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Transportation Displays Entertainment

Honda Bucks Industry Trend By Removing Touchscreen Controls (autocar.co.uk) 157

Posted by BeauHD from the analogue-FTW dept.
Honda has done what no other car maker is doing, and returned to analogue controls for some functions on the new Honda Jazz. Autocar reports: While most manufacturers are moving to touchscreen controls, identifying smartphone use as their inspiration - most recently seen in Audi's latest A3 - Honda has decided to reintroduce heating and air conditioning controls via a dial rather than touchscreen, as in the previous-generation Jazz.

Jazz project leader Takeki Tanaka explained: "The reason is quite simple -- we wanted to minimize driver disruption for operation, in particular, for the heater and air conditioning. We changed it from touchscreen to dial operation, as we received customer feedback that it was difficult to operate intuitively. You had to look at the screen to change the heater seating, therefore, we changed it so one can operate it without looking, giving more confidence while driving."
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Honda Bucks Industry Trend By Removing Touchscreen Controls More

Honda Bucks Industry Trend By Removing Touchscreen Controls

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  • customer feedback and research... outrageous (Score:5, Funny)

    by johnjones ( 14274 ) on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @07:24PM (#59894786) Homepage Journal

    Getting haptic feedback and customer feedback... what kind of solution is this ?

    • If you've ever driving a Honda you'll know that they were absolutely the frigging worst when it came to a messy dash with too many options. Hell the last one I drove had not 1, but 3 LCD screens, and you had to physically change one touch screen to modify something on another. Their interface was so garbage that I actively went back to gluing my phone on my windscreen to use maps rather than attempt to use their built in navigation system.

      I'm glad they got hit with common sense, they needed it more than mos

      • Toyota uses physical controls for everything that is most important, including a feedthrough of your connected phone's digital assistant for all relevant functions you are used to having that do ("Navigate to Joseph Blow!")

  • Tactile Knobs and Buttons Save Lives (Score:5, Insightful)

    by BrendaEM ( 871664 ) on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @07:28PM (#59894800) Homepage
    You don't have to look from the road ahead to turn a knob.

    • No shit. I've been saying this for years, and posting on here, how easy it is for me to adjust volume, change stations, adjust temperature and fan speed simply by reaching out my hand. No need to look away from the road and plug my finger against a screen in the vain hope I hit the right area.

      It's the same with my stick shift. I know what gear I'm in at all times. No need to look down and figure out what I need to do. Even better, I can leave it in whatever gear I choose without having to worry about som

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by bobby ( 109046 )

        Absolutely agree. I refuse to own a car with much touchscreen functionality.

        My question: who is allowing touchscreens for major and frequent driver input? DOT? Did someone pay them off? Are they "asleep at the wheel?" Are they intoxicated into thinking that everything new must therefore be better?

        All that said, I wonder if said functions can be controlled through OBD2 / CANBUS or some other data input somewhere, so that a physical control surface could be built. If so, there's certainly a strong marke

      • My Ford has both touch screen for the things a touch screen is good for, and knobs for adjusting AC. It's a simple push button to up the temp. Combined with steering wheel controls I don't need to look at the screen to change songs. Combined with Android auto I don't need to look to even select a specific song.

        I would say there is plenty of room for both.

        • Showing my age... I used to have a 1974 Ford Maverick. Obviously no touchscreen. *WITHOUT TAKING MY EYES OFF THE ROAD* I could...

          * turn interior and exterior lights on/off with a two-step pull knob
          * toggle high beam on/off with a foot operated button
          * turn heater and outside air on/off and vary with a slider
          * turn AM radio on/off and select any of 5 favourite stations with a push button

          Try doing that today without risking a distracted driving charge.

      • I used to own cars with stick shifts, and when I rent in Europe you almost can't get anything else. (Which was interesting when I rented a stick shift in Ireland: right-hand drive. I really had to think about how I was going through the gears.) But I have one real gripe with stick shifts: I can't steer, shift, and hold my coffee mug all at the same time.

        • Use your knees, they work fine as a drink holder, so long as the cup is not too soft.
        • Well, I don't know if you're being sarcastic but you're not supposed to be drinking or eating anything while driving

          • Well, I don't know if you're being sarcastic but you're not supposed to be drinking or eating anything while driving

            Wait...you don't take a "car beer" or to-go cup with a mixed drink with you when you leave the house?

      • But the great messiah, Elon Musk has dictated that all who are worthy will only use touch screens.

        Those of us who prefer to be able to adjust things without taking our eyes off the road will soon be sent to educational facilities (aka GigaFactories) for re-adjustment. Big Brother... sorry His Greatness, Emperor Elon the First must be obeyed. His way is the only way. /sarcasm.

    • You don't have to look from the road ahead to turn a knob.

      I Googled "turn a knob" ... You're correct; you don't need to look at the road.

      Trying to figure out which Honda slogan/tagline [sloganlist.com] to use for this:

      - The Power of Dreams.
      - First man, then machine.
      - Technology you can enjoy.
      - It must be love.
      - And you thought we only made cars.

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by sjames ( 1099 )

      Exactrly this, and good for Honda.

      As for the rest, perhaps the inspiration they should take from smartphones is the fact that fondling them while driving carries a hefty fine in many states due to the distraction and having to look away from the road to do so.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by bobby ( 109046 )

        Yes, that brings up an interesting point: govt- left hand not knowing what right hand is doing? Is DOT allowing all this touchscreen stuff? And if so, how is another branch of the govt. making it illegal to fondle a phone? Yes, I know, I'm dreaming if I expect consistency from any govt...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by zieroh ( 307208 )

      Sign me up!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by stooo ( 2202012 )

      yes, but you have to look for find the knob

  • Hopefully this will start a counter-trend (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @07:30PM (#59894810)

    When I hear about some of the things they're doing in new cars, it makes me happy to be driving a 12-year old car; but I know it won't last forever.

    People who know firearms will tell you that you should be able to operate one in the dark. A car is just as deadly, except that were generally trying *not* to hit people. Anything that causes you to unnecessarily take your eyes off the road (or target) is bad.

    • Do you disassemble and clean your firearm in the dark? The most modern LCD only garbage car can be operated safely without ever touching any screen. The fundamental controls for your safety are right there.

      Now as for your personal comfort or the fact that you don't currently like the song you're listening to, that's a different story.

      • Actually I take that back. I've not driven a modern car with fancy touchscreen and all which doesn't also allow me to change the volume or station from a button on the steering wheel. On your 12 year old card you probably still take your hands off the wheel like a crazy dangerous person.

      • Yes, actually that is very likely a requirement and point of pride for many in the militaries of the world.
        You must be able to use your firearm in the dark. Which means you must be able to fix it in the dark, in case it fails in the dark. I bet some even made a game out of it, doing it at home too, and seeing who is fastest.

    • I've never owned or used a car but I have similar sentiment....for PC's, laptops, OS's, phones, e-bookreaders, TV's, and, in the realm of 'content', for movies, apps and games.
      Hmmm...

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @07:33PM (#59894816)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re:It's about time! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Albanach ( 527650 ) on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @07:59PM (#59894880) Homepage

      It's not like they used touchscreens just because the technology existed. They use touchscreens because it's cheap. One set of wires to the dashboard is much more cost effective. Only one thing to go wrong. You don't need a physical switch that's rated to last thousands of clicks and expected to have a 10-20 year life in an environment with huge temperature changes and constant vibration.

      It was never about anything other than saving money. That it looked high-tech was just a bonus.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Touchscreens were not cheap when introduced. They aren't just standard TVs or phone screens glued on to the dashboard, they have to be daylight readable (extremely bright and high contrast) but also work well at night. One of the reasons why colour reproduction on them sucks is that they are designed for those extremes, not for office/home viewing conditions.

        They also have to have a very long MTBF so they have a >99.9% chance of surviving the warranty period (7 years in many cars) even when used for hour

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by k6mfw ( 1182893 )

      I see you got +5 mod for obvious reason for the obvious reason of having hand controls instead of touchscreen. Particularly adjusting heat or cool without taking eyes off the road.

      Though glass cockpits are typical in aircraft, I've noticed along the edges are actual pushbuttons so tactial feel can be used. What gets me is the big touchscreen for the crewed Dragon with NO switches. So is that a dog and pony show capsule but not the real thing? (disclaimer I haven't researched SpaceX systems as whenever I s

      • Though glass cockpits are typical in aircraft, I've noticed along the edges are actual pushbuttons so tactial feel can be used. What gets me is the big touchscreen for the crewed Dragon with NO switches. So is that a dog and pony show capsule but not the real thing? (disclaimer I haven't researched SpaceX systems as whenever I see something visual it is all PR stuff).

        This Ars article from 2018 [arstechnica.com] says Crew Dragon has manual switches near the screens for backup. FWIW, ground control would be the backup to the automatic flight systems, not manual crew control. That was Boeing's excuse for Starliner not reaching orbit, had it been a crewed mission the crew would have stepped in when ground control lost their signal.

      • What gets me is the big touchscreen for the crewed Dragon with NO switches. So is that a dog and pony show capsule but not the real thing? (disclaimer I haven't researched SpaceX systems as whenever I see something visual it is all PR stuff).

        I haven't read about the crew dragon in a while, but my understanding was that it was a completely automated system anyway, very much like the cargo dragon.
        I wouldn't be surprised if the controls they are given are only there just in case they really need to use them.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        I see you got +5 mod for obvious reason for the obvious reason of having hand controls instead of touchscreen. Particularly adjusting heat or cool without taking eyes off the road.

        Though glass cockpits are typical in aircraft, I've noticed along the edges are actual pushbuttons so tactial feel can be used. What gets me is the big touchscreen for the crewed Dragon with NO switches. So is that a dog and pony show capsule but not the real thing? (disclaimer I haven't researched SpaceX systems as whenever I see

      • Though glass cockpits are typical in aircraft, I've noticed along the edges are actual pushbuttons so tactial feel can be used.

        That's going away as well. Having flown with the GTN750 [garmin.com] (and smaller 650) and the G1000 [garmin.com] (and smaller 430), I can tell you I prefer the GTN750 for MFD functions. No more scrolling to the thing you want to manipulate and trying to figure out of it's the menu button that's hiding my function or if I have to press in on the knob or what. Touch controls can be more intuitive and quick. You get used to anchoring your hand to compensate for bumps.

    • Thank God. I have a Prius Prime, the lowest tier model. The higher tiers had huge touchscreens with a very poor use of the real estate. The cheap version had a smaller touchscreen that is more than adequate and two knobs - one for volume on/off on the radio and the other for tuning stations. Every time I need to turn off the radio quickly I say a little thanks as I simply push the button with half a glance.

      There doesn't have to be a button for everything, but some buttons are sorely appreciated.

      • Same car as me. Only problem I have with the knobs is they're too small, which makes them hard to find when you're not looking. If they could have been an inch or so in diameter...

    • You should be able to operate anything in your car without taking your eyes off the road.

      You can. People see touchscreens without ever actually looking at the dash of a car. There is *nothing* on the touch screen which you're required to use while driving, and I include comfort items there such as changing a radio station, or changing a playlist from Spotify. Look further to the left, you see those buttons on the steering wheel?

    • Touchscreens on smartphones were a really, really bad idea. Just because we have the technology to do something doesn't mean we have to do it.

  • Finally (Score:5, Insightful)

    by tttonyyy ( 726776 ) on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @07:40PM (#59894838) Homepage Journal

    I hope all car manufacturers realise that while touch screens are fine for driverless cars, when you have humans in charge of not killing those around them, controls that can be operated without taking eyes off the road are the way forward.

    • controls that can be operated without taking eyes off the road are the way forward.

      Just like they were about 75 years ago or so. Only recently have manufacturers been dumb enough to take away those sorts of controls.

    • I hope all car manufacturers realise that while touch screens are fine for driverless cars, when you have humans in charge of not killing those around them, controls that can be operated without taking eyes off the road are the way forward.

      All cars including those with touch screens have these. Any thing you primarily need to operate the car has always remained a button regardless of how big your LCD is. Even the Model 3 allows you to change radio station and volume without taking your hands off the road.

      And what else is there? Cars with LCDs usually have climate control, so what do you need to adjust there? About the only time you actually need to touch a screen in any modern car is to setup navigation or change car settings, neither of whic

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Honda have a great system for this in their new e. Yeah, it's called the Honda e... Missed opportunity to call it the E. Honda but okay.

      Anyway that car has physical controls for climate control and media (volume knob). It also has two big touch screens, one for the driver and one for the passenger. The passenger can open up navigation on their screen, set the destination and then swap it over to the driver's screen. It works with all the functions of the touch screens except for the car safety feature confi

  • Finally! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ryooooki ( 1994164 ) on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @07:43PM (#59894846)
    I've been wishing and waiting for this touch screen fad to come to and end and hopefully this is the beginning. I'm in the market for a new car and everywhere we go EVERYTHING is touch controls. How can that not be a safety hazard? My car is over 10 years old and the only touch panel is the navigation screen. I've driven cars with touch panel climate controls and I find them infuriating. It takes too long to search for what you need when driving and without sensory feedback you have to look every time. As a kid I wanted to live in a Star Trek universe with touch screens and controls, but now having experienced it to a certain degree, I'm ready to go back to old fashioned analog controls. At least then you can feel when you've changed something instead of wondering whether your touch responded or not.

    • How can that not be a safety hazard?

      Because nothing you should be accessing while driving is a touch control. Even the most touch friendly cars still have steering wheel controls for radio and cruise control. Heating systems are climate control so you have no need to mess with them at all.

      The only thing you actually need to touch a touch screen for are the things that you should *not* be doing while driving, such as changing car settings, activating or playing with Android Auto (fun story, even if you do use Android Auto your steering wheel b

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      A friend had a car without a touch screen a few years back. I think it was a Vauxhall (GM brand in the UK). Anyway that thing had so many buttons... The whole centre console was just buttons, dozens and dozens of them.

      You had some chance of remembering where the most frequently used ones were and maybe finding them by muscle memory, but you could easily hit the wrong one if you were not looking. It looked really stupid too.

      Since you need a screen for navigation anyway it makes sense to put a lot of the less

    • Humans are analogue.

      My feeble understanding, gathered by reading some popular science books on the subject is something like this:

      The bandwidth of consciousness is very low. When you look at the screen and have to navigate menus to do something, you use/engage your consciousness heavily. If you have a button or a lever with a bit of habitation you can outsource the action to the subconscious. The conscious mind issues a command 'do this'. The rest is carried automatically, saving resources/bandwidth of the

  • Opinions of a Tesla owner (Score:5, Interesting)

    by linuxguy ( 98493 ) on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @07:57PM (#59894872) Homepage

    I drive a Tesla Model 3. I have always been in favor of manual controls. Even for my phone, I used to prefer physical keyboards. And then I got used to the touchscreens in both environments and now prefer them.

    Manual controls are easier in many circumstances. But they come at a cost. On the phone and in the car, they take up space and are always present. Lack of manual controls would be a serious problem if all controls in my Tesla were through touchscreen. Buck luckily this is not the case. The common controls you need while driving; steering wheel, accelerator, brake, gear lever, wiper controls, music control and several others are all manual. The weather controls are digital and sometimes I will need to adjust that setting after I am already moving, but it is a one step operation. Same with defogger. Single-step operation. This works for me and is not distracting. If somebody moved more of the commonly used functions to the touchscreen, I can totally see that becoming an issue.

    I am not a car guy. I have never really loved any of the cars I have owned. Even though some of them were quite nice. The Tesla though. I love my Tesla. It is an awesome car. Touchscreen and all.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by psergiu ( 67614 )

      Model 3 owner here too. While voice control can supplement the lack of manual controls a bit ( "my butt is freezing" ) i still miss the buttons.
      AC temp & fan physical controls would suffice ( or at least the AC Auto setting to automatically turn down the fans during an active phone call )

      • I don't have a Tesla, but my car does have voice control. It just works terribly. Absolutely awful. And if my phone is plugged in and charging it refuses to do much of anything if I have my cellular data turned off. I got lost with a wrong turn once in California. I decided to use the voice control to look up stuff on the map. Horrible. It misunderstood what I said so badly that nothing was similar in the address it was trying to send me to in Kentucky. And ys, I did do the "training" when setting u

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by psergiu ( 67614 )

          The nice thing about Teslas is that they're improving with every software update. While last year it had trouble understanding my voice commands, following the December update it gets me 90% of the time ( and i have a heavy accent ).
          Now only if Elon could upload some buttons with the next software update :)
          There's a real market for a 3-rd party button row to be mounted under the touch screen. I would pay for that.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            The down side of software updates is that the behaviour of your car changes unexpectedly. That corner it could take fine on autopilot last week suddenly needs intervention to stop you ending up in a wreck.

            As much as I love updates I think for stuff related to driving or basic operation of the car they shouldn't change things. Fix bugs, add new features that don't get operated while driving, but leave the other stuff alone.

            Problem for Tesla is that would mean properly testing the software and getting it out

        • I don't have a Tesla, but my car does have voice control. It just works terribly. Absolutely awful. And if my phone is plugged in and charging it refuses to do much of anything if I have my cellular data turned off. I got lost with a wrong turn once in California. I decided to use the voice control to look up stuff on the map. Horrible. It misunderstood what I said so badly that nothing was similar in the address it was trying to send me to in Kentucky. And ys, I did do the "training" when setting up voice controls.

          If you had OnStar, then you could have asked an actual live person to direct you where you were going.
          Then, an actual live person would have heard you incorrectly and directed you to the wrong city entirely.

          Ask me how I know.

    • Arguably a moving car should not even have more options than you can change by physically touching the controls -- and that excludes menus.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by psergiu ( 67614 )

        The S and the X have user-customizable controls on the steering wheels.
        3 & Y - being the "cheap ones" - don't :-(

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by sinij ( 911942 )
      I heard you like your touch screens so much, that Elon will take away your steering wheel and replace it with another touchscreen.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      That's not quite true. The wipers can be made to swipe once from a physical control on one of the stalks, but if you want to adjust their speed you have to do it from the touch screen. The automatic mode is still quite janky too because Tesla tried to use computer vision to control it rather than a $5 rain sensor like everyone else.

  • If Honda is really going down this path, my next vehicle just might be a Honda. If they manufacture a vehicle that will make it up my road, that is. I drive an older vehicle with knobs and buttons and stuff - you don't need to take you eyes off the road to change the radio station or what have you.

    • Honda, of all manufacturers, needed to do this most. Why? Because Honda's UI programmers are either 1000 monkeys on typewriters but without infinite time, or syphilis has progressed so far in their brains that they can't tell reality from imagination anymore.

      Like, when even FIAT does a better job than you, you should maybe consider cleaning house. I mean, come on... FIAT!

  • Smart marketing play.

    Hipster steam punker's unite! Honda are the first automaker to come to their senses, stand their ground and build on experience rather than crash into the Tesla cybernaughts touchscreen idiom.

    Touchscreen is OK for stationary configuration, setup and preferences. But in-situ controls touchscreen melts your faceoff trying to accomplish anything simple. I don't want to sacrifice my eyeballs when its unnecessary. And that's what is wrong about all touchscree, all-the-time.

  • I love knobs for volume, fan up/down heat defrost etc. I won't buy a car with touchscreen for those items.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by stooo ( 2202012 )

      Tesla M3 has physical control for volume, station, etc...
      Fan and defrost are on the touchscreen but on non-movable big buttons -> no change from physical.

  • WONDERFUL! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by LynnwoodRooster ( 966895 ) on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @08:12PM (#59894926) Journal
    Knobs and switches work really well for blind/no-look use for a reason - you can feel when you're on the right control. Touchscreens do NOT belong in the car. They FORCE you to look away from the road to just use basic controls. Terrible UI.
  • I live in a cold climate. For at least 5 month a year I wear gloves. I can operate manual controls but not a touch screen for most of the winter.

    • Speaking of which, why does the Prius' temp control only go down to 60 (Fahrenheit)? Has anyone ever gotten into a car on a cold (sub-zero) day and wanted to drive around in their coat + sweater + everything else in a car that's 60 when it warms up?

      • I get what you are saying, but it does have an off setting. Thanks, that will be 10 bucks.
      • I'm with you. There have been times in my 2016 Ford Edge when the hot air coming out of the front defroster was too hot at 60 and too cold on the next setting down: LO. It makes me miss my old Xterra controls. Two knobs. One went from hot to cold, the other was the fan speed. With that arrangement I could also dehumidify by running the AC and turning the temperature knob toward hot. Now, when it's 70 degrees outside at 99% humidity and I set the temperature to 70 and run the AC, it just runs the fan. I coul
      • Why does it even use Fahrenheit? Is it for the Amish or something?

    • You need a heated touchscreen and steering wheel -> no need for gloves.

  • About 6 years ago I had to replace the stereo in my car. It doesn't have a touchscreen, but it's got menus leading to sub-menus leading to more submenus. Outside of adjusting the volume I don't even think of dicking with it while driving. The pisser? If I need to change the volume and I hit a bump then pushing the volume knob in puts me into menus. I have no idea how to get out of those menus, at at 80 mph I'm not willing to look at it to figure out wat du. When that happens (which is about twice a ye
  • This is a terrific move, touch screens are stupid for some interfaces.

  • 2 years ago when we were looking for a new SUV, after having owned a Honda Pilot for the previous 6 years, the new Pilot was the worst option on the market as far as its over-use of touchscreen. Other options from Jeep, GM, and Mazda (we bought the CX-9 - great car BTW) were all much more sensible about it. The very next year, Honda began to revert some controls back to physical, and it sounds like they're still trying to get back to where they should have been.

  • Guess I am the dissenter here... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by orlanz ( 882574 ) on Tuesday March 31, 2020 @09:06PM (#59895064)

    I personally prefer the touchscreens. Its far more multifunctional than button or knob. Honestly, there are far too many stupid buttons and knobs all around the car that just should NOT be there and are unused 90% of the time and most aren't even used when driving.

    Things like side mirror adjustments, seat adjustments, mirror/rear window/seat/headlight heaters, trunk, gas, odo reset, trip counters, etc... all these can be combined into the touchscreen. And many can be augmented into voice commands so you don't need to touch the screen either. Like presets, radio mode, cruise control on/off, etc.

    The real problem is that the car mfgs simply just can not do a proper UI. Its not that they are bad at it, they are simply HORRIBLE at it. From the BMW/Lexuses to the Kia/Hyundais... they all SUCK. Simple stuff like clocks setting for DST are 2-3 levels deep. Multiple screen menus that can be combined into one. Nav vs Maps? Multiple buttons for basically the same conceptual menu. Info vs Settings? Why is there a button for "Apps"? You aren't going to support this model for more than 2 years!

    And most buttons are no better. Like my radio knobs don't stop turning nor click. So you have no idea where you are in the range. My hazard button is huge but a little hidden behind my steering wheel. My gas is a pull button, but my trunk is a push? The mirrors have a four way pad, but the screen nav a joystick. There are buttons for stuff I can do in the touch screen.

    Then there is voice control and other accessory hookups. Total hit or miss across years. One year, OK. Next year... crap. My 2008 car had better voice control than my 2017!?! My buddy's 2010 car has better bluetooth hookup than the 2015 of another's. We have a DVD changer, and USB capable... but the Divx version is 10 years older than the car?!?

    And stop changing your stupid UIs every 2 years. No one, absolutely no one, wants to learn another way to do the same stuff with every new car.

    So I am not sure if Honda going back to buttons is good. Sucks to lose it, but the UI was bad anyway.

  • Finally, controls that you can use without even looking at. Honda is finally listening to the needs of blind drivers.

  • All touchscreen inputs should be disabled. Simple as that.
  • Right now, I don't have a car and rent one when needed. There are no standards for touchscreens, so trying to figure out how to get to right screen is a pain. Then the format and position for the function I want is in a different location. Sometimes just changing the channel on the radio can be challenging. Finally, when driving it can be hard to hit exactly the right icon, and sometimes the screens require a hard press. To make matters worse, in one car the screen froze, and I needed to turn the motor off

  • As a Tesla Model 3 owner, I'd say the touch screen works "okay"...key functions are also physical controls like turn signals, wipers, obviously steering, etc. I "generally" don't find it an issue or distraction dealing with the touch screen -- in most cars one is momentarily diverting attention away from whats ahead anyways. I don't find it very much different.

    HOWEVER, the touch screen can be a problem sometimes trying to hit precise screen controls while road/car vibrations are ongoing. That can be very fr

  • Mazda is now at the second generation of the CMU multimedia. The first generation disabled the touchscreen while in motion and had a very decent joystick control. The second generation has no touchscreen at all.

    Honda is not the first one doing this.

  • I bought a new Honda a few years ago, and I intentionally chose a lower trim package specifically because I wanted knobs and buttons instead of the touchscreen. At the time, the touchscreen was considered a premium upgrade, and you had to buy a higher trim level to get it. Conversely, you had to get it with the higher trim levels. Would I like the giant screen for the backup camera? Yep. Would I give up my buttons for the larger screen? Nope.

    The number one complaint on most new cars is [drum roll] the infot

  • Finally some sanity (Score:3)

    by tflf ( 4410717 ) on Wednesday April 01, 2020 @08:24AM (#59896534)

    Knowing what control to touch without having to visually search for it is critical when the vehicle is moving. Physical buttons and dials offer tactile feedback, reducing the need to divert attention from the road to a computer screen. Until mankind evolves further, tactile reinforcement will remain a key part of the learning process for muscle-memory positional orientation.
        There are too many issues with touch screens in vehicles: distraction, lack of tactile reinforcement, cluttered menus, set physical positioning, and lack of menu customization just for starters. On a personal note: most look like an ugly after-thought.
        The logical next step is moving from touch to voice command. Eliminates the visual distractions inherent in every touch screen, and, likely will provide quicker control, assuming the issues can be overcome. Many vehicles are used by multiple drivers, and rentals cars see a hundred or more different drivers in a season. Easy to change, more accurate and more secure voice recognition software would be needed, along with reliability in noisy driving conditions is critical as well.
        Of course, all this becomes moot once self-driving vehicles are a reality, and insurance companies and other groups have convinced governments to make them mandatory.

  • My truck is a 2003. My SO's car is a 2010. I dread buying a new vehicle, because you *can't* get them without all the stupid UI stuff. Give me knobs & switches -- I don't have to take my eyes off the road to manipulate them. Touch screens are dangerous for that reason. Also, you can keep all your "safety" features -- I don't need a backup camera, I don't need a sensor to tell me when I'm going over the center line, and I don't need cruise control slowing down when I get within 300 yards of the car

  • I'm surprised no one has mentioned this little car yet.

    Mazda got it right with this car. It's a very good blend of screen and knob. They clearly took the time to think though what functions the driver needed while driving, and what functions they needed at rest, and separated them. I haven't had a car since the 80's and early 90's cars that got it right. I (almost) never need the screen while driving. The stuff I need: A/C, heat, mirrors....all big knobs or buttons.

    They did one last brilliant thing: you ca

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