media. There are some cars that have touchscreen for essential things like climate control, but those are absolutely in the minority.

brewdad 3y ago
Thing is, those cars with touch screen climate controls will let you set a temperature target much like your home thermostat. Once you figure out the right temperature, you don't really ever have to change it. I haven't changed the temperature in my car for months. I'll probably adjust it as summer turns to fall but it will be a one or two degree change one time and then I won't touch it again unless my kid drove the car and messed with it. Putting things like windshield wipers or headlights on a touch screen would be a nightmare though.
- ghaff 3y ago
  My newish car does have buttons to control the temperature and fan. But, yeah, I don't really change it. I do use defroster settings in the winter.
- calfuris 3y ago
  My current car (like all of the cars I've had since 2008) allows you to set a temperature target with physical controls. I don't change it as often as I changed the older direct controls, but I do change it often enough that I would hate to use a touchscreen for it.

gumballindie 3y ago

For me controlling the radio using a touch screen is an issue - i cant take my eyes off the road, and using driving wheel buttons that require fiddling is not great either. I need buttons and dials that leverage muscle memory.

ghaff 3y ago
Volume should absolutely be a knob or, less ideally, a pair of buttons. But does anyone have a physical radio dial any longer? (Even my 1998 Toyota with no touchscreen I sold last year didn't.) I think at least one manufacturer was considering eliminating FM radio all together.
- dylan604 3y ago
  >I think at least one manufacturer was considering eliminating FM radio all together. Are you sure it wasn't the elimination of AM radio? I have not heard of anyone suggesting to kill the FM radio, but I'm not that dialed in
  - ghaff 3y ago
    Actually I guess it's both. https://musictech.com/news/industry/ford-tesla-bmw-am-fm-radio/ https://musictech.com/news/industry/ford-tesla-bmw-am-fm-rad... AM radio is sometimes used for information updates on roads etc. but I'm sure very few people use it.
    - dylan604 3y ago
      interesting. maybe i blocked the FM part out, but i was distinctly remember AM. removing radio entirely makes sense, as i didn't really think that an FM only radio would be any cheaper than AM/FM would be. >but I'm sure very few people use it. The conservative side of the spectrum loves the AM band
      - ghaff 3y ago
        I guess Ford at least is going to keep AM radio after all https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177847361/ford-changes-direction-and-will-keep-am-radio-in-its-2024-vehicles https://www.npr.org/2023/05/24/1177847361/ford-changes-direc... with the justification being it's an emergency alert system. I assume AM and FM antenna requirements are different and that's probably where the cost is.

throwaway1777 3y ago

It’s the same in the US, you just correctly identified that it’s not an issue for the vast majority of people outside of the data collection concerns (which most people also don’t care about)

ghaff 3y ago

Handbrakes were mostly necessary for stickshifts starting on a hill but were kept around on a fair number of automatics even after they were unnecessary. (Though my emergency/parking brake has been a left foot pedal on my automatics for decades.)